Lee Ivory, 2011 Dabney Professor

Lee Ivory, a former USA Today reporter, editor and media executive, is the recipient of the 2011 Virginius Dabney Distinguished Professorship. He’s teaching print and multimedia courses in the School of Mass Communications’ undergraduate and graduate programs during the 2011 spring and fall academic semesters.

In addition to his career with USA Today, Lee served for several years in various positions as an editor for Gannett News Service. As a newsroom reporter, Lee covered presidential elections, the White House, Capitol Hill and high-profile national stories. As publisher and executive editor of USA Today Sports Weekly, Lee managed a multi-million dollar budget, along with public relations and marketing campaigns that included television, radio and print buys. About 10 years ago, Lee was tapped by USA Today Publisher Tom Curley, now head of the Associated Press, to co-chair a committee to explore the diversity breakdown and the culture of the newspaper.

Lee currently runs Ivory Communications, a media consulting firm, and serves as president of the Washington Association of Black Journalists, an affiliate chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Read the story about Lee’s appointment written by VCU Communications and Public Relations.

The Virginius Dabney Distinguished Professorship was established in 1988 through an endowment from Richmond Newspapers and Media General Inc. Virginius Dabney, who died in 1995, was a longtime editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch and won a Pulitzer Prize for his editorials against racial segregation and the poll tax. The professorship offers VCU students, faculty and media professionals the opportunity to interact with and learn from journalists with national prominence.

Former Dabney recipients include James J. Kilpatrick, a columnist, author and former editor of the Richmond News Leader; David Shribman, a Pulitzer-winning reporter at The Boston Globe; and most recently, Leonard Pitts, also a Pulitzer Prize winner who writes columns for The Miami Herald.