On Mon., Sep. 15, Clark University officially launched the new School of Climate, Environment, and Society (SCES) with an all-day kickoff event featuring speeches, walks, workshops and a tree-planting ceremony.
Three Years in the Making
In his opening remarks, President David Fithian reflected on the school’s origins, sharing that while the initiative has been actively in development for three years, it also builds on Clark’s 138-year history of academic innovation.
“Clark might aspire to do more, be more, make an even greater contribution to helping solve some of the major problems in the world today, and unquestionably, climate change is among those problems,” shared Fithian.
He emphasized that Clark must “walk the talk” with sustainability, mentioning past efforts such as the Lasry Center for BioScience and the Center for Media Arts, Computing and Design LEED Gold-certified buildings, while also announcing the re-establishment of a Sustainability Climate Committee with faculty, staff and students who are committed to sustainable action.
New Leadership and Goals
Lou Leonard, the inaugural D.J.A. Spencer Dean of SCES, outlined three themes for the new school: celebrate, engage and together. He emphasized that SCES was created through collaboration across the university, not just by the administration but also by individual students, faculty and staff.
“I am not aware of any other place where a school like this went to a full faculty vote,” Leonard said.
He also referred to SCES as “the Cool School of Climate, Environment, and Society” when explaining the difference between the new school and other climate schools.
Leonard said engagement would be central to SCES’s mission, with expanded opportunities for applied research, community partnerships, and sustainability projects on campus.
Student Involvement
Members of Clark Environmental Action (CEA), including juniors Ruby Lichtman and Zach Rutherford, discussed the role of student advocacy in advancing sustainability efforts. They described how petitions, panels, and meetings with administrators helped to push for the establishment of a dedicated Climate Action Committee.
CEA was also in communication with Dean Leonard since the summer. “He’s been eager to collaborate on events with us this year as SCES is rolled out,” stated Rutherford, who also mentioned the possibility of collaboration for Green on the Green in the spring.
Looking Ahead
The speeches concluded with the planting of Clark’s 76th new tree in recent years, which organizers celebrated as the birth of the new school.
“This way of being together and engaged is what the world demands of us right now,” Leonard stated.
