Longtime columnist for the IndyStar and IU graduate, Matthew Tully died Monday evening at the age of 49 after a two year battle with stomach cancer, according to the IndyStar.
Tully graduated from IU in 1992. He went on to cover the U.S. Senate for five years in Washington, D.C., and in 2002, Tully moved to Indianapolis to work as a reporter and columnist for the IndyStar.
One of Tully’s most notable career highlights was his 2009 reporting on students and faculty at Manual High School, a struggling Indianapolis public school.
Tully’s columns on Manual High School sparked the attention of the Indianapolis community, causing readers to send in almost $100,000 in donations. This helped the newspaper begin what is now known as Our Children, a 10 year initiative that helps fund charity organizations specifically for youth.
Tully was also named Indiana Journalist of the Year in 2008 and won the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism in 2010. Tully also wrote a book about Manual High School called “Searching for Hope: Life at a Failing School in the Heart of America.”
Tully is survived by his wife Valerie and 7-year-old son Reid.
