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Kate Hidalgo Bellows, staff writer for the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Kate Hidalgo Bellows

Staff Reporter

What I Cover

I primarily write about today’s college students and campus culture. I have my finger on the pulse of student protest movements and free-speech debates. Regular conversations with administrators and faculty members yield trend-spotting stories on student conduct, LGBTQ inclusion, student success, and residential life.

I also cover issues of campus health and safety, like substance use, hazing, violence, and mental illness. I am drawn to stories that examine colleges’ obligations to protect their students and employees against threats to their emotional and physical safety and the conflicts that result when there is disagreement over what qualifies as harm. When students or employees accuse their institutions of failing to keep them safe, I ask questions.

My Background

Prior to starting at The Chronicle as a fellow in 2021, I spent a year in the beautiful Lowcountry region of South Carolina covering workforce and housing issues for The Island Packet. My investigation of living conditions at Hilton Head Island’s only public-housing complex won a first-place award from the South Carolina Press Association in the enterprise-reporting category.

I studied English and political philosophy at the University of Virginia, where I wrote for The Cavalier Daily and served as a resident adviser. I am a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Education Writers Association, and I have talked about my higher-ed coverage on National Public Radio affiliates across the country. I live in Washington, D.C.

Connect

The best way to reach me is via email: kate.hidalgobellows@chronicle.com. I am also available on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and Twitter.

Recent Stories

Leadership
By Kate Hidalgo Bellows May 7, 2025
Wednesday’s congressional hearing marked yet another expansion of efforts to put higher ed under pressure.
'Beyond the Ivy League'
By Kate Hidalgo Bellows May 6, 2025
A Wednesday hearing on campus antisemitism will feature the leaders of Haverford College, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, and DePaul University — a sign that Republican lawmakers are widening their scrutiny of higher education.
Deep Divides
Education Department homes in on descriptions of hostile climate for Jews.
'Free speech goes one way'
By Kate Hidalgo Bellows April 18, 2025
Some students and lawyers say a new campus bureaucracy enforcing Title VI is doling out unfair punishments and quashing pro-Palestinian views.
'Unmoored From the Law'
President Alan M. Garber said on Monday that he would not comply with demands from Trump’s antisemitism task force, which quickly responded by pausing dozens of grants and contracts.
Policy Parallels?
By Kate Hidalgo Bellows April 1, 2025
Several of its policy changes were similar to those announced by Columbia University in response to demands from the federal government.
Legal Challenge
By Kate Hidalgo Bellows March 25, 2025
Immigration authorities have recently taken into custody several visa holders and legal permanent residents who were involved in pro-Palestinian campus activism.
Title VI
By Kate Hidalgo Bellows March 21, 2025
The possibility became more real on Friday, when Columbia University agreed to make changes in response to a letter from the Trump administration.
'An Assault on Academic Freedom'
By Kate Hidalgo Bellows March 14, 2025
A Trump-administration letter calls for tighter disciplinary measures over protests and antisemitism before negotiations on the planned cancellation of $400 million in federal funds can progress.
Title IX
By Kate Hidalgo Bellows March 11, 2025
The freeze, which affects the institution’s grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, comes after Columbia University had $400 million of its federal contracts canceled on Friday.