Message from Dean Rosina M. Bierbaum

We're less than two weeks away from the Ninth Annual Wege Lecture by John P. Holdren, President Obama's science and technology advisor and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Recent Wege speakers have included Vice President Gore and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, so it's an understatement to say this lecture has become one of the year's most anticipated at U-M. Besides, it also kicks off the University's 40th anniversary celebration of Earth Day. A public reception follows, so please do attend. Dr. Holdren is also a leader behind a May White House Summit on Adaptation to Climate Change, which I will co-chair. In many ways, it is a follow-up to SNRE's Climate Summit in May 2007 and brings together decision makers and scientists.

I recently attended the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, where SNRE Professors Dan Brown and Ivette Perfecto were inducted as Fellows. Congrats, Dan and Ivette! At the same meeting during a session on "Climate Change in Working Landscapes," Dan, Ivette and Associate Dean/Professor Arun Agrawal represented fully half of the speakers on this important and emerging topic. Only a few days later, Professors Ted Parson, Dan Brown, Don Scavia and I kicked off a new round of regional climate assessments in Chicago, beginning (of course!) with the Midwest. Needless to say, I am very proud that our faculty continues to be at the cutting edge of so many areas of sustainability.

Rosina M. Bierbaum, professor and dean

SNRE headlines

• Two SNRE students named Wyss Scholars to study Western land conservation issues
• Seven SNRE students honored with Duke Conservation Fellowships
• Ford Foundation's David Kaimowitz delivers SNRE's Spring Commencement address
• Professor Perfecto examines family farms, biodiversity and food production
• Professors Lyon, Hoffman help shape report on carbon, Midwest economic revival
• Master's project looks at how government incentives shape corn ethanol expansion, impact wildlife

Visit the SNRE newsroom

Centennial Celebration continues with luncheon, tree planting

Two upcoming events continue the Landscape Architecture Centennial Celebration: the annual awards luncheon (April 13) recognizing student achievement; and a commemorative tree planting near the Geddes Road entrance to the Arboretum. The young bur oak will be planted near two declining honeylocust trees. As it grows, it will become the landmark tree to greet people entering the Arb from Geddes. For the program's 200th anniversary, it should be an awesome sight!

View video of MLA Portfolio Day | Learn more about supporting the LA Centennial Challenge

Annual Fund: Help today's students build a better tomorrow

With your valuable partnership, the School of Natural Resources and Environment will continue as the benchmark against which other programs are measured, and as a place generating innovative research and the next generation of environmental leaders. Join in stewarding our most valuable resource—our students—toward a more sustainable future.

Please make a gift to SNRE today

SNRE school and alumni events

• March 8-14: Virtual Career Fair for environmental employers in Washington, D.C.
• March 22: Ninth Annual Peter M. Wege Lecture delivered by John P. Holdren
• March 30: The Future of the Great Lakes Fish Community (lecture at Dana Building)
• March 30: Symposium to discuss Michigan's environmental justice plan
• April 13: Dean Bierbaum delivers Annual Nancy Cantor Distinguished Lecture
• April 13: Landscape Architecture awards luncheon (Michigan League, noon)
• April 16: SNRE Master's Project Symposium
• May 1: SNRE Spring Commencement

Visit the SNRE calendar of events

Class Notes: Sharing your good news

Chad Lauren (B.S. '01) graduated from Suffolk University Law School in Boston and joined the international consulting firm Meister Consultants Group, Inc., in Boston. He specializes in renewable energy law and policy, sustainable business strategies and renewable energy project development.

Joel Brammeier (M.S. '98) was named president and chief executive officer of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, based in Grand Haven, Mich. Brammeier previously served as the Alliance's vice president for policy. He joined the organization in 2001 as habitat program manager. He oversees a staff of 15 and more than 7,000 volunteers working to build a sustainable future for the Great Lakes.

Cliff Keil (B.S. '76) is professor and director of the Museum of Invertebrates at Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. The museum has one of the largest collections of insects in Ecuador with more than 2 million specimens. Keil previously worked 25 years in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware.

Douglas S. Powell (B.S. '71) retired in July from the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C. He served 38 years with the agency, joining the summer he graduated from SNRE. He will split his time in the D.C. area and rural log home in Pennsylvania with his wife, Michaeline, and dog, Teddy. His email (for you old warriors) is doug@dpowell.us.

In memoriam

Former Landscape Architecture Professor Robert (Bob) F. Scheele, who taught in the program from 1973-86, lost a three-year battle with cancer and died Oct. 21, 2009.

Send your alumni updates to Kevin Merrill in the Office of Communications via e-mail (merrillk@umich.edu) or regular mail: School of Natural Resources and Environment, Office of Communications, University of Michigan, 440 Church St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1041.