As SEFS director, I’ve marveled at how the SEFS community has demonstrated our commitment to engaged research, adapted to shifting contexts for teaching and mentoring, and worked to foster inclusion and collaboration. As we look to the future, the SEFS faculty have developed a set of strategic goals for the School. The 2023-2028 SEFS Strategic Plan will bring a renewed energy to our mission, and support SEFS researchers, faculty, and students working to improve the long-term sustainability and resilience of ecological and socio-environmental systems. Each day, I’m inspired by the ways in which the SEFS community is making strides toward that mission and the impact we make through our collective commitment and strong partnerships. 

At SEFS, we prepare and engage students in finding creative, sustainable, and adaptive solutions to multi-dimensional environmental challenges related to climate change and biodiversity decline, among others. Through hands-on field learning and engaged research, we work collaboratively with campus and external partners from nonprofit, industry and government organizations, as well as Tribal communities. Our labs, remote sites, and natural areas provide faculty and students with unmatched resources and landscapes in which to learn, including Pack Forest, the Olympic Natural Resources Center and the UW Botanic Gardens. Research and educational partnership opportunities are strengthened through our leadership in a number of cooperatives and centers that engage with external partners.

Sustainable management and stewardship of natural resources is a core tenet of our work. Through the ESRM and BSE undergraduate programs, SEFS students are exposed to cutting-edge research in sustainable product development, forest and wildlife management practices, restoration ecology, environmental social science, and more. We provide cutting-edge research, visionary teaching, and inclusive engagement to ensure that SEFS students leave prepared to succeed in the world and in the workplace, bridging sustainability in ecological and social systems. 

We are especially excited about the renovation that is underway as Anderson Hall celebrates its 100th birthday. The design phase extends through the 2023-24 academic year, with the goal of starting construction after graduation in 2024.

As a community, SEFS is committed to creating an inclusive environment that celebrates the diversity of knowledge, experiences, and perspectives in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. We are passionate about environmental justice, and our faculty, staff, and students have demonstrated their commitment to increasing and sustaining diversity on multiple dimensions through our emerging diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in recent years. Our DEI committee is actively engaged in the life of the school, participating and helping to implement strategies to improve inclusiveness in hiring, curriculum, facilities and community. We have a long-standing commitment to our partnerships with Tribal communities and strive to incorporate Indigenous management and traditional ecological knowledges in curriculum, research, and fieldwork.

I look forward to our continued work fostering inclusive and innovative environmental research, education, and outreach, and invite you to join us.

Dan Brown

School of Environmental and Forest Sciences