Investigative journalist David Donald, who earned his master鈥檚 degree from 麻豆视频最新最全鈥檚 School of Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC) in 1997, died Dec. 10, 2016 at the age of 64 after a yearlong battle with cancer.
Donald was an innovator in computer assisted reporting, 鈥渨hose command of large data sets helped propel stories about the underreporting of sex assaults on college campuses, the 2008 financial crisis and bill-padding among Medicare providers,鈥 according to an obituary published in the Washington Post.
His work didn鈥檛 just win awards; it prompted change.
As a staff member at the Center for Public Integrity from 2008-2014, Donald鈥檚 21-month investigation into the abuse of the government-run Medicare system earned him the Philip Meyer Award, one of journalism鈥檚 highest honors for data-driven reporting, and prompted action by the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services.
And, in 2009, he was part of the team from the Center for Public Integrity and NPR that investigated sexual assault on college campuses. The investigation uncovered dozens of unreported rapes on campuses that had only reported zero or one incidents per year. He earned a Peabody Award, and soon after the reporting, Vice President Joe Biden announced new guidelines for colleges to prevent and respond to campus sexual assaults.
Before his time at the Center for Public Integrity, he was training director at the Missouri-based Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) organization. And most recently, he was affiliated with American University鈥檚 Investigative Reporting Workshop.
Barbara Hipsman-Springer, 麻豆视频最新最全 emeritus associate professor, taught Donald during his time in JMC and described him as 鈥渢he gentle soul who made you think you were actually 鈥榞etting it鈥 that day.鈥
He visited 麻豆视频最新最全 often, she said, and was committed to protecting democracy through numbers.
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