By Brian Shlonsky

On April 5, 2004, Leonard Pitts, Jr. won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary.

On April 12, 2011, UK students, faculty and members of the Lexington community will have the opportunity to hear Pitts deliver the 34th annual Joe Creason Lecture.

For the past 34 years, the School of Journalism and Telecommunications has brought an outstanding journalist to the UK campus to meet and talk with students and deliver a speech on the topic of their choice.

“We try to mix it up as far as the type of people we have in here,” Beth Barnes, director of the School of Journalism and Telecommunications, said. “We’re trying to get people who have a national presence, and the Creason gives us that opportunity to go broader. Leonard Pitts fits that bill.”

According to leonardpittsjr.com, Pitts has written professionally since 1976 when he was an 18-year-old college student doing reviews for the black entertainment tabloid SOUL.

Pitts joined The Miami Herald in 1991, where he writes a syndicated column of commentary on pop culture, social issues and family life.

“One of the things I like about bringing a columnist is they bring a different perspective and are willing to speak a little more specifically sometimes,” Barnes said. “We have a lot of students interested in column writing that would benefit from hearing and meeting him (Pitts).”

According to the Miami Herald, Pitts’ column on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks received such a large response from readers that Pitts received over 26,000 emails in response.

In addition to his column, Pitts is also the author of three books, including “Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood,” “Before I Forget” and “Forward from this Moment,” the latter of which is a collection of his columns.

Barnes said Pitts is a good example of a columnist from a journalism background who is a co-observer of what is going on in America.

“Leonard Pitts is someone who people tend to respond to very strongly, negative or positive, which is important for journalism students to understand,” Barnes said. People are not always going to like what you write.”

The Creason Lecture will begin at 6 p.m. on April 12th in the Worsham Theater in the Student Center. The event is free and open to the public.