September 8, 2005

TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker as our new dean of the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, effective January 9, 2006.

Dr. von Weizsäcker is a member of the German Parliament and chair of the Bundestag Environment Committee. He is also a member of the Club of Rome, a global think tank devoted to the improvement of society. His past positions include professor of interdisciplinary biology; founding president of the University of Kassel; director of the United Nations Centre for Science and Technology for Development; director of the Institute for European Environmental Policy; president of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, and Energy; and member of the World Commission on the Social Dimensions of Globalization.

Dr. von Weizsäcker has written many influential books on the environment, globalization, and society, including Earth Politics and Factor Four—Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use. His numerous honors include the WWF International’s Duke of Edinburgh Gold Medal and the prestigious Takeda World Environment Award. He received his B.S. in chemistry and physics from Hamburg University and his Ph.D. in biology from Freiburg University, Germany.

I would like to thank Professor John Melack, chair of our search advisory committee, and each of our committee members (listed on the reverse page) for their dedicated and effective efforts. I also sincerely appreciate the advice and input of EVC Gene Lucas, our faculty and administrative colleagues, and the Bren School Advisory Board throughout this search and recruitment process.

Our Bren School is an extraordinary place for innovative teaching and research in the interdisciplinary fields of environmental science and management. We look forward to the School’s continued success under Dr. von Weizsäcker’s leadership. Please join me in welcoming him to our campus community. We are also grateful for Professor John Melack’s leadership as acting dean, and for his willingness to continue to contribute to the mission of the Bren School as associate dean.

Sincerely,

Henry T. Yang
Chancellor


Search Advisory Committee for the Dean of the Donald Bren School of
Environmental Science and Management (ESM)
 
John Melack, Chair (Professor, Donald Bren School of ESM; Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology)
Ralph Archuleta (Professor, Geological Sciences)
Bruce Darling (Senior Vice President, University Affairs, University of California)
Eckart Meiburg (Professor and Department Chair, Mechanical and Environmental Engineering)
John Flynn (Executive Vice President, The Donald Bren Foundation)
Jody Freeman (Associate Dean for Law and Policy, Donald Bren School of ESM; Professor of Law, UCLA)
Patricia Holden (Associate Professor, Donald Bren School of ESM)
Cynthia Hudley (Professor, Education; Chair, Academic Senate Committee on Diversity and Equity)
Arturo Keller (Associate Professor, Donald Bren School of ESM)
James Reichman (Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology; Director, National Center for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis)
Perry Shapiro (Professor, Economics)
Susan Stonich (Professor, Anthropology; Chair, Environmental Studies Program)
Douglas Wheeler (Chair, Donald Bren School Advisory Board)
Oran Young (Professor, Donald Bren School of ESM; Co-Director, Bren Program on Governance for Sustainable Development)

Consultant to the Committee:
Joe Castro (Executive Director, Office of Academic Preparation and Equal Opportunity)