ProPublica reporting fellow Hannah Dreyfus is one of two winners of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Ethics in Journalism Award. Dreyfus was recognized for “The Liberty Way,” which examined Liberty University’s handling of sexual assault on its campus — finding that the evangelical Christian school ignored reports of rape and threatened to punish accusers for breaking its moral code.
Dreyfus unearthed the stunning injustices faced by victims of sexual assault through months of detailed interviews, careful evaluation of corroborating evidence and the methodical collection of photo evidence, school records, medical records and police records.
Stephen Engelberg, editor in chief of ProPublica, said Dreyfus met “the immeasurable challenge” of gaining and maintaining the trust of sources during the fact-checking process. She embraced unpredictability through reporting sensitive and trauma-ridden subjects, as sources considered whether or not to share their stories publicly.
Dreyfus tried to get Liberty to respond to what she was finding, but the university never did. Shortly before the story was scheduled to publish, however, she received a text from Liberty’s former vice president of communications. He had just been fired after encouraging the school to respond to ProPublica and grapple with Liberty’s record on sexual assaults. He described “a conspiracy of silence.”
When Dreyfus’ story was published, three senators called on the U.S. Department of Education to investigate Liberty’s handling of sexual assault claims, citing possible violations of federal law. In April, the department began an investigation into Liberty, whose students received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid. The school pledged its full cooperation with the investigation, while its board voted to open an “independent and comprehensive review” of the school office tasked with handling discrimination and abuse.
