Published on February 22, 2016 by Betsy Emmons and Asia Burns  
Journalist Brad Schrade
Journalist Brad Schrade

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Brad Schrade will  speak at the 2016 Timothy Sumner Robinson Forum on March 1 at Samford University. The event, sponsored by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication in affiliation with the Timothy Sumner Robinson Forum series, will be held on campus in 134 Brooks Hall at 7 p.m.

Schrade, an investigative reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was part of a media team that conducted a sweeping analysis of police shootings in Georgia that led to pledges of reforms. Previously, he worked as an investigative reporter at the Minneapolis Star Tribune and was part of a team awarded the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting for an investigative reporting series about daycare deaths.

Schrade will speak on the role of investigative journalism in society and its uses as an instrument for social  justice, as well as reflect on the ethical responsibilities of journalism in the modern era.

The Robinson Forum was established in honor of Samford journalism alumnus Timothy Sumner Robinson. This recurring lecture series brings leading voices in journalism to Samford’s campus. Robinson was a seasoned and creative media executive with experience in many industry-leading companies, both online and print-based. He led a distinguished career as an editor, columnist and reporter with The Washington Post and also served as editor-in-chief of the National Law Journal. He died in 2003 at the age of 58. Previous Robinson Forum speakers have included USA Today founding editor Gene Policinski, and David Broder and Eugene Robinson, both from The Washington Post.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.