On Jan. 1, Osvaldo Sala, professor at the School of Agronomy at the University of Buenos Aires, will become the director of the Center for Environmental Studies and director of the Environmental Change Initiative. Sala was chosen at the end of last semester after the retirement of Harold Ward, professor emeritus of environmental studies. Ward founded the center in 1981 and served as its director until last spring.
Sala said he wants to add a focus on global studies to complement the strengths of the current department. "I see no big weaknesses in the department, just opportunities to grow in areas such as global environmental sciences, strengthen interdisciplinary studies," he said.
Sala is an internationally recognized ecologist and will bring expertise to Brown, said Caroline Karp, senior lecturer in environmental studies and the interim director of the center. "He has experience working in large programs nationally and internationally - he took a teaching sabbatical at Stanford University and has also worked at Woods Hole," she said.
Sala received his B.A. from the University of Buenos Aires and his master's degree and Ph.D. from Colorado State University. He is currently the secretary general of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment, a Paris-based interdisciplinary group of scientists studying environmental issues.
To date, Sala's research has been on grassland ecology, said Jennifer Plaut, program intern at the Center for Environmental Studies. He has recently been studying biodiversity in arid and semi-arid climates in Patagonia, she said. "He is a world-famous scientist, he has experience working on international committees and he will be really valuable here."
Plaut said she expects Sala's experience working with people from different backgrounds will help him direct the Environmental Change Initiative.
As director of the center, Sala will support the existing curriculum and work with the faculty on creating new academic programs that will continue to generate highly respected degrees, Karp said. As director of the Environmental Change Initiative, Sala will look across academic units to generate research programs on subjects such as human impact on the global climate and the effects of climate change on marine life, Karp said.
Plaut said Ward had many contacts in Rhode Island who helped deepen the scope of the department; Sala will have to develop his own contacts.
Sala said when he becomes director in January he will listen to faculty and students and not change anything in the department for the first six months. "I am aware of all the good things the center does - the faculty and students have strong connections and there is a high quality of teaching, the center is strongly involved in local environmental issues and I want to preserve all that," he said.
Karp said the center's current staff expects Sala to organize the center around the interests of Brown faculty and students, rather than changing its focus. "He will see what people here are committed to, and won't dictate the future," she said.
The Environmental Change Initiative is a part of President Ruth Simmons' Plan for Academic Enrichment. Sala said with the new initiative Brown will become a destination for people who are interested in the environment. "It will foster interdisciplinary projects, there will be a series of seminars and I am going to bring in guest lecturers and hire three new faculty members," he said.
Sala said the initiative will be primarily geared toward faculty and graduate students, but that it will complement and enrich the undergraduate program by adding new classes to the undergraduate curriculum.
