Marisa Kwiatkowski to deliver 2026 Joe Creason Lecture
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 25, 2026) — Journalist and former USA TODAY investigative reporter Marisa Kwiatkowski will deliver the Joe Creason Lecture in Journalism this month.
The lecture, hosted by the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media, is 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, in the Worsham Cinema inside the Gatton Student Center. The event is free and open to the public.
Kwiatkowski is best known for being part of the three-person Indianapolis Star investigative team that broke the story of USA Gymnastics’ handling of child sexual abuse allegations, including those against former team doctor Larry Nassar.
She is currently the director of journalism at the Knight Foundation, a nonprofit and nonpartisan community organization that invests in journalism, the arts and economic opportunity to support a more effective democracy and foster vibrant communities.
Prior to joining the Knight Foundation, Kwiatkowski spent 20 years as a reporter, working for USA TODAY’s national investigative team and local outlets in Michigan, South Carolina and Illinois.
Kwiatkowski has also served in volunteer leadership positions with Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and the Indiana Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. She co-led Women Forward, a Gannett employee resource group of about 550 members, and served as a senior fellow with the University of Southern California Center for Health Journalism’s Impact Fund for Health Equity and Health Systems.
She has earned more than 60 journalism awards, including IRE’s Tom Renner Award, the Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism and the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. Kwiatkowski holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Grand Valley State University and a master’s degree in business administration from Indiana University.
The Joe Creason Lecture in Journalism is an annual lecture delivered by a nationally prominent journalist in a series that honors the memory of Joe Creason, an outstanding Kentucky journalist and an honored UK alumnus. The lecture series was made possible through a matching grant from the Bingham Enterprises Foundation of Kentucky and gifts donated by UK alumni and friends of Joe Creason. The Joe Creason Lecture Series Fund was established in 1975.
For more information, contact Mary Ann Williamson at mawill2@uky.edu or call 859-257-3904.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and healthcare. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $1.02 billion research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.