Bob Gibson to head Sorensen Institute

By McGregor McCance

Published: March 25, 2008

Veteran Daily Progress journalist Bob Gibson has been named executive director of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia.
The move punctuates a newspaper career that has spanned more than three decades and will bring years of experience and contacts from the front lines of Virginia politics to the Sorensen Institute.
The non-partisan Sorensen Institute seeks to “identify, educate, and train emerging leaders,” with a goal of “strengthening the quality of governance at all levels of government.”
More than 1,000 have graduated from Sorensen programs, including 16 current members of the General Assembly.
In his new role, Gibson said he would focus on “helping to find and train political and civic leaders across Virginia in the spirit of the institute’s founders.”
Charlottesville businessmen Leigh Middleditch and Michael Bills started the organization, originally called the Virginia Institute of Political Leadership, in 1993.
Gibson, a 1972 UVa graduate and native of Arlington County, starts the new job April 21. He succeeds Sean O’Brien, who left to become executive director of the new Center for the Constitution at James Madison’s Montpelier.
Barbara Fried, chairman of the institute’s state advisory board, said Gibson fits the group’s mission and character.
“A lot of people said he is the face of Sorensen because he stands for integrity and objectivity, and he is well known across the state and well respected,” she said.
The 58-year-old Gibson joined The Daily Progress in August 1976, starting as do many newspaper reporters by covering cops and courts.
Several years later, he was promoted to the politics and government beat, followed by a stint as city editor.
In 1992, he took on a new challenge as special projects editor, leading the newspaper’s in-depth reporting. Among the projects: a series of news stories that highlighted racial disparities in justice handed out by local courts.
During his career, Gibson grew into one of the most recognizable faces of the Progress, as his byline and coverage offered consistency in a paper that saw young reporters come and go.
By the mid-1990s, Gibson was considered one of the state’s best veteran political reporters. His coverage included some 20 sessions of the General Assembly, the campaign of L. Douglas Wilder as the nation’s first black elected governor since Reconstruction, and dozens of local, state and federal races.
Gibson’s interview of Hanover Del. Frank Hargrove during the 2007 legislative session helped propel a movement that culminated with the assembly’s historic vote to pass a resolution of “profound regret” for slavery. During that statehouse interview, Hargrove stunned fellow lawmakers and others when, responding to a question about the slavery apology issue, said that “our black citizens should get over it.”
During his time with the Progress, Gibson earned a reputation as a fair reporter, drawing praise from both ends of the political spectrum.
University of Virginia politics professor Larry J. Sabato has known Gibson since the two were undergrads together at UVa.
He described Gibson as a perfect fit for the Sorensen Institute and said Gibson’s departure from journalism will affect both the Progress and the profession in Virginia.
“It’s really difficult to find someone who has good relationships on both sides of the aisle,” Sabato said. “That’s sad to say but it’s absolutely true. Bob will work hard to keep both sides happy without caving to either.”
Daily Progress Publisher Lawrence McConnell described Gibson as the “dean of political writers and columnists in Virginia” and a reporter who has earned his reputation for even-handed work.
“Certainly, his rich knowledge of Virginia politics and government will benefit the institute, and those future leaders from our state who participate in its programs,” McConnell said.
Gibson also extended his political expertise beyond the print newspaper. He hosted several radio shows and continues to appear regularly to discuss political issues on programs in Charlottesville and Washington.
His Political Notebook column has run weekly for two decades in the Sunday edition. And, more recently, Gibson’s “Blogging Virginia Politics” blog has played a role in the growth of DailyProgress.com, the paper’s Web site.
Though his reporting was praised for its impartiality, Gibson said he developed strong admiration for many sources he covered year after year in the Charlottesville community and at the state Capitol.
Among them: Judges Herbert Pickford and Steve Helvin, sociologist Steven Nock, former Police Chief John deKoven Bowen and Drewary Brown, a community leader whom Gibson describes as “an engineer of the best bridges Charlottesville built into different parts of town.”
Gibson chronicled the careers and lives of many local elected officials, watching some of their paths from local office to state or federal office and back home.
During the early evening of Feb. 8, Gibson wore a strained look as he pushed back his office chair and took off his glasses.
Around him at his desk were the usual stacks of computer printouts, reporter notebooks and editions of The Daily Progress, Washington Post, Richmond Times-Dispatch and more.
“Mitch Van Yahres just died,” he said, wiping his eyes.
After a short break, Gibson was back at his keyboard, where he used his two-finger typing method to crank out an update for the Web site and began making calls for a front-page story about the death of the former city mayor and longtime delegate. The story led that Saturday’s edition.