Pullitzer Prize-winning reporter Meg Kissinger speaks to a crowd of
Media Fellows during her visit to campus in late Febuary.
Kissinger has been chosen as the Pulliam Visiting Professor
of Journalism for the 2015-2016 school year.
SAM CARAVANA / THE DEPAUW
DePauw University’s very own Meg Kissinger will be returning to campus for the 2015-16 academic year as Eugene S. Pulliam Distinguished Visiting Professor of Journalism.
The 1979 grad has left her mark on investigative journalism, receiving over a dozen awards for her work and a 2009 nomination for the Pulitzer Prize throughout her career. Kissinger is currently an investigative health reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The Pulliam Visiting Professor of Journalism is chosen from a wide range of media professionals, often through a nation-wide search. Jonathon Nichols-Pethick, director of the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media and Media Fellows Program, explained that this year, they “generated a series of names of people we wanted to pursue…Meg was one of those names.”
Kissinger stood out from the pool of potential visiting professors, due not only to her affiliation with DePauw, but also to the eagerness she displayed when approached with the opportunity to return to her alma mater. Nichols-Pethick explains, “Factors that made Meg very attractive to us were her successes as a journalist, the awards she has won and been nominated for, and the range of journalism experience that she brings to the table.”
Kissinger credits her successes in her journalistic career to the experiences she had during her time at DePauw. “DePauw had everything to do with my success as a reporter. When I think of my college days, I think of the many hours at the newspaper office putting out the paper,” the former editor of The DePauw states. “It’s a terrific way to learn –hands on – what a career in journalism would become.”
Many students in the Media Fellows program, and those interested in journalism, are excited to have such a valuable professional on campus next year. Freshman Media Fellow Ellie Locke states, “I think her experiences from being an investigative reporter will enhance students’ education and understanding in ways that can’t be learned from a textbook.”
Nichols-Pethick shares this outlook: “[Visiting Professors] are invaluable. Students get long-term access to a truly distinguished, successful journalist who brings a wide range of real world experiences to bare on them.”
Kissinger is very excited to be back on campus for this upcoming academic year. “I have so much affection for DePauw,” she states. “My kids tease me about it all the time…They went to Northwestern and Harvard and I always tell them the smartest, funniest people I know went to DePauw.”