Kate McGee, one of our two higher ed reporters at partner The Texas Tribune, was honored for her dogged reporting on Texas A&M University.
McGee’s coverage of the university’s botched hiring of a veteran Black journalist led to the resignation of the university’s president. She also reported on the temporary suspension of a professor who allegedly criticized Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
The Tribune’s coverage was recognized by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas last month. It won in the Class AA category for markets of 500,000 population and larger.
The Tribune’s reporting revealed a “stunning level of political meddling” in the academic operations at Texas A&M, the contest judges said.
“We are grateful to these journalists and their news organizations for outstanding reporting that keeps the public informed, including use of the Texas Public Information Act. Our state is a better place because of this work shining light on the truth,” Kelley Shannon, executive director of the FOI Foundation of Texas, said in a press release.
This isn’t the first time McGee’s Texas A&M coverage has received accolades. The Education Writers Association in May named her one of the country’s top beat reporters. Her work was also recognized by the Institute for Nonprofit News this year, alongside her colleague James Barragán.
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Founded in 2019, Open Campus is the only nonprofit news organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to higher education. It’s built on an innovative collaborative model, combining a national newsroom that knows higher ed deeply with local newsrooms that know their communities deeply. Open Campus has put local reporters on the higher-ed beat in partnerships with 14 newsrooms around the country. Learn more about our model.