Arun Agrawal will join the University of Notre Dame Jan. 1, as director of the Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative.
Agrawal is a National Academy of Sciences member. He currently serves as a professor at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. At Notre Dame, Agrawal will serve as a professor in the Keough School of Global Affairs. He will also be the director of the university’s sustainability initiative.
“The accelerating challenges posed by climate change and its impact on food security, energy, water systems and the built environment threaten the ability of people around the world to live lives of dignity,” said John McGreevy, Charles and Jill Fischer provost, in a press release.
The Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative will coordinate sustainability research, education and engagement efforts. The initiative will involve Notre Dame’s eight colleges and schools, centers, institutes and programs.
“We are thrilled that Arun Agrawal has agreed to lead this initiative as inaugural director,” McGreevy said. “He is an exceptional scholar-teacher and a visionary leader who will significantly enhance Notre Dame’s role and influence in advancing sustainability efforts on a global scale.”
As a researcher and professor, Agrawal investigates the political economy of institutional change, sustainability and conservation. He has written on Indigenous knowledge, community-based conservation and governance of environment and sustainability. His fieldwork has taken him to more than 20 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Agrawal said he was drawn to Notre Dame’s mission and commitment to a more just and sustainable world.
“The opportunity Notre Dame presents — to me and to higher education institutions in sustainability — is special,” he said. “The Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative represents the perfect integrative design for the triptych of research, curriculum and engagement that real-world impact by any university requires.”
Mary Gallagher, Marilyn Keough Dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs, said she is honored to welcome Agrawal.
“With his leadership and expertise, Professor Agrawal will inspire and enrich our academic community and help propel our sustainability work in the Keough School and across the university,” Gallagher said.
