Two finalists named for environmental institute post

Two finalists have been named for the director of the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Provost Patrick Farrell announced today.

The finalists are:

Robert Costanza, director of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics (GIEE) at the University of Vermont (UV) in Burlington; and

Jonathan Taylor Overpeck, director of the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth (ISPE) at the University of Arizona (UA) in Tucson.

Four candidates were advanced by the search and screen committee, but two candidates declined for personal reasons to advance as finalists. The selected candidate will replace Frances Westley, the previous director who stepped down in June 2007. The position is currently held on an interim basis by Lewis Gilbert.

"The Nelson Institute is a thriving academic and research center that is focusing on vital environmental issues at the local and global level," says Farrell. "We look forward to learning more about our finalists and selecting a strong leader who will continue the institute’s tradition of excellence."

More detail on the candidates:

Costanza, who is also the Gordon and Lulie Gund Professor of Ecological Economics at UV, has led the Gund Institute since 2002. The institute broadly examines the relationships between ecological and economic systems and focuses on solving real-world problems. Costanza was also on the faculty of the University of Maryland at Solomons College Park from 1988-2002, where he was founding director of the Institute for Ecological Economics.

Costanza’s professional expertise includes transdisciplinary integration, ecological economics, landscape ecology, ecological modeling and environmental policy. He has managed more than $23 million in research grants and contracts throughout his career.

He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture and a doctoral degree in systems ecology and environmental engineering sciences, all from the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Overpeck has been director since 1999 of the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth, an interdisciplinary group devoted to environment and climate change science. He is also director of UA’s translational environmental research program and a professor in the department of geosciences. Overpeck is a recipient of a 2005 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship Award, and in 1999 received a U.S. Department of Commerce Gold Medal.

Overpeck’s research focus includes climate change, climate modeling, landscape evolution and paleoclimatology. He also launched and is lead science partner in Climate Appraisal Services LLC, the first address-based service for assessing climate and environmental risks.

He has a bachelor’s degree in geology from Hamilton College in New York; and a master’s and Ph.D. degree in geological sciences from Brown University in Rhode Island.

The Nelson Institute, founded in 1970, has approximately 150 faculty affiliates from more than 50 academic departments across campus. In addition to more than 100 undergraduate course offerings and an undergraduate certificate program, the institute is home to master’s degree programs in conservation biology and sustainable development; environment and resources; and water resources management.

More than 400 students are enrolled in the institute’s undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs.