Peter Annin, an award-winning Great Lakes author and environmental journalist, has been named managing director of the University of Notre Dame’s Environmental Change Initiative.
The Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative (ND-ECI) is a key branch of the University’s Strategic Research Investment (SRI) program that has allocated $80 million of Notre Dame’s own money to advance the scope, excellence and visibility of the University’s research enterprise.
ND-ECI will tackle the interrelated problems of invasive species, land use and climate change, focusing on their synergistic impacts on water resources. As managing director of ND-ECI, Annin will function as its chief operating officer and assist Professor David Lodge, ND-ECI’s director, in developing and implementing the Initiative’s intellectual and programmatic vision.
“We are thrilled that Peter Annin has chosen to join the Environmental Change Initiative,” Lodge said. “His expertise will greatly assist us in working with the private sector, government and NGOs to solve environmental problems in the Great Lakes region and beyond.”
For the last 11 years, Annin served as associate director of the Institutes for Journalism and Natural Resources (IJNR), a national nonprofit devoted to helping mid-career environmental journalists improve their coverage of natural resource issues. During his tenure at IJNR, Annin helped mentor hundreds of journalists in their coverage of complex environmental topics such as climate change, invasive species, endangered species, restoration ecology, land use and water resource policy.
In 2006, Annin authored “The Great Lakes Water Wars,” an award-winning book that addresses water tensions in the Great Lakes Region, North America and throughout the world.
Prior to joining IJNR, Annin was a correspondent for Newsweek, covering stories ranging from the Oklahoma City bombing and other domestic terrorism incidents to environmental stories about the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds.
Contact: David Lodge, 574-631-2849, dlodge@nd.edu