Victor K. McElheny, the esteemed reporter and writer who established MIT’s Knight Science Journalism Program over 40 years ago and directed it for 15 years, passed away on July 14 in Lexington, Massachusetts, following a brief illness. He was 89.
Hailing from Boston and raised in Poughkeepsie, New York, McElheny’s illustrious journalism journey spanned seven decades. During that time, he contributed to several of the country’s foremost newspapers and magazines, authored three highly regarded books, and provided innovative coverage of major national events, including the Apollo moon landing and the decoding of the human genome. He is honored as a dedicated advocate for science journalism, who passionately articulated the profession’s significance in society and relentlessly worked to ensure the field and its practitioners flourished.
“Victor was a trailblazing science journalist at outlets such as The Charlotte Observer, Science, and The New York Times, and a distinguished author, particularly noted for his biographies of scientific giants from Edwin Land to James Watson,” remarks Deborah Blum, who currently leads the MIT program McElheny established. “Yet, in 1983, he still found the time to create the Knight Science Journalism Program, to advocate for it, secure funding, and develop it into what it is today.”
A Harvard University alumnus of 1957, McElheny began his career as a reporter for the university’s well-respected newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, before eventually becoming a science journalist at The Charlotte Observer in North Carolina. In the years that followed, he held key positions as the European editor at Science magazine, science editor of the Boston Globe, and technology reporter at The New York Times, among other notable roles. McElheny’s reporting in the 1970s on new methodologies in molecular biology established him as a leading voice in the evolving field of genetics — and paved the way for his acclaimed 2003 biography, “Watson and DNA: Making a Scientific Revolution.” He also wrote a biography of Edwin Land, co-founder of Polaroid Corp., and a well-received book on the groundbreaking endeavor to map the human genome.
The influence of McElheny’s own formidable career is equaled only by his profound impact on countless science journalists who followed in his footsteps.
In 1983, after a tenure as director of the Banbury Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, McElheny — alongside then-MIT president Paul Gray and then-director of MIT’s Science, Technology, and Society Program, Carl Kaysen — launched a pioneering science journalism fellowship program, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan and Andrew W. Mellon foundations. “The idea emerged that having a fellowship program for science journalists at MIT, modeled after Harvard’s Nieman Fellowship, would be beneficial,” McElheny recalled in a 2013 MIT News article. (McElheny himself was part of the Nieman’s 1962-63 fellowship class.) The objective, as he described it, was to facilitate connections between journalists and researchers “to cultivate relationships that would provide them not only with story leads but also with discernment.”
In 1987, McElheny secured a multimillion-dollar grant from the Knight Foundation, establishing an endowment that continues to sustain the fellowship today. He directed the program — initially known as the Vannevar Bush Science Journalism Fellowship Program and subsequently renamed the Knight Science Journalism Program — for 15 years before stepping down to allow his successor, notable journalist and editor Boyce Rensberger, to take over.
“What drove him professionally was a profound aspiration for the public to comprehend and value science and technology,” Rensberger reflects on his predecessor. “And he understood that the only means for those outside of academia to grasp this was through science journalists and other writers crafting well-informed content for mainstream media.”
Throughout the Knight Science Journalism Program’s 42-year legacy, it has supported and advanced the careers of over 400 leading science journalists worldwide. After retiring, McElheny remained engaged with the program, frequently attending seminars or sharing motivating insights with incoming cohorts of fellows.
In 2018, McElheny and his wife, Ruth, collaborated with Blum, who became the program’s director in 2015, to establish the Victor K. McElheny Award for local and regional science journalism. This award, which received early backing from the Rita Allen Foundation, is now supported by a generous endowment created by the McElhenys. Now in its seventh year, it has quickly gained a reputation as a renowned national competition honoring some of the finest local science journalism in the country.
“Victor was a transformative figure for MIT,” states Agustín Rayo, dean of MIT’s School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, which includes the Knight Science Journalism Program. “He consistently astounded me. He possessed an extraordinary understanding of how science and technology influence society, how society has influenced MIT, and how MIT can, in turn, shape the world.”
“Victor impacted countless lives throughout his lengthy and distinguished career,” notes Usha Lee McFarling, a former Knight Science Journalism Fellow who was recently appointed to follow Blum as the program’s director. Even in recent weeks and months, she says, “Victor was overflowing with ideas on how to keep the fellowship he founded more than 40 years ago strong and relevant.”
McElheny’s passing was preceded by that of his wife, Ruth — also an esteemed science communicator — who passed away in April. He is survived by his brothers, Kenneth McElheny and Steven McElheny, along with Steven’s wife Karen Sexton; his sister, Robin McElheny, and her spouse Alex Griswold; his six nephews and nieces, Josiah and Tobias McElheny, Raphael Griswold, and Hanna, Molly, and Rosa McElheny; and Ruth’s nephew, Dennis Sullivan, and niece, Deirdre Sullivan.
Alumni of the Knight Science Journalism Program regard Victor McElheny’s departure as a significant loss for the whole field of science journalism — a loss of a visionary who graciously shared both his extensive knowledge of the field’s history and his inspiring vision for its future.
“Whether we are discussing the stars, the Earth, the oceans, the atmosphere, or other planets, our comprehension is continuously expanding,” McElheny reflected to science writer Brittany Flaherty in a 2019 profile. “There is always more — much more — for science journalists to accomplish.”
For those wishing to commemorate McElheny’s legacy, his family invites memorial gifts to the Victor K. McElheny Award Fund.