Alumni Board Announces 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient

The Greenhill School Alumni Board is proud to announce John Burnett '74 as the recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award.As NPR's Southwest correspondent based in Austin, Texas, Burnett is currently assigned to the national immigration beat. For most of his time at NPR, he has been a Texas-based general assignment reporter. Burnett has had the opportunity to work around the world, filing stories from more than 30 countries since joining NPR in 1986. His notable work includes embedding with the 1st Marine Division during the invasion of Iraq, serving as East Africa correspondent in Nairobi; working in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina; reporting from New York, Pakistan, and Afghanistan after September 11, and covering the drug wars in the Americas.Burnett’s reports are heard regularly on NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. He won the Edward R. Murrow Award in 2018 for continuing coverage of immigration issues, and in 2004 for his work on the accidental US bombing of an Iraqi village. Last year, he was also invited to participate in a workshop on Refugees, Immigration and Border Security in Western Europe, sponsored by the RIAS Berlin Commission.Burnett has remained engaged with Greenhill, most recently by visiting or video conferencing with Upper School classes. In 2011, he interviewed Greenhill Legend Christine Eastus as a part of NPR’s StoryCorp #thankateacher initiative, crediting her as being a teacher that encouraged him to develop his writing skills.Click here for Burnett's full biography.