HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

Photo: Courtesy of Yukari Iwatani Kane

REPORTING THE INSIDE STORY

Shortly after she began teaching at the University of California, Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism in 2015, Yukari Iwatani Kane (SFS’95) received an email from a friend asking if she would be interested in serving as a journalism instructor at nearby San Quentin State Prison. A veteran journalist, Kane had covered business and technology for Reuters and The Wall Street Journal, and published the bestseller Haunted Empire: Apple After Steve Jobs in 2014. Although unfamiliar with the criminal justice system, Kane said yes to the opportunity to work with San Quentin’s inmates, who produce the country’s only prisoner-run newspaper. “From the first day, my perspective was upended—the talent and the drive of the men inside, the breadth and depth of their stories,” she says. “As a journalist, there was so much I wanted to write about. But it was very quickly apparent to me that these were not my stories to tell.” Seeking to empower and amplify the voices of incarcerated men and women, Kane co-founded the nonprofit Prison Journalism Project (PJP) in 2019 with colleague Shaheen Pasha.

“Our goal is to create a national network of prison correspondents, training them in the tools of journalism so they can do this work credibly and with authority,” says Kane, who currently serves as PJP’s co-executive director. PJP launched an online publication in Spring 2020, publishing approximately 1,500 pieces to date. Recent examples include a news article on a gang prevention summit at a Florida prison, and an essay from a California inmate on “The Long Walk Home”—serving a life sentence without parole. Other initiatives include a pilot journalism school and a print newspaper, PJP x Inside, that provides instructional tips for incarcerated writers. The organization shares its educational resources with other media outlets, recently developing a toolkit for newsrooms, the Prison Journalism Navigator. As PJP continues to grow, one of Kane’s highest priorities is building a duty-of-care program. “It’s our obligation to look at everything we’re doing to protect the emotional, legal, and physical safety of our writers.” Working in a far different environment than the newsroom of The Wall Street Journal, Kane has found herself looking anew at her profession. “What is the intent of journalism? What journalism rules are hard and fast, and what can we rethink? Those are the conversations we have every day. It’s why I love this work so much.” • —Sara Piccini

Photo: Washington College

A WINDING PATH FROM JAZZ TO UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT

As a student at Georgetown, Michael Sosulski (SLL’87) had two passions: German and jazz. While studying abroad in Tübingen, Germany, Sosulski—a tenor saxophonist—formed a jazz band with fellow musicians. When they weren’t studying, the group traveled throughout southwestern Germany playing professional gigs. The experience inspired Sosulski to become a performer. After graduating from Georgetown, he enrolled at the renowned Berklee College of Music. After his first year, however, Sosulski felt called in a different direction. “I learned a ton about myself in that year, including that I was not cut out to be a professional musician,” says Sosulski. “Sometimes in life you try things, and they don’t work out. That’s just as valuable [a lesson] as the things that do work out.” Sosulski decided to follow in the footsteps of two of his favorite Georgetown professors: Heidi Byrnes (G’79, Parent), George M. Roth Distinguished Professor of German Emerita, and Rev. G. Ronald Murphy, S.J., also emeritus faculty. Their support and guidance set him on the path to a distinguished career as a German professor and higher education administrator. This fall, Sosulski will be inaugurated as the 31st President of Washington College, a small, private liberal arts institution located in Chestertown, Maryland. Established with a donation of 50 guineas by George Washington in 1782, Washington College was the first American college founded after the new republic was formed. “Georgetown has been with me every step of the way,” says Sosulski, who also earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Germanic Studies from the University of Chicago. “Father Murphy was a nurturing teacher and professor. And Dr. Byrnes modeled how to be a powerful researcher and a great teacher. She has continued as a mentor throughout my career.” Before taking the helm at Washington College, Sosulski was provost at Wofford College in South Carolina. He also held faculty and administrative roles at Kalamazoo College and Pacific Lutheran University. Sosulski is driven by the “deep and abiding belief in the value of a liberal arts education.”

“The liberal arts approach is the best model I’ve experienced for developing deep, critical thinkers—people who understand how to evaluate complicated, thorny problems from multiple perspectives, not just one,” says Sosulski, who is married to Corinne P. Crane (G’08), an associate professor of German at the University of Alabama. “Institutions like Georgetown that remain liberal arts institutions at their center prepare graduates to face society’s rapidly changing landscape and complex challenges.” • —Karen Doss Bowman