UW News

May 22, 2008

College of the Environment: New college designed to meet growing complexity, scale of Earth’s challenges

News and Information

The UW Board of Regents last week received a preliminary blueprint for a new college that will position the UW to be the leader in environmental research and education, and to better resolve complex regional, national and international environmental challenges, according to Provost Phyllis Wise.

“This is the most exciting thing this University is endeavoring to create,” Regent Herb Simon said.

The UW’s environmental expertise comprises more than 400 faculty members on its three campuses and extends across 18 fields of study, from the geosciences to natural resources, and from climate dynamics to environmental policy. The UW’s environmental expertise spans more fields than Duke, Michigan, Stanford or Yale — all with existing environmental colleges — as well as 17 other universities known for their environmental programs.

One key challenge, according to Wise, is that UW experts and degree programs are distributed across numerous schools and colleges without overarching strategic planning or coordination.

“Creating a new college would create an organizational structure better suited to promote fundamental advances in environmental sciences and address the problems of the 21st century,” she said. It would also be a focal point for businesses, state agencies, nongovernmental organizations and others who have said they don’t know how to find their way at the UW when it comes to environmental information and problem solving.

And for students, there would be a single place to turn for degrees or to find research opportunities concerning the environment.

Citing a “tsunami of student interest in the environment,” President Mark Emmert told the regents, “I can’t imagine the UW failing to do this.”

What’s proposed for the College of the Environment is a hybrid of a traditional college with academic and research programs, an increased focus on cross-college appointments and an innovative institute able to forge partnerships and bring expertise from on and off campus to tackle pressing environmental problems, Wise said.

The ultimate composition of the new college has yet to be determined, with Wise telling the regents, “It would not be productive to start a college with units that don’t want to be there.”

Existing units that may move into the new college are:


  • School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
  • Department of Atmospheric Sciences
  • Department of Earth and Space Science
  • College of Forest Resources
  • School of Marine Affairs
  • School of Oceanography
  • Program on the Environment
  • Program on Climate Change
  • Washington Sea Grant
  • Water Center
  • Friday Harbor Laboratories
  • Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Oceans (a joint program between UW and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists)

A year of discussion and committee meetings leading up to the proposal involved faculty, students, staff, citizens and business leaders. The units that may move into the new college will continue this discussion in the coming year to determine if they wish to join the college, its mission, configuration and academic programs, Wise said.

Regents Constance Proctor and William Gates asked why units might object to being part of the proposed college. Wise said, among other things, some units want more details and to know the value added of joining the new college compared to staying where they are now.

One new academic unit is proposed for the new college that would recruit faculty in the social sciences who are involved with the environment, a unit currently labeled “Environment, Society and Culture.”

Regent Chair Stan Barer said, “We’ve got the unique strength of science but if you don’t bring in business, media, most importantly law, public policy and the like, then you can’t get to the problem-solving side.”

Wise proposed that one way to do that is to use half of 20 new faculty positions to recruit faculty in environmental business, environmental law, environmental policy, environmental planning, hopefully in collaboration with other colleges, and perhaps make them joint appointments in the new college and in places like public affairs and law. The other 10 positions would go for the natural sciences.

With the proposed units, the new college could become one of the largest groups of environmental scientists and scholars in the country, Wise said. The college would have three times the faculty and four times the external funding of existing colleges such as Duke’s Nicholas School of Environmental and Earth Sciences or University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment.

The UW also proposes creating a central institute within the college where University researchers can build on the strengths of the core units and collaborate with off-campus experts and groups to promote fundamental advances and formulate real-world solutions for pressing regional, national and international problems, Wise said.

The UW expects the institute will bring in additional private gifts and formulate proposals for major new grants in the future, Wise said.

The College of the Environment will be funded from federal, state and private sources:


  • Existing units eventually included in the new college would bring their state funding for operations and teaching with them.
  • Additional resources will be used to increase the number of faculty within the college by 20 full-time-equivalency faculty and 10 full-time-equivalency staff during the first five years to meet the expected growth of the college.
  • The UW will launch activities of the institute in the fall using a gift of $1 million from an anonymous donor.

Regent Sally Jewell, who participated in a charrette that started discussions with faculty and administrators last summer, endorsed the idea of the new college saying, “We need to do what’s in the world’s best interest.”