The Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting (MCIR) has found a new home on the campus of Millsaps College.
The MCIR was founded by Jerry Mitchell in 2018 as a nonprofit news organization that seeks to “expose corruption, malfeasance and injustices, investigate cold cases, empower citizens, and raise up the next generation of investigative reporters.” Mitchell is well-known as an investigative reporter, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and winner of a MacArthur Foundation Genius Award. His stories have helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars. His stories have also exposed injustices and corruption, prompting investigations, state reforms, and the firings of boards and officials.
“This partnership with Jerry Mitchell and the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting is an amazing opportunity for Millsaps and our students,” said Dr. Robert W. Pearigen, president of Millsaps. “We are pleased to have the Center on campus, and our students will benefit from the chance to work with one of the finest journalists in the nation, as well as others who come in to teach and further support the work of the Center.”
As part of their agreement with Millsaps, the MCIR will provide teaching fellows for a journalism course in the College’s communications studies program. The partnership is another means by which the College stresses experiential learning and offers students opportunities for real-world research and work beyond the classroom.
“The students are incredible and already doing a great job,” Mitchell said. “They’re investigating a cold case, and researching and writing about juveniles who have been sentenced to life without parole.”
More information about the MCIR is available at www.mississippicir.org.