How would you describe your experience at Colorado State University in your first year and a half on campus?
From the moment I arrived on campus, I have felt at home at Colorado State University. New faculty cannot help but be affected by the energy, drive and positive atmosphere among faculty, students and staff. Also, it has been great to be at a university where sustainability, diversity, and inclusiveness are valued attributes in research, teaching and everyday life.
What are your impressions of the College of Liberal Arts and the Department of Economics so far?
This is the first time that I have been in a College of Liberal Arts, and I find it refreshing. As an undergraduate, I enjoyed liberal arts as part of my curriculum, and I appreciate the plurality of perspectives, scholarship, and modes of expression that our college offers. There are three reasons why I believe the Department of Economics is special. First, the faculty are not only dedicated to their research and teaching in economics but also wonderful people. Since joining the department, everyone has made me feel welcome. The department feels more like a community, rather than just a workplace. Second, like a community, the individual faculty comprising the department have shared goals and are prepared to work together to achieve them. This includes striving to improve the teaching, research and service missions of the department. Third, our faculty believes that the aim of economics is to address the major challenges of our times – economic, environmental and social. This places economics at the center of solving the sustainability problems facing the world today, and it is rewarding to be in a department with colleagues who share this view.
How are you finding your role as a Senior Scholar in the School of Global Environmental Sustainability valuable?
I was honored that Diana Wall invited me to be a Senior Scholar in the School of Global Environmental Sustainability (SoGES). I am impressed how, over the past 10 years, SoGES has been able to promote and develop the sustainability mission of CSU and to achieve national and global recognition. Through SoGES, I have been able to meet and interact with many scholars across campus who, like me, believe that interdisciplinary research is critical to tackling sustainability issues.
What are some highlights of your recent research here at CSU?
Here are three highlights of my recent resource research while at CSU:
- In May 2018, Jo Burgess, Tom Dean, and I published an article in Science, “How to pay for saving biodiversity“, which has resonated with the international environmental policy community and is influencing the post-2020 agenda of the U.N. Convention of Biological Diversity.
- In January 2019, I wrote a World View article on “How to make the next Green New Deal work?” for Nature, which asked me to comment on the recent proposal for a Green New Deal proposed by new congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
- In February 2019, my book for Yale University Press, The Water Paradox: Overcoming the Global Crisis in Water Management, is published. The book has been recently reviewed in Nature.
I was also delighted, and honored, to receive CSU’s 2018 Scholarship Impact Award.
