The Red & Black won a nationally recognized award for its investigation into sexual harassment scandals at the University in spring 2008.

Investigative Reporters and Editors, a nonprofit organization focusing on quality investigative reporting, gave their yearly award for student journalism to Red & Black reporters.

Reporters Kristen Coulter, Carolyn Crist, Matthew Grayson, Brian Hughes and Melissa Weinman were honored by the organization.

Coulter, a former Red and Black editor in chief, now serves as a part-time news editor. Crist is the newspaper’s present editor in chief, while Hughes is a senior reporter. Weinman has graduated and is a reporter for The Times in Gainesville, Ga., while Grayson is the general manager of The Harbus News Corporation, the Harvard Business School’s student paper.

Coulter, a senior from Alpharetta, said she was excited about receiving the award.

“A bunch of us worked hard on it. It was great to work on a project that really helped the University,” she said.

Coulter was one of the leading reporters for the investigation.

She received a tip by phone for her initial story, which spawned tips for the stories that followed. Reporters filed open records requests with the Office of Legal Affairs to look through documents first and then conduct interviews.

In response to The Red & Black’s harassment series, the University instated anti-harassment training for faculty and created an ombudsperson’s office to deal with harassment issues.

Harry Montevideo, publisher of The Red & Black, said the award is “a testament to the bright and energetic students who choose to work at The Red & Black and then make the most of that opportunity by doing excellent work like this.”

Ed Morales, editorial adviser for the student-run paper, said winning the award places The Red & Black in a whole new league.

“Basically it’s one of the top reporting awards that there is in the country,” he said. “You can look at the list of professionals who have won the award, you’re talking about people like 60 Minutes and the New York Times.”