Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and New York Times bestselling author Connie Schultz is leaving Kent State after the spring 2023 semester.

Schultz will be joining Denison University, a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio, in the fall of 2023 as Professor of Practice.

In May, Schultz delivered the keynote address at Denison’s 181st commencement ceremony and received an honorary degree. She also served as the university’s Nan Nowik Writer-in-Residence and Andrew W. Mellon Storyteller-in-Residence.

A native of Ashtabula, Ohio, Schultz graduated from Kent State in 1979 and spent her senior year as editor of the Daily Kent Stater. She then spent a decade as a freelancer before working as a reporter and columnist at The Plain Dealer from 1993 to 2011. 

In 2005, Schultz was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary “for her pungent columns that provided a voice for the underdog and underprivileged.” Schultz was also a 2003 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing.

In the spring of 2016, she returned to her alma mater as a professional-in-residence. 

Throughout the course of her time at the university, Schultz has taught a variety of courses within the College of Communication and Information, including opinion writing, feature writing and ethics. 

In 2021, Schultz joined USA Today as a columnist. She is also the author of three books: “Life Happens” (2006), “…and His Lovely Wife” (2007) and her novel, “The Daughters of Erietown” (2020). 

“I am going to be a journalist until the day I die,” Schultz told KentWired in 2016.

“My seven years of teaching at the journalism school that launched my career has been a dream come true,” Schultz said to Kent State Today. “There can be only one home for this journalist’s heart, and it will always be Kent State.”

Emma Andrus is editor-in-chief. Contact her at [email protected].