March 21, 2019
The J. William and Mary Diederich College of Communication announced today the next class of journalists joining the O鈥橞rien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism. Marquette student journalists will assist the fellows, who are expected to arrive in Milwaukee in August.
The incoming Fellows for the 2019鈥�20 academic year are:
鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled to support these journalists and their ambitious public-service investigations,鈥� said Dave Umhoefer, O鈥橞rien Fellowship director. 鈥淥ur student journalists are lining up to work with this group.鈥�
O鈥橞rien Fellows spend the academic year at 蜜桃影像 producing a multimedia public service journalism project along with a group of Marquette student interns. As a result of an $8.3 million gift from Patricia and Peter Frechette, the O鈥橞rien Fellowship has been able to give more than 20 journalists the opportunity to craft in-depth projects since 2013.
In the past, projects have covered various topics such as environmental protection, criminal justice, education and health. The O鈥橞rien Fellowship selects projects based on potential impact to cause change and identify solutions.
O鈥橞rien Fellowship work has won national journalism awards. Most recently, 2017-18 Fellow Gary Harki of The Virginian-Pilot was awarded the for Police Reporting for his O鈥橞rien project, 鈥淛ailed in Crisis鈥� which covered the dangers incarceration has for inmates with mental illness.
The fellowship allows Marquette students to receive first-hand experience from a veteran reporter, as well as the chance to compete to spend the summer as a paid intern at their fellow鈥檚 home news organization.
Harki鈥檚 team of student reporters 鈥娾�斺�夾lexandria Bursiek, Rebecca Carballo and Diana Dombrowski鈥娾�斺�妛orked for months to compile a first-ever database of deaths in U.S. jails involving inmates with mental illness.
The current class of O鈥橞rien Fellows includes: Natasha Haverty, an independent reporter from Boston; Erin Jordan, investigative reporter with The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette; Ashley Luthern, crime reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Jenni Monet, an independent journalist from Tucson and Brooklyn; and Katie Worth, a reporter with FRONTLINE PBS.
In 2013, Peter and Patricia Frechette made a generous gift to 蜜桃影像鈥檚 Diederich College of Communication in honor of Patricia鈥檚 parents, Marquette alumni Perry and Alicia O鈥橞rien. The Frechettes designated their gift to the launch of the 鈥淧erry and Alicia O鈥橞rien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism,鈥� a program designed to give reporters the outlet they need to produce a world-class public service project and train the next generation of outstanding journalists.
About the O鈥橞rien Fellowship
Since 2013, the Perry and Alicia O鈥橞rien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism has supported investigative or explanatory reporting projects by over 20 journalists from around the country. Stories by O鈥橞rien Fellows have earned prestigious honors including the George Polk and the duPont, and awards from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, National Headliner, the National Association of Black Journalists, the John Jay College/Guggenheim and the National Academies. Fellows have worked as staff or freelance journalists. Over 70 graduate and undergraduate students have spent at least one semester helping O鈥橞rien Fellows with reporting, data analysis, research and multimedia presentation.
Kevin is the associate director for university communication in the Office of University Relations. Contact Kevin at (414) 288-4745 or kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu.
