Faculty

Profile

Alvin Chang is an assistant professor of Journalism and Design at the New School. He's a data and visual journalist who has worked in several newsrooms, most recently as Head of Visuals and Data at the Guardian US.

His work as a journalist often combines deep reporting with data analysis to help readers clearly understand the world around them. For example, he recently published an interactive feature on the loneliness epidemic. His stories often show how small decisions accrue into invisible problems like discrimination, segregation, and ultimately dehumanization. And he makes those things visible using data viz, interactives, cartoons, and videos.

He's been a faculty member at the New School since 2016 and full-time faculty since 2022.

As Head of Visuals and Data at Guardian US, he led a team of award-winning data journalists, visual editors, and photo editors. For several years prior, he was a senior reporter at Vox, where he created longform visual explainers and the "cartoonsplainer" format, as well as explainer videos. He's also been a data and visual journalist at the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the Connecticut Mirror, and ESPN. In 2012, he co-founded The Listserve, a massive list that only one person could email each day.

He's been recognized for his data-driven coverage of school segregation and the climate crisis. His work has been featured in The Best American Inforgraphics 2016 and Open News, among others. Editor & Publisher Magazine named him a "Creative Visionary" in 2022.

He grew up in Kansas, lives in Brooklyn, and has a master's degree from NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program.

Degrees Held

BA, NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study

MPS, NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program

Portfolio

Personal website