Alumni Giving Story

ALUMNI GIVING STEVE STECKLOW ‘76

I’ve been an investigative reporter for more years than I care to remember. But one thing I’ll never forget is where I got my start – the DP.

I’d been thinking about a way to give back, and ultimately decided to establish a prize to encourage students to pursue this type of journalism – hard-hitting, deeply reported stories that, ideally, have impact. It turned out that the DP itself was looking to do more of this.

I mentioned the idea in passing to my friend Phil Lentz, who I met long ago when we were both reporters at the Philadelphia Bulletin. To my surprise, Phil, a graduate of Northwestern, immediately said he’d be happy to contribute. “You didn’t even go to Penn,” I said. “It’s journalism,” Phil replied.

I also spoke to John Daniszewski, who I’d met at the DP. Years later, we rekindled our friendship when we were both London-based foreign correspondents and our kids attended the same school. John, too, agreed to participate.

The three of us are proud to have endowed the Stecklow/Lentz/ Daniszewski Prize for Investigative Journalism, which will award $1,000 each year to a DP journalist for outstanding work. I, for one, can’t think of a better way to give back.

Cheers,

Steve Stecklow ‘76

Essential Worker Chef Deborah Day

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