Edgar May

Edgar May (BSJ57) was a member of the inaugural class of the Medill Hall of Achievement in 1997.

May found success in journalism, politics and public service. He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a Vermont state senator, and chief operating officer of Special Olympics.

Prior to joining Special Olympics, May served in the Vermont Senate from 1983 to 1991. From 1985 to 1991, he served in Vermont's House of Representatives and as chairman for its Committee on Health and Welfare. After leaving office, May directed a judicial management study for the Vermont Supreme Court.

Before taking office, he had stints as special adviser to the U.S. ambassador to France, inspector general for the federal Office of Economic Opportunity and deputy director for the domestic peace corps (VISTA).

He also worked as a reporter for the Buffalo Evening News, the Chicago Tribune, the Fitchburg Sentinel and the Springfield Reporter. He won the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting in 1961.

According to the Pulitzer citation, his winning series was published in the Buffalo News was about “New York State's public welfare services entitled, "Our Costly Dilemma," based in part on his three-month employment as a State caseworker. The series brought about reforms that attracted nation-wide attention.”

Throughout his career, May was a member of several boards including vice president of the American Public Welfare Association, trustee for the University of Vermont, and director of the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation.
He is the author of "The Wasted Americans" and "Dealing with Drug Abuse."

May died in 2012.