Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones joins UNC faculty

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones will join UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media in July as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism.

Hannah-Jones covers civil rights and racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine and won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for The 1619 Project, which explores the legacy and history of Black Americans and slavery.

She is a MacArthur Fellowship “Genius Grant” recipient and was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and inducted to the NC Media & Journalism Hall of Fame.

Hannah-Jones is the second New York Times journalist taking a higher education post in the Triangle this summer.

Journalist, columnist and best-selling author Frank Bruni will teach journalism and public policy at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy starting July 1. He will join the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy, Duke’s hub for journalism education in the Sanford School.

Nikole Hannah-Jones to UNC-CH

In a statement about her joining UNC, Hannah-Jones said, “My courses will examine the big questions about journalism. But they will also bring the practical experiences and advice of someone who covered daily beats, who had to fight to be in a position to do big projects, who can speak to the rigors of academic and accumulated knowledge, but also the practicalities of how you build a career, navigate the industry and deal with setbacks.”

Hannah-Jones said she’s spent her entire career trying to mentor young journalists and “be for them what I needed when I was trying to make it.” She said she’s grateful for the opportunity to give back to Carolina “by helping students pursue their dreams and learn how to practice the type of journalism that is truly reflective of our multiracial nation.”

Hannah-Jones earned her master’s degree at UNC-CH in 2003 and co-founded The Ida B. Wells Society For Investigative Reporting, a news organization that increases, retains, trains and mentors investigative reporters and editors of color.

“This is the story of a leader returning to a place that transformed her life and career trajectory,” Susan King, dean of UNC Hussman, said in a statement. “Giving back is part of Nikole’s DNA, and now one of the most respected investigative journalists in America will be working with our students on projects that will move their careers forward and ignite critically important conversations.”

As a Knight Chair professor, which is endowed by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Hannah-Jones joins other top industry professionals turned professors at 21 colleges and universities across the nation. She will help students “research, report and help shape national investigative projects, with the potential to have their work published on some one of the biggest stages of journalism and media, reaching a global audience,” according to the university.

“Nikole Hannah-Jones is one of the finest journalists of her generation, the rare mix of major investigative reporter and big-voiced writer. But she is much more than that,” The New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet said in a statement. “She is a born teacher and mentor. She demands that the industry hold itself to the highest standard. I cannot imagine anyone better to bridge the worlds of journalism, history and education.”

Hannah-Jones’ professional career began as an education reporter with The Chapel Hill News and The News & Observer. She was an enterprise reporter at The Oregonian and then worked for ProPublica as an investigative reporter covering civil rights, discrimination, housing and school segregation. She joined The New York Times in 2015.

In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Hannah-Jones has been honored for her work with national awards including the National Association of Black Journalists’ Journalist of the Year award in 2015; Peabody and Polk Awards for radio reporting in 2016; the Hillman Prize for magazine reporting and the National Magazine Award in 2017 and 2020; and Columbia University’s John Chancellor Award for Distinguished Journalism in 2018.

Frank Bruni to Duke University

Bruni, who spent 25 years at The New York Times, is one of two new Eugene C. Patterson Professors of the Practice for Journalism and Public Policy at Duke.

“I feel so honored by and excited about this opportunity,” Bruni said in a statement. “I have such respect for what Duke has built with Sanford and with the DeWitt Wallace Center, hope to make a meaningful contribution to both and look forward to returning to North Carolina, a theater of such fascinating political dynamics and a place dear to my heart.”

His professional experience at The Times included a variety of roles, including metro reporter, White House correspondent, Rome bureau chief, chief restaurant critic and op-ed columnist. Bruni was the first openly gay op-ed columnist at the Times and in 2016 was honored by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association with the Randy Shilts Award for his lifetime contribution to LGBTQ equality.

He’s written three New York Times best sellers: a 2015 examination of the college admissions frenzy, “Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be”; a 2009 memoir, “Born Round,” about the joys and torments of his eating life; and a 2002 chronicle of George W. Bush’s initial presidential campaign, “Ambling into History.”

Before joining The Times, Bruni was a war correspondent, the chief movie critic, a religion writer and general assignment writer at The Detroit Free Press. He also worked as a general assignment writer for the New York Post.

“I am delighted at Frank’s decision to join Duke and our faculty at the Sanford School of Public Policy,” Dean Judith Kelley said in a statement. “He will bring our students new perspectives in several key focus areas, including politics, education and social topics, and add to our expertise in media and democracy. We are thrilled that he will be teaching our students at Duke and deepening their undergraduate experience.”

Stephen Buckley, a reporter, editor and educator who worked at The Washington Post, Tampa Bay Times and the Poynter Institute, was also named as a new Eugene C. Patterson Professors of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy at Duke.