Edward A. (Ted) Parson, a professor with dual appointments to the School of Natural Resources and Environment and the Law School, has been named the Joseph L. Sax Collegiate Professor of Law.

The Joseph L. Sax Collegiate Professorship, housed in the Law School, honors Sax, a world-renowned environmental law expert who taught at the University of Michigan from 1966-86 as the Philip A. Hart Distinguished University Professor. Sax's scholarship, particularly on the public trust doctrine and on takings law, has frequently been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and remains definitive in the field.

Parson's appointment, confirmed by the U-M Board of Regents, extends through Jan. 31, 2014.

In his 1970 landmark book, Defending the Environment: A Strategy for Citizen Action, Sax developed the idea of citizen enforcement of environmental laws. He worked as a policy advocate and legislative draftsman to turn this concept into practice in the "citizen suit" provisions of several federal environmental laws and in the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, popularly known as the "Sax Act."

Parson joined the SNRE and Law faculty in 2003. His research examines international environmental policy, the role of science and technology in public policy, and the political economy of regulation. His most recent books are The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change (Cambridge, 2006, with Andrew Dessler) and Protecting the Ozone Layer: Science and Strategy (Oxford, 2003), which won the 2004 Harold and Margaret Sprout Award of the International Studies Association.

Parson's recent articles have appeared in Science, Climatic Change, Issues in Science and Technology, the Journal of Economic Literature and the Annual Review of Energy and the Environment.

Parson has chaired and served on several senior advisory committees for the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Government Global Change Research Program, including the Synthesis Team for the US National Assessment of Climate Impacts. In 2005, he was appointed to the National Advisory Board of the Union of Concerned Scientists. He has worked and consulted for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, the United Nations Environment Program, the Office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress, the Privy Council Office of the Government of Canada, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and spent 12 years on the faculty of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

He holds degrees in physics from the University of Toronto and in management science from the University of British Columbia, and a Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard.í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  

Professor Parson web site
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~parson/website/home.html