By Lisa French
Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

(Reprinted from The Cavalier Daily, April 8, 1997)

A former Wahoo is swimming with the big fish now.

Pulitzer Prize officials announced yesterday that 1979 College graduate Michael Vitez will receive the highest award for journalists for a series of articles entitled "Final Choices: Choosing the Good Death," about people coping with the prospect of death.

The Pulitzer Prize Board cited Vitez, 1978-79 Cavalier Daily editor-in-chief, "for a distinguished example of explanatory journalism that illuminates significant and complex issues." Along with the award, Vitez will receive a $5,000 prize.

"I didn't expect to win and I was convinced I wouldn't," said Vitez, who wrote the series for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

He said he spent seven months researching and writing the articles, which portray five different people and their families, each of whom contemplate their final days alive.

"I knew this was the best thing I've ever done," he added. "It had the mixture of being a great feature and really important ... all the right ingredients."

Greg Trevor, Cavalier Daily Alumni Association vice president, commended Vitez.

"It's very exciting to see someone who had an outstanding career at The Cavalier Daily receive the highest accolade bestowed upon a journalist," Trevor said.

Philadelphia Inquirer Deputy Editor Gene Foreman also extended his congratulations.

"We're very proud of Mike," Foreman said. "He's a great reporter."

After Vitez graduated from the University, he worked for the Virginian Pilot Ledger-Star in Norfolk for two yars.

He moved on to the Washington Star in 1980 and then to the Hartford Courant in 1981 before joining The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1985.

But Vitez said he attributes his success mostly to his journalism experience at the University.

"I majored in The Cavalier Daily," he said. "That's where I learned everything."

This was the 81st presentation by Columbia University since it established the Pulitzer Prize Board in 1917.

For more information about the Pulitzer Prize and the full text of Vitez' series, check out the following web site: http://www.pulitzer.org/year/1997/explanatory-journalism/works/