The end of the academic year is such a great time to celebrate the accomplishments and hard work of SEFS faculty, staff, and students. Even as we celebrate, we acknowledge some of the challenges we face. As state and federal funding tightens, policies shift, and the university navigates an evolving landscape, we move into the summer season with hope. Universities have endured for generations because of the work of our predecessors, persisting even when circumstances were less than ideal. We are now the stewards of the same mission. As our predecessors did before us, our work now is setting the conditions for the future of the school and the scientific and resource management enterprises to which we contribute. It’s now that I lean on the persistence of our faculty, students, staff, community of donors and supporters and am consistently reminded that persistence is not separate from our work – it is the work. 

Persistence is about remembering that some of the most important work any of us will ever do unfolds over years rather than days. A student’s confidence develops over the course of their degree program. Research and science advances through incremental discoveries. Communities and collaborations are strengthened through sustained relationships. As the academic year winds down, we celebrate the wins and find encouragement in one another and adapt together. 

In May we celebrated the achievements of the SEFS community — collectively, we were recognized with awards from the College of the Environment, the University, and multiple external organizations. From SEFS students being selected for The Husky 100 and faculty being recognized for their contributions to science, to staff being awarded for their innovation, these recognitions are the kinds of wins that are gained through persistence. Big achievements culminating from small steps. Congratulations to all of those in our community who were recognized during this past year. 

On Friday, June 12 we celebrated the graduating class of 2026 in a ceremony at Kane Hall. This year’s commencement speaker Matthew Aghai, a recent SEFS PhD graduate, compared the defunding and misinformation surrounding the environmental research community to a natural disturbance like wildfire. From natural disturbances, new life is born – another message of persistence and opportunity. The class of 2026 is here at the exact moment that science, tools, and capital are finally aligning to address the work sorely needed to balance the rapidly evolving conditions on our planet. Aghai urged SEFS graduates to not shy away from trying handles on the doors of opportunity, to widen their perspectives and horizons, to build alongside the stewards not for them, and to know when to lean in and, conversely, when to walk away.

We celebrated the largest graduating class in our school’s history this year, and as they walked across the stage in the presence of family, friends, and the UW mascot Dubs to pick up their diplomas, I felt an overwhelming sense that our future is in good hands. I am in awe of this generation’s persistence even in the face of uncertainty and disturbance. 

At the close of the academic year, our community is back in full swing at Anderson Hall and looking forward to recharging and continuing our work in the pursuit of science and learning over the summer months. I invite you to continue to keep up to date through our monthly newsletters and social media channels during break. 

Dan Brown

School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Corkery Family Director’s Chair
Professor and Director