Skidmore selected as Alumni Fellow

lumnus David Skidmore (’79) was honored as a Penn State Alumni Fellow.

Skidmore works as a writing and editing consultant to the Economic Studies program of The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. He retired in January 2020 from the Federal Reserve Board, where he served as a media relations officer and speech editor under four Board chairs, from Alan Greenspan to Jerome H. Powell. He joined the Board staff in 1999 after a 20-year career in journalism.

Before joining the Federal Reserve Board, Skidmore worked for The Associated Press in Milwaukee and Washington, D.C., covering economics and banking. He graduated from Penn State with a degree in history and journalism. After graduation, Skidmore was a reporter for The Globe-Times of Bethlehem, Pa.

At Penn State, Skidmore joined the staff of The Daily Collegian as a freshman and served as editor-in-chief in 1978-79. In 2021, he established the David Skidmore Journalism Scholarship in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. It supports journalism students, particularly those participating in the Stanley E. Degler Washington Program.

The Alumni Fellow program is administered by the Penn State Alumni Association in cooperation with the University’s academic colleges, campuses and the Office of the President, and is the highest honor presented by the Alumni Association.

Alumni are nominated by a college or campus as leaders in their professional fields and accept an invitation from the president of the University to return to campus to share their expertise with students, faculty and administrators.