As a faculty member Emily Bell (pictured) will teach graduate students, execute and oversee research projects, collaborate with and study new organisations, and develop and test new models for creating and delivering information.
Emily will continue to work and write for the Guardian on a consultancy basis.
Alan Rusbridger, Editor-in-Chief, Guardian News & Media said: "Emily has done a brilliant job, helping create a website which has won numerous awards and which has nearly 37 million unique users – one of the most used and garlanded news websites in the world. It's a mark of that thought leadership that the prestigious faculty at Columbia School of Journalism should turn to a British newspaper for someone to head its new centre for digital studies".
"We will not be losing Emily: she will continue as a consultant to the Guardian, giving strategic advice from her new base in New York. Janine Gibson, who for the past 18 months has taken a lead role in the operational side of the website, will assume a wider strategic role in addition to her present duties as editor of guardian.co.uk. She will be responsible for all our digital output including multimedia, mobile and product development. We will be making further announcements about the development of the Guardian's digital content in due course."
Emily Bell said: "It has been a privilege and my great good luck to work for such a unique and special organisation as the Guardian for so long. It is like a second family to me so I hope to maintain strong links even from across the Atlantic. The achievements over the past decade are a source of enormous pride and reflect the combination of vision, support and investment by Alan, the company and the Scott Trust, and the work of some of the best journalists and creative developers in the world. The Guardian is poised to enjoy its strongest year to date in digital, with continuing innovation on new devices and platforms, brilliant journalism and real commercial success. Being asked to join the distinguished journalism faculty at Columbia as director of the Tow Center is an incredible honour and represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to help reshape the future of journalism at this critical time."
