Four UC alumni win 2026 Pulitzers

The University of California said on May 14 that four alumni won 2026 Pulitzer Prizes in journalism, with three from UC Berkeley’s journalism school and one from UC Santa Barbara. The prizes had been announced by the Pulitzer Prize Board on May 4 at Columbia University in New York. The winners were recognized in breaking news, explanatory, international and local reporting, according to the University of California and the Pulitzer Board. Edhat published a separate report on May 22 highlighting the same four alumni and their campuses. ### Which four UC alumni were named? The University of California identified the winners as Kathleen Hennessey, Susie Neilson, Garance Burke and Tess Kenny. Hennessey, Neilson and Burke are UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism alumni, while Kenny is a UC Santa Barbara alumna, the university said. (universityofcalifornia.edu) Kathleen Hennessey is editor and senior vice president of the Minnesota Star Tribune. Susie Neilson is a reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle. Garance Burke is a global investigative journalist at The Associated Press. Tess Kenny was listed by the University of California as the fourth alumna among the 2026 winners. (universityofcalifornia.edu) ### What did each of them win for? The Pulitzer Board awarded the Breaking News Reporting prize to the staff of the Minnesota Star Tribune. The University of California said Hennessey led that newsroom’s coverage of a shooting at a back-to-school Mass at a Catholic school in which two children were killed and 17 people were wounded. The Explanatory Reporting prize went to Susie Neilson, Megan Fan Munce and Sara DiNatale of the San Francisco Chronicle for “Burned.” UC Berkeley Journalism said the series examined how insurers used algorithmic tools that undervalued homes lost to fire, denied claims and made rebuilding harder for Californians. (universityofcalifornia.edu) The International Reporting prize went to Dake Kang, Garance Burke, Byron Tau, Aniruddha Ghosal and contributor Yael Grauer of The Associated Press. (pulitzer.org) UC Berkeley Journalism said the reporting traced surveillance technology created in Silicon Valley, advanced in China and later used by the U.S. Border Patrol. The Local Reporting category had two winners in 2026, according to the Pulitzer Board. (pulitzer.org) The University of California said Tess Kenny was the UC Santa Barbara alumna among the local reporting honorees. ### Why does the local reporting category need a footnote this year? The Pulitzer Board awarded two prizes in Local Reporting in 2026. One went to Dave Altimari and Ginny Monk of The Connecticut Mirror and Sophie Chou and Haru Coryne of ProPublica, and the other went to the staff of the Chicago Tribune after the Board moved the entry from Public Service, according to the official winners list. (pulitzer.org) That matters here because the University of California’s alumni roundup identifies Tess Kenny as the UC Santa Barbara winner tied to local reporting, while the Pulitzer announcement lists the winning organizations and named journalists for one local prize but does not surface every alumnus connection in the short announcement text. (pulitzer.org) ### What do the schools say about the winners? UC Berkeley Journalism said on May 4 that it was honoring three alumni winners and eight additional alumni who were part of winning or finalist teams. Dean Michael D. Bolden said the stories “illuminated facts in dark places and chronicled humanity in the face of brutality.” The University of California said 45 UC faculty members and numerous alumni have won Pulitzers across journalism, books, drama and music. (universityofcalifornia.edu) It described the prize, established in 1917, as being awarded annually by Columbia University on the recommendation of the Pulitzer Prize Board. ### Where can readers check the official record? (journalism.berkeley.edu) The Pulitzer Prize Board posted the 2026 winners and finalists on May 4 and said biographical information and winning work are available in the Prize Winners section of Pulitzer.org. The University of California’s May 14 alumni roundup and Edhat’s May 22 article both point readers back to that official announcement and to campus-specific profiles of the winners. (pulitzer.org) (universityofcalifornia.edu)