Aarushi Sahejpal Professorial Lecturer Journalism

Additional Positions at AU: Data Editor, Investigative Reporting Workshop
Degrees: MS Data Science, American University
BS Data Science & International Studies, American University
Favorite Spot on Campus: My office in MCK 112
Bio: Hi! I do a couple things at American University.
In short -- I am a mathematician, data scientist, and journalism professor. I study how to better hold institutions accountable by bringing science, medicine and technology to the public, and then my students and I do it!

(1) I am the Professorial Lecturer in quantitative methods and data journalism at American University's School of Communication, where I oversee data courses in the journalism program.

(2) I am Data Editor in the Investigative Reporting Workshop, the independent, non-profit newsroom within the School of Communication. I oversee everything data and help manage interns, partnerships, and stories.

(2.5) At IRW, I launched and run The Limit Lab, a computational journalism lab that helps newsrooms around the country create datasets about previously ‘data hidden’ populations, and hold institutions accountable.

(3) I am a Data Reporter at The Accountability Project, housed at The Center for Public Integrity -- one of the oldest non-profit newsrooms in the country. I help researchers and reporters access 1.8 billion+ records of public data, that would otherwise be siloed.

I am one of the youngest faculty members in American University history. I am a 2023 Investigative Reporters and Editors NICAR Fellow and was awarded the 2023 OpenNews Scholarship+.

I am an alum of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic, Reveal & The Center for Investigative Reporting, Cisco Systems, Education Week, and a former 3-time intern at the Investigative Reporting Workshop. Our work at the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic was awarded the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Specialized Journalism Site, a Sigma Award for Data Journalism, and a New York University American Journalism Online Award for Best Data Visualization.

I taught myself how to code while working overnight front-desk shifts as a Resident Assistant when I was 19, in undergrad. I then became one of American University's first BS Data Science graduates, where I mostly took graduate courses.

More at aarushisahejpal.com

See Also: Personal Website
For the Media: To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.; AU Experts

Profile Aarushi Sahejpal

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Aarushi Sahejpal Professorial Lecturer Journalism

Teaching

Fall 2024

Spring 2025