Sarah Brown

Sarah Brown joined The Chronicle of Higher Education in 2015. As of 2022, she is the news editor, leading daily-coverage decisions and overseeing the reporting internship program.

In more than six years as a reporter, Sarah wrote about Title IX and colleges’ handling of sexual assault and harassment, whether higher ed is really committed to racial equity, and how mental-health struggles are derailing students, academically and otherwise. In addition to campus culture, she covered enrollment challenges, financial turmoil, leadership controversies, and the connection between education and health.

Sarah’s bylines have appeared in The New York Times and other newspapers, and she makes regular broadcast-media appearances for The Chronicle, including on C-SPAN, St. Louis Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Radio, WBUR (Boston), and KUOW (Seattle).

Sarah studied journalism and political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but she likes to say that she really graduated from The Daily Tar Heel, where she was a reporter and editor all four years.

Stories by This Author

Minouche Shafik, president of Columbia University, testifies during the House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing titled "Columbia in Crisis: Columbia University's Response to Antisemitism," in Rayburn building on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

A Lightning Rod

Columbia’s President, Whose Response to Protests Ignited Encampments Nationwide, Resigns Suddenly

By Sarah Brown, Andy Thomason August 14, 2024

Nemat (Minouche) Shafik’s controversial presidency ended quickly and unexpectedly on Wednesday.

illustration of many people getting their news on devices

Daily Briefing

Daily Briefing: A solution for students in crisis

George Mason is under congressional scrutiny. A small Pennsylvania college will close. Academic wardrobes spark debate; and more.

Political Scuffle

A University Title IX Official Is Suspended After Saying He’d Comply With Title IX

By Sarah Brown May 17, 2024

The action by the Texas A&M University system underscores an escalating conflict over the federal law, which governs how colleges handle complaints of sexual harassment and other sex-based discrimination.

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Chair Catherine Lhamon addresses a post-midterm election meeting of Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network in the Kennedy Caucus Room at the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill November 13, 2018 in Washington, DC.

Policy Overhaul

Colleges, the Title IX Changes Are Finally Here. What’s in Them?

By Kate Hidalgo Bellows, Sarah Brown April 19, 2024

After a long delay, the Biden administration has finalized new regulations for handling campus investigations of sexual assault and harassment.

President of Columbia University Nemat “Minouche” Shafik (L), and David Schizer (R), Dean Emeritus and Harvey R. Miller Professor of Law & Economics, testify before the House Committee on Education & the Workforce at Rayburn House Office Building on April 17, 2024 in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on “Columbia in Crisis: Columbia University’s Response to Antisemitism.”

On the Hot Seat

How Faculty Discipline Played a Key Role in the Congressional Hearing on Columbia U.

By Sarah Brown, Sonel Cutler, Alecia Taylor April 17, 2024

In the hearing, on Columbia’s response to alleged antisemitism and pro-Palestinian protests, lawmakers asked its president whether professors would be punished for comments on the war.

A police officer walks under crime scene tape in the aftermath of a shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Las Vegas. (John Locher, AP)

Campus Tragedy

3 Faculty Members at U. of Nevada at Las Vegas Are Shot and Killed

By Sarah Brown December 7, 2023

The alleged gunman, who was shot dead by campus police officers, was a former professor at East Carolina University and had applied for a job at UNLV.

Legal Jeopardy

2 Former Students Face Defamation Lawsuits for Talking About Sexual Assault

By Sarah Brown August 17, 2023

In one case, a former vice president for student affairs at St. Norbert College alleged that a recent graduate had made false statements accusing him of silencing sexual-assault victims.

Campus Health

How Are Colleges Planning to Manage Covid This Fall?

By Sarah Brown August 11, 2023

A survey by the American College Health Association says a majority of respondents are recommending that students be vaccinated, even as the federal public-health emergency has ended.

Supporters of student debt forgiveness demonstrate outside the US Supreme Court on June 30, 2023, in Washington, DC. The US Supreme Court dealt President Joe Biden a significant political setback Tuesday when it overruled his key program to cancel the student debt of millions of Americans. The court said Biden had overstepped his powers in cancelling more than $400 billion in debt, in an effort to alleviate the financial burden of education that hangs over many Americans decades after they finished their studies. (Olivier Douliery, AFP, Getty Images)

Debt Relief Denied

U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Student-Loan Cancellation for Millions of Borrowers

By Sarah Brown, Helen Huiskes, Zachary Schermele June 30, 2023

The plan, which had been a priority for President Biden, would have forgiven up to $20,000 in student debt.

Members of the Asian American Coalition for Education and the DC chapter of the Asian American Political Action Committee celebrates the US Supreme Court ruling that universities may not consider race in admissions, effectively ending affirmative action. The pair of cases brought by Students for Fair Admissions against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) claim that race was the deciding factor in rejecting their applications for admission.

Breaking News

U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Race-Conscious Admissions Nationwide

By Andy Thomason, Sarah Brown June 29, 2023

The conservative majority declared the practice discriminatory and illegal, effectively forcing colleges to stop using race as a factor in admissions.