Athens, Ga. – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Cynthia Tucker will be the featured speaker at the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs’ annual Getzen Lecture on Government Accountability March 1 at 3 p.m. at the UGA Chapel. Her lecture, titled “Corporations are People: The Corrosive Influence of Money on Campaigns,” is free and open to the public.
Tucker, a veteran newspaper journalist, was editorial page editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for 17 years, where she led the development of opinion policy. More recently, she was that newspaper’s Washington-based political columnist. A highly regarded commentator on TV and radio news shows, Tucker maintains a syndicated column, which is published in dozens of newspapers around the country. She is a Visiting Professor of Journalism and the Charlayne Hunter-Gault Distinguished Writer-in-Residence in the UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
In 2007, Tucker won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. She has received numerous other awards, including Journalist of the Year from the National Association of Black Journalists.
“Cynthia Tucker is a highly acclaimed journalist who has reported major events and commented on important public policy issues,” said Thomas P. Lauth, Dean of the UGA School of Public and International Affairs. “We are honored to have her as this year’s Getzen lecturer.”
The Getzen Lecture on Government Accountability in the UGA School of Public and International Affairs is made possible by UGA alumni Katherine Getzen Willoughby (Ph.D. ’91) and Dan Hall Willoughby Jr. (J.D. ’86) in honor of her parents, Evangeline Sferes Getzen and Forrest William Getzen, lifelong advocates of public service and education.
The lecture is co-hosted by SPIA and the department of public administration policy.