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Veteran reporter named to Snedden Endowed Chair of Journalism

The Â鶹¹ÙÍø Fairbanks Department of Science and Environmental Journalism has named Paula Dobbyn to the Snedden Endowed Chair of Journalism for the 2024-2027 term.

Dobbyn, an award-winning journalist with more than three decades of experience, brings a wealth of expertise in print, broadcast and digital media. Most recently, she was part of the Honolulu Civil Beat team recognized as Pulitzer Prize finalists for breaking news coverage of the 2023 Lahaina wildfire in Maui.

A longtime Alaskan, Dobbyn has worked for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska’s News Source television in Anchorage and KTOO public media in Juneau. She began her career covering conflict in Central America as a freelance journalist and also worked in public broadcast media in Washington, D.C., and Boston before coming to Alaska.

This spring, Dobbyn is teaching two classes — Media and Culture, and Public Relations and Public Information in the Sciences — offering students practical insights into the evolving media landscape and effective communication strategies.

Her appointment advances the mission of the recently restructured UAF Department of Science and Environmental Journalism. The department prepares students for careers in media with an emphasis in science, including websites, newspapers, magazines, radio and television, and in other fields such as public relations, education and filmmaking.

The Snedden Endowed Chair of Journalism, made possible by a donation from the late Helen Snedden in memory of her husband, Charles Willis "Bill" Snedden, funds a revolving faculty position for distinguished journalists in the UAF department. The endowment also sponsors an annual lecture that has brought 13 Pulitzer Prize winners to UAF.

For more information about the Snedden chair, the new program or how to register for classes, contact the UAF Department of Science and Environmental Journalism at uaf-journalism@alaska.edu.

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