Pulitzer Prize winners return to alma mater
By Rebecca Limberg

Pulitzer Prize winners (left to right) Glenn Asakawa, Dave Curtin and Jim Sheeler. (Photo by Glenn Asakawa, University Communications)

To win a Pulitzer Prize for articles or photos about tragedies, sadness or the pain of others leaves recipients with mixed emotions.

"It felt kind of odd to be awarded something when somebody else had suffered so much," said Dave Curtin ('78), the 1990 Pulitzer winner for feature writing. Curtin won for his article in the Colorado Springs Gazette, "Adam and Megan," the story of two children and their family recovering from massive burns.

"It was a very bittersweet accolade," said Glenn Asakawa ('86), part of the Rocky Mountain News team to win the 2000 Pulitzer for photos of the Columbine shootings.

"I don't take joy in celebrating, considering the material."

Jim Sheeler (MA '07) won his 2006 Pulitzer Prize in feature writing for his series "Final Salute." The series followed a casualty notification officer as he told families of their loved ones' deaths. It ran as a 24-page special section in the Rocky Mountain News.

The University of Colorado now employs these three Pulitzer Prize-winners, all School of Journalism and Mass Communication alumni.

Sheeler is a scholar-in-residence at the School. Asakawa is a photographer for the University Communications Department. Curtin is the assistant director of executive communications.

As Curtin stated it, he has returned "to the place that taught (me) the skills in the first place."

With prestigious awards under their belts, all three had different reasons to come back to CU. Curtin was ready for a new challenge.

"I had done everything I wanted to do in print journalism," he said. "It felt like it was time to move on the next chapter of my career."

In the eight years Curtin covered state higher education for The Denver Post, he said he was impressed with CU.

"They always seemed to be so on the ball and forward-looking that it eventually occurred to me, this was the kind of place I wanted to work someday."

Asakawa, who had since moved from the News to The Denver Post, was getting tired of the "run-and-gun" pace of news photography. He said he was more interested in feature photos, and when the job opened at CU, he said to himself, "Let's see what happens." (His work is featured on pages 16 and 17.)

Asakawa said he knew he could do the job based on the criteria and also bring a different approach to the position.

Sheeler took time off from the newsroom to write the book "Final Salute." While he was writing, he taught reporting to News-Editorial undergraduates as an adjunct for the SJMC.

"It was a really important part of writing the book," Sheeler said. "I think that helped fuel me." He asked Dean Paul Voakes for the opportunity to teach full time.

"I was learning as much as a teacher as I was as a reporter in the newsroom," Sheeler said. "I am energized by the students and their stories."