The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2/27/2004
CONTACT: Tom Sinclair, Nelson Institute public information manager, (608) 263-5599, tksincla@facstaff.wisc.edu

WESTLEY TO LEAD NELSON INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

MADISON - The University of Wisconsin-Madison has selected a new director for the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Chancellor John D. Wiley has announced.

Frances Westley, who will take over the position in January 2005, currently is James McGill Chair of Strategy, executive director of the McGill-McConnell Program for Voluntary Sector Leaders and professor of strategy in the Faculty of Management at McGill University in Montreal.

"Frances Westley is a proven team builder who will effectively lead the Nelson Institute," Wiley says. "She has a wonderful ability to solve problems through interdisciplinary collaboration, which is key to identifying and overcoming barriers to conservation and developing environmentally sustainable ways to meet human needs."

In turn, Westley says she was attracted to UW-Madison by its record of problem solving through collaboration.

"The University of Wisconsin has long led the way in environmental research as well as in developing creative approaches to working with communities of concerned practitioners to solve environmental problems," Westley says. "On my early visits, the quality of the students and the faculty, the caliber of the programs, and the administration's commitment to innovation and excellence proved irresistible."

Westley, a sociologist by training, says she has long been passionately committed to conservation. After joining McGill, that interest became focused on interdisciplinary and interorganizational collaboration.

"It seemed to me that humans already had much of the necessary technology, knowledge and resources for solving many of the world's environmental problems," she says. "They just weren't being used to that end. The greatest challenge to conservation seemed to lie in understanding why this is so, and in addressing the cognitive and social barriers to collaboration at all levels."

In her recent book, "Experiments in Consilience," Westley argues that while the dynamics of political and social systems can represent significant barriers to conservation, real progress is being made in understanding and overcoming disciplinary barriers, as well as those separating theory from practice.

"What excites me about the Gaylord Nelson Institute is that it is precisely focused on the important challenge of building interdisciplinary and cross-sectorial collaboration in order to put good science to work. And it has a 30-year head start and a track record of accomplishments to build on," Westley says.

The Institute for Environmental Studies was created in 1970 to promote and enhance interdisciplinary environmental instruction, research and outreach. The institute was renamed last spring in honor of former Wisconsin governor and U.S. senator Gaylord Nelson, a lifelong champion of environmental stewardship and the founder of Earth Day.

Approximately 150 professors from more than 50 UW-Madison departments are affiliated with the institute, which administers several degree and certificate programs. The institute also houses three research centers and offers more than 100 courses in cooperation with the university's schools and colleges.

Erhard Joeres, professor of civil and environmental engineering, professor of environmental studies, and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has served as interim director of the Nelson Institute since January 2003 when former director Thomas Yuill retired.

"I am delighted that Professor Westley will become the new director of the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies," Joeres says. "We know that under her leadership the institute will flourish. She will bring an exciting new vision for our faculty, staff and students, which is needed if we are to deal with the multiplying complexity of environmental problems in our world."

Westley has considerable experience working across sectors and trying out her ideas in practice. While at McGill, she helped to develop McGill's School for the Environment, serving on the Executive of the School for five years and acting as a Theme Leader for Sustainability and the Global Environment. She designed and taught a course for MBA students at McGill, titled Strategies for Sustainability, and has consulted with private sector organizations about sustainability and innovation.

She has also served on many boards of science-based environmental organizations including the IUCN-The World Conservation Union's (formerly the International Union for the Conservation of Nature) Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, the Science Board of the Resilience Alliance, the Bedford Institute's Centre for Marine Biology, the Canadian Biodiversity Institute and Evergreen. She has also designed workshop and training processes for environmental scientists and managers all over the world. Most recently, she designed and led the McGill-McConnell Program for Voluntary Sector Leaders, a master's degree program for leaders in the not-for-profit sector in Canada, including many environmental NGOs and INGOs (non-governmental and international non-governmental organizations).

"These experiences have convinced me that real collaboration, across disciplines, organizations and sectors, is possible," she says. "If we can build that - and couple it with good science - real innovation and lasting solutions are within our grasp. It is a prize worth reaching for, and I can think of no better place to do it than at the Nelson Institute."
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- Kent Barrett, (608) 262-0930, kentbarrett@wisc.edu




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