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Emma Pettit

Senior Reporter

What I Cover

Chiefly, I cover how politics — specifically political groups, agendas, and ideas — appear on college campuses today. That means interviewing the founder of an advocacy organization for parents who think universities should do more to curtail antisemitism, investigating how a little-known nonprofit with conservative ties lobbied a public flagship in Florida to kickstart a Western civics center, and describing how Republicans in northern Idaho waged a campaign against their local community college.

I am also curious about existential questions facing colleges. For example, in an era of endless belt-tightening, how much can a university cut before it loses its ability to fulfill its mission? And, when it comes to running a department, when does avoiding conflict morph into abandoning academic freedom?

Last but not least, I enjoy writing about the quirkier side of higher ed. One of my favorite stories is about a professor at the Johns Hopkins University who has a side gig as a reality-television star.

My Background

Before joining The Chronicle in 2018, I reported on county government and breaking news for The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, based in Little Rock. There, I won several feature-writing awards and was named the 2017 Outstanding New Journalist by the Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Before that, I attended Villanova University, where I studied English and political science. I became a journalist because I’m good with deadlines and bad with monotony. My dad also had something to do with it. Growing up, he’d ask me to come up with metaphors for the moon on our early-morning drives.

I have appeared on local National Public Radio stations and on podcasts to talk about my work. In 2022, I was an Education Writers Association reporting fellow. My resulting article series examined the actions of the Johns Committee in Florida, a state-run investigative body that persecuted actual and suspected gay professors and students.

Connect

Email: emma.pettit@chronicle.com
Phone: 202-466-1044
Signal: emmapettit.31
X: @EmmaJanePettit

Highlights

Recent Stories

A Look in the Mirror
By Emma Pettit May 21, 2025
Professors’ responses to an internal survey were candid and occasionally brutal.
Bias Allegations
By Emma Pettit May 12, 2025
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has pointed to the university’s own data showing a decline in white, male professors.
A New Era
By Emma Pettit April 15, 2025
The overhaul of New College of Florida stoked fear on the left and excitement on the right. Two years in, what’s really changed?
Bloat Barometer
By Emma Pettit March 24, 2025
Alex Shieh’s email to thousands of university employees got a lot of attention. It also earned him a meeting with an associate dean.
Improving the Odds
By Emma Pettit March 7, 2025
Though higher ed has been slow to recognize the cultural shift around sports betting, that’s starting to change.
Political influence
By Emma Pettit February 7, 2025
A memo from the University of North Carolina system says that its campuses “risk ineligibility” for federal funding if they continue to maintain activities “deemed noncompliant.”
Political Influence
By Emma Pettit January 30, 2025
The state’s public universities worked for months to vet their general-education courses in an attempt to bring them into compliance.
'Flying a Little Blind'
By Emma Pettit, Megan Zahneis January 29, 2025
A sweeping new law required vast curricular change, leading to a confusing implementation that has professors contemplating the limits of their autonomy.
Pushing back
By Emma Pettit January 17, 2025
Six faculty members argue that a 2023 law mandating that general-education courses not teach “identity politics” violates their First Amendment rights.
Scholarship & Research
By Emma Pettit December 10, 2024
How do you solve a problem like a pizza? Through numbers, measurements, and an adherence to objectivity.