Douglas Blackmon will head the Miller Center’s Forum Program after working for The Wall Street Journal. Photo courtesy University relations

Pulitzer Prize winner and Wall Street Journal correspondent Douglas Blackmon will become the new chair of the Miller Center of Public Affairs’ Forum Program, Gerald Baliles, the center’s director, announced last week. Blackmon will begin his new position in February.

“With his background, Doug stood out among a very crowded field of applicants,” Baliles said in an email. “Doug has years of experience writing about issues that are important to the governance of this country — ­and to the Miller Center.”

He added that Blackmon’s journalistic background will help the forum build on its history of programs which address issues important to the country.

Blackmon has worked as senior national correspondent for the The Wall Street Journal and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for his book, “Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II.”

Blackmon said he hopes the Miller Center can work on expanding nationally to reach audiences across the country.

“I have experience working with television,” he said. “There are major events next month, and so I’m hopeful there can be ways to consider innovations to the format of the forum in ways we can keep the topics lively and urgent.”

In addition to running the forum, Blackmon will also be a lecturer in Media Studies and begin contributing to The Washington Post in March as he follows the 2012 presidential election.

“It’s a great transition where I can be involved in a great academic environment and program at the Miller Center, with more substantive and journalistic work … but I’ll work on the presidential election for The Washington Post, so it’s a great hybrid for me,” Blackmon said.