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Veteran journalist and author joins UAF as Snedden chair

Neil Shea was ready to leave Brooklyn behind.

“New York City is classified as subtropical now,” he said, laughing. “That’s too warm for me.”

So when a friend told him about the Snedden Endowed Chair of Journalism at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, he didn’t hesitate to apply. He now joins the faculty of one of the university’s newest programs, the Department of Science and Environmental Journalism.

 “I’ve been covering stories in the Arctic for many years, and the Snedden position offered a way to keep doing that while also working with talented students and faculty,” Shea said. “It was an amazing opportunity.”

A National Geographic reporter and writer for more than 20 years, Shea also brings experience in newspapers, film and audio to UAF.

“Neil is a great fit for us,” said Science and Environmental Journalism Department Chair Lynne Snifka. “His multimedia work, along with the time he’s spent in the North, combine to make him a tremendous asset to our major — and to UAF.”

Shea began his career in newspapers and worked for Stars and Stripes during the war in Afghanistan. He’s also a contributing editor for literary magazines and was the creator, writer and host of the investigative podcast “Unfinished: Deep South,” which was nominated for a Peabody Award. His first book, “Frostlines: Dispatches from the New Arctic,” was published in December 2025. Shea spent months in northern and western Alaska for the book, reporting on, among other things, the state’s declining caribou.

Shea holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s in journalism from Boston University.

Shea said he looks forward to continuing his work in the far North over the next three years. He will teach Reporting Science this fall and develop a new writing class for the spring of 2027.

“The science and environmental journalism program is in a unique position,” Shea said. “We’ll be teaching, learning and telling stories from the far North — where the future happens first. There is no more exciting place to be if you want to see and try to make sense of the changes unfolding all around us.”

His partner, filmmaker Taylor Hom, and their three sons will join him in Fairbanks.

MEDIA CONTACT: Lynne Snifka, lmsnifka@alaska.edu, 907-830-3586

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Visit the Snedden Chair website.

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