At first glance, Jeffery Gerritt, O’Brien Fellowship director in the Diederich College of Communication, and Dr. Sudeshna Roy, Lucius W. Nieman Chair of Journalism and associate professor, seem to be on the opposite ends of the journalistic spectrum. Gerritt is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has spent endless hours exposing the gritty realities of prisons, poverty, street life and addiction; Roy is an accomplished, globally recognized scholar who’s passionate about intercultural communication and peace and conflict communication. Despite different backgrounds, their visions merge as they work toward preparing the next generation of journalists.
Standing out in a crowd
Gerritt’s serious wardrobe matches his keen ability to write award-winning journalism paired with more than 30 years’ experience as an investigative reporter, editor, columnist, editorial writer and editorial page editor at the Detroit Free Press, USA Today, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Toledo Blade and Green Bay Press-Gazette.
On any given day, the bespectacled Gerritt can be seen on campus wearing a double-breasted, pinstriped suit, a fedora placed neatly on his head.
“I have a distinct style of dressing — or over-dressing,” Gerritt admits. “I’ve always loved clothes and spent way too much on them. Some of my style was influenced by my years in Detroit, where men wear dress hats and dress with a distinct style and flavor.”
During his time at the Detroit Free Press, he exposed terrible health conditions in Michigan’s state prisons. The story inspired a segment on 60 Minutes and led to statewide reform. Gerritt considers it his best work.
But his most prestigious award came later in Texas, where he was editing a smaller paper, the Palestine Herald-Press. When the local sheriff stonewalled in releasing details of a death of a local woman held in the county jail, Gerritt responded with a series of editorials that started as a call for transparency on the death and ended up exposing a deadly pattern across Texas’ county jails. It earned him the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Writing.
This fall Gerritt transitions from journalist to mentor, exploring the academic world for the first time, training journalists to thrive in an evolving, multi-media landscape.
“One of my chief responsibilities is helping fellows produce groundbreaking, impactful journalism,” Gerritt explains. “I’m responsible for making sure the fellowship continues to do what it was designed to do — train the next generation of journalists. I also want to help make sure the future of journalism reflects the diversity of the nation — a cause I championed as an editor — by recruiting a diverse group of fellows.”
Global experience
Roy’s new home at Marquette is a long way from where she spent her formative years. Born in Kolkata, India, she worked in the private sector for many years as a corporate communication manager for an international consulting firm before furthering her education.
“I came to the U.S. in 2004 with my two young children, completed my Ph.D. in 2009 and started working as an assistant professor at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas,” Roy explains.
She recently accepted her current position as Nieman Chair of Journalism where she can focus on expanding journalism research in the college.
“I am responsible for teaching necessary courses and doing research to extend understanding about journalism and media studies, locally and globally,” Roy says. “I will be hosting a conference annually to focus on various significant and critical themes around journalism research from around the world. This conference will be funded through the Lucius W. Nieman Endowment funds.”
With a passion for intercultural communication and peace and conflict communication, Roy wants to invest more time to research how journalism can be a tool for social justice, particularly focused on marginalized communities from the global south.
“I recently had the opportunity to collect data on journalism practice in Kashmir, India,” Roy says. “I would like to work on analyzing this data and writing several journal articles and a book proposal based on this data.”
When she’s not focused on her classes and research, Roy is an avid sports fan and enjoys watching American football, cricket, soccer and basketball.
