Molly Hensley-Clancy Joins ProPublica as Higher Education Reporter

March 4, 2026 - 02:05

ProPublica has announced the hiring of award-winning journalist Molly Hensley-Clancy as a higher education reporter on its national desk. She is set to begin her new role on March 16.

Hensley-Clancy arrives from The Washington Post, where she spent five years as a sports investigations reporter. There, she focused on exposing abuse, sexual misconduct, and violence across professional and youth sports. Her groundbreaking investigation into allegations against coaches in the National Women’s Soccer League earned her the prestigious IRE Award for Sports Investigations in 2022.

Her new beat marks a return to a field where she has already established a significant track record. Prior to her work at The Post, Hensley-Clancy was a reporter at BuzzFeed News covering fraud and misconduct in higher education. Her impactful reporting included exposing a visa mill that fabricated student grades, which contributed to the shutdown of a national college accreditor. She also investigated widespread misconduct by for-profit colleges, reporting that helped fuel the movement for mass student-debt forgiveness for attendees of Everest College and similar institutions.

"Molly brings both expertise in covering higher education and a passion for accountability journalism," said ProPublica Senior Editor Sarah Childress. "I am thrilled to welcome such a gifted reporter to our team."

Hensley-Clancy expressed enthusiasm for her new position, stating, "I’m so excited to be joining such an incredibly accomplished, well-resourced newsroom and for the opportunity to return to the higher education beat at such a critical moment."

A graduate of Yale University, Hensley-Clancy grew up in South Minneapolis. She also covered the 2017 presidential election as a national campaign reporter during her tenure at BuzzFeed News.