What I Cover
As a senior writer for The Chronicle, I cover a wide range of topics, including campus diversity, student life, college completion, and campus activism.
Over nearly four decades with The Chronicle, I’ve also written extensively about free-speech concerns, sexual harassment, developmental education, and colleges’ enrollment challenges. I’ve been a regular contributor to our DEI Legislation Tracker and written breaking news and in-depth enterprise stories, often with a focus on minority-serving institutions and community colleges.
I’m particularly drawn to stories about underserved students and overlooked colleges, and always eager to bring a nuanced and balanced perspective to the most pressing issues facing higher education today.
My Background
I joined The Chronicle in 1987 as a general-assignment reporter in our Washington, D.C., headquarters. The following year, I moved to Austin, where I spent three decades writing for The Chronicle as a national correspondent, covering a wide array of topics shaping higher education. Since 2019, I’ve been a senior writer, living and working from a small town outside Seattle.
Earlier in my career, I covered crime and criminal courts for The Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, and was a reporter and world-desk editor for the Associated Press in Montpelier, Vt., and New York City.
In addition to my reporting, I am a frequent speaker and moderator at conferences and virtual events, engaging audiences on issues such as diversity challenges, student success, and campus activism.
A graduate of Williams College with a bachelor’s degree in French, I also spent a year studying at the University of Paris. Coming from a family of college professors, I initially envisioned a career in teaching. However, a high-school internship at a local newspaper ignited my passion for journalism. The adrenaline rush of working on a daily paper proved irresistible, setting me on a path through dailies, weeklies, and the AP before returning to my higher education roots at The Chronicle.
Connect
I welcome story ideas and feedback at katie.mangan@chronicle.com. I’m also on Bluesky and LinkedIn.
For sensitive communications, feel free to reach out to me on Signal at katiemangan.16
