Spokane managing editor named new Knight chair at KU journalism school

LAWRENCE -- Peggy Kuhr, managing editor for content at The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash., is the new Knight Chair in Journalism at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas.

The Knight chair, which focuses on community journalism, is funded by an endowment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. KU received one of the first three Knight chairs in 1990, and John Ginn held that position until his death in 1999.

As Knight chair, Kuhr will be a tenured full professor and will teach classes, conduct research and perform service, especially as it relates to press leadership in communities.

"Peggy Kuhr has the ideal combination of experiences and abilities we were seeking in our new Knight chair," said James K. Gentry, dean of the journalism school. "She has held key leadership positions at a paper that is known nationwide for its commitment to its community. She's also held leadership positions with professional groups and has solid teaching experience."

Kuhr joined The Spokesman-Review in 1986 after working at The Hartford (Conn.) Courant and Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune. In Spokane, Kuhr has been assistant managing editor, city editor and Sunday editor.

A member of the board of directors for Associated Press Managing Editors, Kuhr is program chair for the 2002 APME conference. She is co-chair of the Spokane Bench Bar Press Association and has taught journalism at Gonzaga University in Spokane.

Kuhr is a former president of the Washington AP organization and former president of the Utah-Idaho-Spokane AP Association. She was a regular guest on a local news talk show on KHQ-TV.

She is a graduate of the University of Montana with degrees in French and journalism, and she has done graduate work in France. She was a Michigan journalism fellow and has a master's degree from Gonzaga University in organizational leadership.