Jonathan T. Overpeck
Samuel A. Graham Dean andWilliam B. Stapp Collegiate Professor of Environmental Education
School for Environment and Sustainability
As we’re enjoying the excitement of an in-person fall semester, I find myself inspired by the actions of our community. At the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, we’re working hard to tackle the most pressing environmental challenges, no matter how complex or daunting. The issues threatening our environment are vast, and the passion and ingenuity of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni provide me with optimism about our planet’s future.
The need for the renowned environmental education that we offer has never been greater, and the size and scope of our school continues to expand to meet the growing demand. The world needs bold leaders ready to take on urgent environmental issues. Now is the time to act, and we need your support during this critical time for sustainability and justice in our world.
At SEAS, equity is at the core of all we do—our curriculum, our research, and our engagement in society. Ours was the first school in the country to launch an academic Environmental Justice program, and we’re now home to one of the largest clusters of EJ faculty and students nationwide. By expanding the program and building on our history as leaders in the EJ space, SEAS continues to foster the educational experience that communities affected by injustice have been demanding of universities. As we move toward a clean-energy future, justice must be incorporated into all solutions, and we are committed to training sustainability leaders who are ready to make that happen.
To further amplify our impact, SEAS recently launched the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment, made possible by a transformational gift from the NorthLight Foundation and Dan and Sheryl Tishman. We know that people of color are disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental hazards, including air pollution, toxic waste, and flooding. These communities are often confronting decades of underinvestment. To work to advance environmental justice, SEAS recently hired inaugural Tishman Center Director Michelle Martinez (MS ’08) to oversee the center’s dynamic community-centered initiative, which will have real-world impact in underinvested areas that have been hit the hardest by climate change and other environmental hazards.
We also are tremendously excited to see the growth of the SEAS Sustainability Clinic in Detroit, which launched last fall. Led by Kerry Duggan (MS ’06), former Obama-Biden White House deputy director for policy, the clinic is focused on responding to immediate and real problems for Detroiters, such as flooding. The clinic provides a single-point-of-contact approach that connects Detroit residents, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and city government to SEAS collaborators, master’s students, internships, and projects to produce tangible and lasting results. The Detroit Sustainability Clinic is part of an overarching statewide SEAS initiative. Launching later this year, the statewide Michigan Sustainability Clinic will work to support the vision that the Great Lakes State lead the nation in the implementation of 21st-century resilient infrastructures that address climate impacts, racial inequities, unemployment, and economic fallout from the global pandemic.
It is imperative that we work together to ensure that everyone equitably benefits from sustainability solutions. Our alumni base, the largest of any environmental school, is working in places around the world to protect fragile habitats, promote sustainable business, advance clean energy and environmental policy, and more—but our work is just getting started.
Slowing down is not an option, and we need your help. Solving the climate crisis and other grave environmental challenges requires a commitment from all of us. Your gift today provides our students with invaluable support to make a lasting impact.
Those who stand beside us in our vision to create a more sustainable and just society inspire us to overcome the toughest of obstacles. Through your generosity, we will pave the way for a more sustainable future together.
Best Wishes,
Jonathan T. Overpeck
Samuel A. Graham Dean
William B. Stapp Collegiate Professor of Environmental Education
P.S. Please consider making a gift to the Program in the Environment Strategic Fund. Contributions directly support our undergraduate students through workshops, service-learning experiences, and more to expand student knowledge and develop the next generation of sustainability leaders.
The need for the renowned environmental education that we offer has never been greater, and the size and scope of our school continues to expand to meet the growing demand. The world needs bold leaders ready to take on urgent environmental issues. Now is the time to act, and we need your support during this critical time for sustainability and justice in our world.
At SEAS, equity is at the core of all we do—our curriculum, our research, and our engagement in society. Ours was the first school in the country to launch an academic Environmental Justice program, and we’re now home to one of the largest clusters of EJ faculty and students nationwide. By expanding the program and building on our history as leaders in the EJ space, SEAS continues to foster the educational experience that communities affected by injustice have been demanding of universities. As we move toward a clean-energy future, justice must be incorporated into all solutions, and we are committed to training sustainability leaders who are ready to make that happen.
To further amplify our impact, SEAS recently launched the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment, made possible by a transformational gift from the NorthLight Foundation and Dan and Sheryl Tishman. We know that people of color are disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental hazards, including air pollution, toxic waste, and flooding. These communities are often confronting decades of underinvestment. To work to advance environmental justice, SEAS recently hired inaugural Tishman Center Director Michelle Martinez (MS ’08) to oversee the center’s dynamic community-centered initiative, which will have real-world impact in underinvested areas that have been hit the hardest by climate change and other environmental hazards.
We also are tremendously excited to see the growth of the SEAS Sustainability Clinic in Detroit, which launched last fall. Led by Kerry Duggan (MS ’06), former Obama-Biden White House deputy director for policy, the clinic is focused on responding to immediate and real problems for Detroiters, such as flooding. The clinic provides a single-point-of-contact approach that connects Detroit residents, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and city government to SEAS collaborators, master’s students, internships, and projects to produce tangible and lasting results. The Detroit Sustainability Clinic is part of an overarching statewide SEAS initiative. Launching later this year, the statewide Michigan Sustainability Clinic will work to support the vision that the Great Lakes State lead the nation in the implementation of 21st-century resilient infrastructures that address climate impacts, racial inequities, unemployment, and economic fallout from the global pandemic.
It is imperative that we work together to ensure that everyone equitably benefits from sustainability solutions. Our alumni base, the largest of any environmental school, is working in places around the world to protect fragile habitats, promote sustainable business, advance clean energy and environmental policy, and more—but our work is just getting started.
Slowing down is not an option, and we need your help. Solving the climate crisis and other grave environmental challenges requires a commitment from all of us. Your gift today provides our students with invaluable support to make a lasting impact.
Those who stand beside us in our vision to create a more sustainable and just society inspire us to overcome the toughest of obstacles. Through your generosity, we will pave the way for a more sustainable future together.
Best Wishes,
Jonathan T. Overpeck
Samuel A. Graham Dean
William B. Stapp Collegiate Professor of Environmental Education
P.S. Please consider making a gift to the Program in the Environment Strategic Fund. Contributions directly support our undergraduate students through workshops, service-learning experiences, and more to expand student knowledge and develop the next generation of sustainability leaders.