The Department of Environmental Science and Studies fosters a diverse community of students, faculty, and staff committed to examining the relationships between humans and the natural environment. Its eclectic research and teaching programs incorporate fundamental science as well as studying sustainable and equitable solutions to environmental problems. To achieve this, our vision is to:
- Offer rigorous, student-focused curricula at the undergraduate and graduate levels grounded in cutting-edge environmental inquiry and supported by a commitment to personalized academic advising.
- Balance training in the classroom with a variety of experiential opportunities.
- Facilitate interdisciplinary engagement with partners both within and beyond the university.
- Promote research opportunities as a means of learning and encouraging meaningful collaboration between students and faculty mentors.
- Sustain its inclusive community of students, faculty and staff with the resources needed for all member of the departmental community to contribute to impactful scholarship and to become thought leaders in their field.
Our Core Values
Informing our mission and the means of achieving it are the following core values:
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion: Guided by an ethic of Vincentian personalism, we uphold the dignity of all members of our diverse, multi-faith, and inclusive community.
- Sustainability and environmental justice: Although some of our research is focused on advancing our fundamental knowledge of natural systems, the application of our scholarly work aspires to produces a flourishing future for all.
- An ethic of care and compassion: Our ethical comportment extends from a commitment to our shared community to the world beyond the university.
- Freedom of inquiry: All of our research and teaching encourages an eclectic and open analysis of environmental problems and solutions.
Faculty
Christie Klimas, PhD
Associate Professor and Chair
University of Florida
Mark J. Potosnak, PhD
Professor and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs
Columbia University
Margarita Alario, PhD
Lecturer
Shawn Bailey, MS
Lecturer
University of Montana
David Bild, MEd
Lecturer
Arizona State University
The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Judith Bramble, PhD
Associate Professor Emeritus
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Noé De la Sancha, PhD
Assistant Professor
Texas Tech University
Crystal Guzman, PhD
Lecturer
University of Illinois, Chicago
Liam J. Heneghan, PhD
Professor
University College, Dublin
Michael Miller, PE
Lecturer
University of Washington
James A. Montgomery, PhD
Professor
Washington State University
Thomas J. Murphy, PhD
Professor Emeritus
Iowa State University
Xorla Ocloo, PhD
Assistant Professor
Emory University
Evan Barker
Lecturer
Pizzo & Associates Ecological Restoration
Ellen Schaal, PhD
Lecturer
Stanford University
Kenshu Shimada, PhD
Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago
Robert Sliwinski, MS
Lecturer
Western Illinois University
Lauren Umek, PhD
Lecturer
Northwestern University
Jess Vogt, PhD
Assistant Professor and Graduate Program Director
Indiana University
Isidore Udoh, PhD
Lecturer
North Dakota State University
Staff
Margaret Workman, MS
Laboratorian/Instructor
Purdue University
Ty Ferguson tfergu11@depaul.edu
Administrative Assistant
Affiliated Faculty
There are several DePaul faculty from other departments affiliated with the Environmental Science & Studies Department
Hugh Bartling
Public Policy Studies
Bernhard Beck-Winchatz
STEM Studies
Michael Edwards
First Year Programs
James Fairhall
English
Randall Honold
Philosophy
David Jabon
STEM Studies
Barbara Willard
Communication