Columbia College Today

Richard Heffner ’46 has taught history at prestigious universities around the country, including his alma mater, and currently holds a professorship at Rutgers, but his teaching does not stop there. For the past half-century, Heffner has expanded his classroom to people’s homes with his television talk show, The Open Mind, the longest-running interview show on public television.

Richard Heffner ’46, host of The Open Mind for 50 years, returned to campus last month to share his experiences with classmates at reunion.

PHOTO: COURTESY The Open Mind

Since 1956, Heffner has engaged some of the most prominent members of society on The Open Mind with his intelligent and confident interviewing style. From episodes featuring guests such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Margaret Mead, the series has earned a reputation as one of television’s most relevant talk shows and serves as a historical record of some of the greatest minds in American history. “I am truly grateful,” says Heffner, “for the opportunity to teach on a large scale.”

In each show, Heffner leads a discussion focused on one political or social issue, such as race relations or education. “My choice for guests comes from what I read in The New York Times, ” he says, noting that he chooses headliners who are shaping the country’s history. “The fact that I went to Columbia College has a lot to do with my choices, as well.” Heffner attributes his appreciation for history and those who shape it to his College education.

Born in New York City in 1925, Heffner’s attending the College was a product of the economic depression in which he grew up. He decided to limit his college search to universities in the New York area, describing Columbia as “the best choice of those too poor to go out of New York.”

Entering the College with the assistance of a New York State scholarship, Heffner had aspirations of a law career. “I remember my dean telling us all that we would change our minds,” he recalls. The diverse sampling of fields that the Core Curriculum offered helped Heffner decide on American history as his major; he also wanted to teach. Heffner graduated Phi Beta Kappa and received his M.A. in American history from GSAS in 1947.

Inspired by his teaching experiences, which included lecturing at Columbia in Contemporary Civilization and an assistant professorship at Sarah Lawrence, Heffner wanted to educate more people about history. Though radio stations initially rejected his program because he didn’t have any broadcasting experience, he managed to air a 15-minute program about the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, History in the News, on WMCA in New York in 1953.

A year later, Heffner moved to NBC, where he worked on several news programs that showcased his love for history. His academic and media careers took similar paths; as he climbed the professional ladder in education, he was becoming an important television figure. In 1961, Heffner helped establish New York’s public television station, Channel 13 (WNDT at the time), and served as its first general manager. The Open Mind moved there in 1966. In addition to his work on The Open Mind, Heffner produced, wrote and moderated the television show Man of the Year, a weekly program in which he discussed the most influential figure from a particular year.

But The Open Mind became Heffner’s primary interest, providing a forum for him to analyze history and how it was unfolding. “I’m impressed by the memory of my on-air experience,” Heffner says. “The Open Mind website (www.theopenmind.tv) will create a wonderful historical archive.” The archive, which Heffner is working on in collaboration with Teachers College, features shows with guests as varied as Bill Moyers, Donald Rumsfeld and Malcolm X. Heffner was equally excited about the 50th anniversary show, which aired in May on Thirteen/WNET and featured classic clips from shows with guests such as Sidney Hook, Bob Bartley and Betty Freidan.

The Open Mind also inspired Heffner to write two books. Conversations With Elie Wiesel was published in 2001 and was followed in 2004 by a more comprehensive survey of Heffner’s guests throughout the years, As They Saw It: A Half Century of Conversations From The Open Mind.

Heffner lives in New York City with his wife, Elaine, senior lecturer of education in psychiatry at Cornell University Medical College. They have two sons, David, a film producer in California, and Andrew, a Manhattan assistant district attorney, as well as four grandchildren.

Roy Cureton ’08

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