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STUDENT-CATEGORY

• "Million-Dollar Bust" The Daily Toreador, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
  Ioanna Makris, April Cunningham, Caroline Courtney

Judges’ Comments: Three student reporters took on powerful Texas Tech University alumni over a sweetheart deal to build and then lease back to the university a parking garage that wasn’t needed. Their investigation probably saved the university $1 million. The student reporters got the state’s attorney general involved in forcing documents to be released under the Texas Public Information Act. They also used emails, tax records and other documents to show the cozy relationship between members of the same fraternity who built an unnecessary private parking garage and then leased it back under a contract that put the burden of renting the spaces on Texas Tech and its alumni association. The students showed great initiative and stood their ground in the face of public criticism of their reporting. For using that criticism to dig even deeper, IRE honors The Daily Toreador and its student journalists.

2011 IRE Award winners

Honoring the best in investigative journalism

The annual IRE Awards recognize outstanding investigative work and help identify the techniques and resources used to complete each story. Entries are placed in the IRE Resource Center, allowing members to learn from each other. The IRE Awards were established in 1979. Winners from other years can be found on the winners page.

This year's awards will be presented at the 2012 IRE Conference in Boston. Read IRE's press release about this year's awards.

IRE MEDALS

The highest honor IRE can bestow for investigative reporting is the IRE Medal.