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Megan Zahneis

Senior Reporter

Megan Zahneis is a senior reporter who covers faculty and the academic workplace.

She was an editorial intern at The Chronicle in 2018 and received the David W. Miller Award for Young Journalists for her work in that capacity before returning to The Chronicle full time in 2019. A graduate of Miami University with degrees in journalism and interactive-media studies, Zahneis previously worked as a correspondent for MLB.com.

Highlights

Photo illustration of a classroom blackboard with a dollar sign drawn in chalk
'The Last Stand'
The Rise of the Faculty Budget Activists
By Megan Zahneis February 26, 2024
Illustration of paper birds made from diversity statements in various stages of flight.
'The tenor of the times'
Diversity Statements Were All the Rage. Now They’re in Danger.
By Megan Zahneis September 9, 2024

Recent stories

Vector illustration of two hands protruding from suit sleeves holding money that is split unevenly down the middle
Data
See How Faculty Pay Varies by Discipline. How Does Yours Stack Up?
By Brian O’Leary, Megan Zahneis May 23, 2025
No field kept up with inflation, but some are faring better than others.
Colin Holbrook
Q&A
‘I Didn’t Want to Make a Scene’: A Professor Recounts the Conversation That Got Him Ejected From Commencement
By Megan Zahneis May 21, 2025
Colin Holbrook says he approached the University of California system president about pro-Palestinian protests.
Vector based illustration of The PhD Project logo in a petri dish under a microscope lens.
'Now deemed illegal'
How a Decades-Old Diversity Program Became Collateral Damage in Trump’s Anti-DEI Crusade
By Megan Zahneis May 7, 2025
The PhD Project once had “no enemies.” Now, it’s lost nearly a third of its university partners.
Scientists, researchers, clinicians, and their supporters gathered outside the United States Department of Health and Human Services in February to protest funding cuts to research.
Research hurdles
Trump Halts Grants, Caps Indirect Costs at the National Science Foundation
By Megan Zahneis May 2, 2025
No reason was given for the freeze, which is said to last “until further notice.”
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Deep Divides
Harvard Reports on Antisemitism and Islamophobia Offer Stark Findings, Divergent Solutions
By Kate Hidalgo Bellows, Megan Zahneis, Francie Diep April 29, 2025
Education Department homes in on descriptions of hostile climate for Jews.
Vecotr illustration of several shields with red swords arranged in groups of five on each in the score/tally style
'A United Front'
More and More Faculty Groups Want Their Colleges to Stand Together Against Trump
By Megan Zahneis April 28, 2025
They want to sign on to mutual-defense compacts, based on the idea that “the preservation of one institution’s integrity is the concern of all.”
Vector illustration of a magnet shaped like a collegiate-looking U attracting swords and shields
Leadership
More Than 200 Higher-Ed Leaders Decry Trump Administration’s ‘Unprecedented Government Overreach’
By Megan Zahneis April 22, 2025
The statement marks college presidents’ largest collective rebuke of the White House’s actions to date.
Protest signs lay in a pile before a large crowd of academic workers, staff, faculty, and community supporters gathers for a rally organized by the UAW Local 4121 to oppose Trump administration funding cuts to the National Institute of Health on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington, USA, on Wed., Feb. 19, 2025. The Trump administration, through Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has proposed cuts to the NIH which opponents argue would put a stop to medical research around the country. Speakers at the event spoke about colleagues who had lost jobs already because of cuts and threats to the progress of their research.
Science Funding Axed
The Trump Administration Has Canceled Millions in NSF Grants
By Megan Zahneis April 21, 2025
Projects related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and misinformation and disinformation were cut “to protect the interests of the government,” the agency said.
Cambridge, MA - May 23: Interim president of Harvard University, Alan Garber, arrives for a photo with honorees before the 373rd Commencement at Harvard University.
'Unmoored From the Law'
As Trump Freezes Billions in Funding, Harvard Steels Itself for a Fight
By Megan Zahneis, Sarah Brown, Kate Hidalgo Bellows April 14, 2025
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.
Vector illustration of a shield emblazoned with the logos for Indiana University, Nebraska, Rutgers and UMass-Amherst.
A United Front
These Faculty Senates Are Trying to Band Together to Stand Up to Trump
By Megan Zahneis April 14, 2025
The idea of a compact among institutions is based on the idea that there’s strength in numbers, and it comes amid frustration that few presidents are speaking out against the administration’s actions against the sector.
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