Center for Water Policy Director Melissa Scanlan has announced the Center will have a Journalist in Residence for the next two years.
Dan Egan, an environmental journalist and author of the “Death and Life of the Great Lakes,” has been named the Brico Fund Journalist in Residence at the Center for Water Policy in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences.
“Through this position, we’re supporting independent investigative journalism that can shed light on the connections between emerging water science, the impacts of climate disruption, and choices we make about the policies that influence our lives,” Scanlan said.
As a Journalist in Residence, Egan will continue his award-winning work as a freelance journalist and author, using his storytelling ability to translate science and policy into compelling content for a large general audience. Protecting a national treasure, such as the Great Lakes, and our other waterways, requires public awareness and understanding of the complex issues and tremendous pressures we place upon our water resources or the threats facing them. Egan’s new book will dive into one of the most pressing of water contaminant issues: excessive algae fed by phosphorus pollution.
Additionally, he will be working on a newspaper project about the impact of climate change on our waters and cities. Egan will serve as an educational resource for students, helping them to understand water science and policy communication. Egan will also represent the Center for Water Policy when he gives talks at academic, government, and environmental group events throughout the Great Lakes region and beyond.
Dan Egan was a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, covering the Great Lakes from 2002 until 2021. He has twice been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and he has won the Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award, John B. Oakes Award, AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award, and J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. Egan is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Columbia School of Journalism.