Joseph B. Treaster

Joseph B. Treaster is a Professor at the University of Miami’s School of Communication, Department of Journalism. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses and serves as editor of onewater.org, the university’s environmental magazine focused on the global water crisis. His work emphasizes cross-cultural communication, with contributions from writers in over 48 countries.

• Bachelor of Arts from the University of Miami
• Master of Science from Columbia University
• Studied French at the Sorbonne and Spanish in Guatemala

His research interests include environmental journalism, hurricane reporting, and international drug trafficking. He has reported on wars, politics, and disasters globally for The New York Times and major magazines like Atlantic Monthly and Rolling Stone. Treaster’s work on hurricanes, including his book Hurricane Force, stems from his insurance industry reporting. He also authored Paul Volcker: The Making of a Financial Legend and co-wrote about the Iran hostage crisis.

As a journalist, he received over a dozen awards, including three from the Overseas Press Club. He has held visiting fellowships at Yale and Princeton, taught internationally in China, South Korea, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, and the UAE, and coordinated the New York Times’ hurricane blog Eye of the Storm. Treaster’s career spans 30 years at The New York Times, covering six continents.