Erin Gretzinger

Erin is a higher-ed reporter at The Assembly. She joined The Chronicle as a reporting fellow in July 2023 after receiving bachelor’s degrees in journalism and French from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Her work has appeared in Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin State Journal and The Capital Times, among other publications. Erin also served as a fellow at the Center for Journalism Ethics and was the 2021-22 editor in chief of The Badger Herald, the University of Wisconsin’s independent student newspaper.

Follow her @GretzingerErin on X, or send her an email at erin@theassemblync.com.

Stories by This Author

Newly Updated

Tracking Higher Ed’s Dismantling of DEI

By Erin Gretzinger, Maggie Hicks, Christa Dutton, and others December 6, 2024

We’ve documented actions taken on dozens of campuses to alter or eliminate jobs, offices, hiring practices, and programs amid mounting political pressure to end identity-conscious recruitment and retention of minority staff and students.

Investigation

How One University’s Cost Cutting Became Mired in Confusion and Distrust

By Erin Gretzinger, David Jesse August 28, 2024

The data-driven process that consultants purport to offer at places like the U. of North Carolina at Greensboro can be frustratingly subjective, a Chronicle and Assembly investigation finds.

A young asian man poses for a portrait wearing a tee-shirt and colorful shorts.

A Vague Process

The College-Admissions TikToker Who Tried to Crack the Code

By Erin Gretzinger June 28, 2024

Daniel Lim was sure there had to be a reason why some kids get into highly selective colleges and others don’t. His quest to find an answer consumed him.

Northwestern University president Michael Schill testifies during a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing on pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 23, 2024.

Leadership

Yet Another Congressional Hearing Came for Higher Ed. College Presidents Tried to Fight Back.

By Erin Gretzinger May 23, 2024

Lawmakers’ sharpest questions were directed at Northwestern University’s Michael H. Schill, who didn’t take it quietly.

Elijah Kahlenberg (President and Founder of Atidna), left, and Jadd Hashem (Vice-President and Head of Palestinian Dialogue for Atidna), right, moderate an Atidna dialogue session about campus climate surrounding Israel-Palestine at UT-Austin University Teaching Center, April 3, 2024.

Meaningful Conversations

These Arab and Jewish Students Want to Talk About Oct. 7. Their Peers and Colleges Hold Them Back.

By Erin Gretzinger May 22, 2024

A student-founded organization, Atidna International, offers a space to discuss the war in the Middle East. But getting buy-in is an uphill battle.

Pedestrians in the rain walk past an encampment protesting the Israel-Hamas war Thursday May 9, 2024, on Library Mall at the University of Wisconsin - Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. Student protesters around the country have demanded colleges cut financial ties to Israel. The latest demonstrations show growing discontent over their schools’ responses to the war in Gaza. (Mark Hoffman, USA TODAY NETWORK)

A Path Forward

The Anatomy of a University’s Encampment Negotiation

By Erin Gretzinger, Maggie Hicks May 10, 2024

What happened at the University of Wisconsin at Madison reflects the precarious relations between activists and administrators amid a recent surge in unrest related to the Israel-Hamas war.

Signs are displayed in front of Deering Meadow, where an encampment of students are protesting in support of Palestinians, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at Northwestern University campus in Evanston, Illinois, U.S., April 25, 2024.

Campus Protest

Unrest Has Gripped Campuses Across the Country. These 3 Colleges Struck Deals With Their Protesters.

By Erin Gretzinger May 1, 2024

Some observers called the agreements, in which students scaled back or ended encampments in return for concessions, the best route forward, while others described them as a “betrayal.”

illustration of a woman silhouette on a chessboard, with Texas A&M U building

Singled Out

Why Texas A&M’s Lone Black Professor of Nursing Called It Quits

By Erin Gretzinger April 17, 2024

This is what it feels like to be in the cross hairs of the campaign against DEI.

CLAREMONT, CA - Over 200 Pomona College students and students from the other Claremont Colleges, protest and rally for Pomona College to divest from Israel, Israel out of Gaza and over the recent arrest of 20 students last week in front of the Honnold/Mudd library on the Pomona College campus in Claremont on April 11, 2024. Twenty students were arrested for trespassing last week during a sit-in inside Alexander Hall on the Pomona campus. (Genaro Molina, Los Angeles Times, Getty Images)

Tensions Over Gaza

As Pro-Palestinian Activists Turned Up the Heat, This College Hit a Boiling Point

By Erin Gretzinger April 12, 2024

After six months of protests, students marched into the office of Pomona College’s president and demanded divestment from Israel. G. Gabrielle Starr called the police. Now what?

Behind the Scenes

‘We Were Under So Much Pressure’: Inside Wisconsin’s Tumultuous Budget Deal

By Erin Gretzinger March 22, 2024

Exchanges between University of Wisconsin system officials and stakeholders offer an inside look to a compromise that traded staff raises for cuts to DEI positions.