Lori Shontz teaches reporting, writing and sports journalism at the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon. Her research interests include journalism education and engagement between journalists and the communities they cover, which includes her work on coverage of a 2015 mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. She also co-founded Writing Central, a peer writing support program for communications students.
She previously spent more than two decades in the newsroom, specializing in sports, women’s issues and higher education for The Miami Herald, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Penn Stater alumni magazine. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Penn State University and also earned an M.Ed. in adult education with a focus on professional development in journalism.