Harvard's Nieman Foundation announced Tuesday that it had named 12 American journalists as fellows for the coming year.

Since the first 10 fellows were selected in 1938, nearly 1,000 of the world's top journalists have spent a year at Harvard through the foundation.

During the year, they audit courses and participate in weekly discussion groups. More than 50 former fellows have won Pulitzer Prizes, and three have earned the Golden Pen, the highest international honor for writers.

This year's fellows include journalists with interests ranging from aging to immigration.

Lori Olszewski from the San Francisco Chronicle is interested in African, Mexican and Asian history and culture, as well as child development.

"I am from the south side of Chicago; let's just say it's been a long road from there to Harvard," Olszewski quipped.

"After 22 years of working full-time at daily newspapers, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to study at one of the world's best universities," she added.

Jim Morrill from The Charlotte Observer plans to focus on issues of race and ethnicity, as do Thrity Umrigar, a writer for the Akron Beacon Journal, and the Richmond Times' Michael Paul Williams.

"I look forward to availing myself of the resources and brainpower of the institution as a whole," Williams said. "I want to challenge and test my intuitions and asumptions about race relationships; I want to expand my ideas outside of the Richmond vacuum."