Elected 2004
Hal retired after more than four decades as a journalist, teacher and news executive, beginning as business manager and editor of the Grinnell Scarlet & Black and ending as executive vice president and chief operating officer of a Southern California newspaper company. Along the way, he taught journalism at four colleges and provided legal advice to newspapers ranging from the Los Angeles Times to the Galesburg Register-Mail. A political science major in the Grinnell class of 1967, Hal also earned an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University and a J.D. from Cleveland State University. He and his wife, Pam Crist Fuson '68 live in Encinitas, California. Among their Grinnell connections are son, John Fuson '93, and daughter-in-law, Amy Henderson, '94. Hal is the recipient of a Grinnell Alumni Award and has served the College in a variety of volunteer capacities. Hal's book, Telling It All: A Legal Guide to the Exercise of Free Speech, was described by Publishers Weekly as “an easy-to-read handbook on how to avoid the legal pitfalls that can accompany free expression.” His work in expanding and protecting First Amendment rights has been recognized nationally by the Media Law Resource Center and by state associations in California and Illinois. He chairs the board of San Diego’s Tony-winning Old Globe Theatre and serves as a director of The Copley Press, CNPA Services (a state newspaper association), The First Amendment Coalition and The Center for the Image.
