Julie Pace of The Associated Press to address Medill 2026 Convocation

Decades of reporting experience will guide Pace’s message to graduates

EVANSTON, ILL. -- Julie Pace (BSJ04), senior vice president and executive editor of The Associated Press, will speak to 2026 graduates and their families as the convocation speaker for the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.

“We are privileged to have Julie share her wisdom and advice with the Class of 2026,” said Dean Charles Whitaker. “At this pivotal moment in journalism, Julie’s perspective as the leader of one of the world’s most prominent news organizations will give Medill graduates both an honest and inspirational start to their careers.”

Under Pace’s guidance since 2021, the AP has significantly expanded its digital news and increased its incorporation of AI technologies, leading to the growth of AP’s direct to consumer platforms, which are among the fastest growing in the U.S.

During her tenure, the AP has been awarded four Pulitzer Prizes and produced an award-winning documentary on the Ukraine war that won an Academy Award and a BAFTA.

Pace previously worked as a reporter at South Africa’s only independent television network, and covered politics and elections at the Tampa Tribune and its partner television station WFLA.

Joining AP in 2007 as a multimedia reporter, Pace developed and executed AP’s plans for live video coverage of the 2008 Election Day and President Barack Obama’s inauguration.

Pace then took on the role of AP’s White House Correspondent where she won the White House Correspondents’ Association Merriman Smith award in 2013 for her work explaining the Obama campaign’s complex approach to voter turnout.

Pace was the Washington Bureau Chief for AP during President Donald Trump’s first term in office before assuming her current role. There, she directed the news organization’s coverage of the presidency, politics and the U.S. government.

Student speakers

Shravya Pant (BSJ26)
Shravya Pant is a journalism major and global health studies minor. Pant participated in the Medill on the Hill program, where she covered the health policy beat. She was a print managing editor, section editor, multimedia editor, and writer for nuAZN. She will begin medical school at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine this fall, bridging her passions for patient care and health journalism toward a career as a physician-writer.

Noah Matthew Robinson (MSJ26)
Noah Matthew Robinson is a documentary journalist, filmmaker, writer, director and sports storyteller whose work reflects the curiosity, discipline and cultural intelligence of a new generation of media makers. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree at age 20, Robinson later studied screenwriting through UCLA’s professional writing program. He is the co-founder of NOMA, a production company and is currently making his feature directorial debut with Redline, a cinematic Formula One documentary. A SAG member, on-air talent, writer, producer, and filmmaker, Robinson represents the future of journalism and storytelling: thoughtful, fearless, visually alive, and deeply connected to culture in motion.