Rosina Bierbaum reflects on her tenure as Dean of the School of Natural Resources & Environment (SNRE) and the changing public conversation about sustainability. This message was originally published in the Spring 2011 issue of the SNRE magazine "Stewards."
To Sustainability, and Beyond: Reflections on 10 Years as Dean
A decade ago, I left Washington, D.C., for Ann Arbor. Being SNRE’s dean has been an exhilarating journey. I had been a generator of knowledge as a researcher in the 1980s, then a synthesizer and user of knowledge for Congress and the White House in the 1990s. It was wonderful to come home to academia—to come “full circle,” if you will—to train the next generation of environmental leaders in the 2000s.
On Earth Day 2001, as I contemplated the possibility of joining U-M, I remembered the first Earth Day, in 1970—the day I won my first science fair. How much things had changed since then. Environmental issues had evolved from local to global. It had become well-established that humans were altering the global cycles of water, nitrogen, carbon and sulfur. It was clear that we needed to equip a new generation of environmental problem- solvers with the tools of many disciplines to tackle the increasingly complex environmental issues, and to foresee and forestall as yet unrecognized ones.
The school’s mission statement—“to contribute to the protection of the Earth’s resources and the achieveme nt of a sustainable society”—had me at the word “society.” The statement reflects the linking of people and the environment as part of the problem, and as part of the solution.
SNRE had been ahead of its time in environmental education for a century. Linking policy with forestry, studying ecosystem- scale changes, developing a program in Environmental Justice, integrating social sciences with ecological sciences and designing beautiful and functional landscapes were just a few ways the school had distinguished itself. I wanted to be part of an institution dedicated to a sustainable society and leading the educational and research agendas of the 21st century.
Much has changed in my time at SNRE’s helm. In 2001, discussions of sustainability were not prevalent in D.C. or common in local governments. As a nation, we were not talking seriously about new power grids, Great Lakes water levels, increased frequency of extreme weather events, electric and hybrid cars, wind farms or adaptation to climate change.
Today, environmental and sustainability discussions have become mainstream, occurring in schools, boardrooms and city council meetings across the country. We are helping to lead those discussions and our graduates are using the interdisciplinary skills they gained to make key decisions in government, education, research and nonprofit sectors.
SNRE has attracted world leaders to deliver the Peter M. Wege Lecture on Sustainability, which has taken root as the preeminent environmental lecture at U-M. The interdisciplinary team master’s project has blossomed into a signature SNRE academic experience, connecting our students to urgent environmental problems faced by real clients. Despite difficult budget times, we added nearly 20 amazing new faculty to the school and expanded our breadth and depth in many areas including international expertise, engineering and energy research, and urban design,as well as bolstered our historic strengths in ecology, policy and Slandscape architecture.
Student applications have doubled in the past five years. The school’s interdisciplinary foundations are solid, with one in three students pursuing a formal dual M.S. degree with the U-M schools of Engineering, Business, Law, and now Architecture and Urban Planning (see page 8), or creating their own dual degrees with public policy, public health, anthropology and economics. Each year, graduates tap into the rich alumni network spanning the globe to find opportunities to make a difference. The future is brighter because of the 7,500-plus SNRE graduates ready to confront climate change, habitat degradation, water scarcity, poverty and inequity.
The challenges remain vast, complex, daunting and demanding. But I am very proud of what we have accomplished in the last decade, and absolutely confident in the ability of the SNRE community to solve problems in a way that leads to long-term sustainability.
During my sabbatical next year from my Ann Arbor perch, I will continue to advise the White House and The World Bank. But my main source of advice and inspiration will remain SNRE’s students, for whom all things are yet possible, and in whom I have complete confidence to save the planet.
Please click here to see the full Spring 2011 issue of Stewards.
