Drexel University is in partnership Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University,The Environmental Collaboratory has been launched.,
Dedicated to climate change, environment justice, and human wellbeing.
Drexel’s extensive research expertise, relationships with external partners, deep commitment to civic engagement are the foundations of Drexel’s Academy. The Academy will bring together faculty, students, industry partners, the public sector, and other stakeholders to find transdisciplinary solutions to environmental problems.
The Environmental Collaboratory will promote integrated approaches between often-dissimilar fields of finance, engineering, law, policy and medicine.
The Environmental Collaboratory’s Vice Provost and Executive director Mathy Vathanaraj Stanislaus is her.
Vice Provost and Executive director Mathy Vathanaraj StanislausThe Environmental Collaboratory will now be led by, a former leader of the World Economic Forum, and a senior Obama official. Stanislaus’ scholarship focuses on climate mitigation and adaptation, the scale-up of clean energy and electric mobility, environmentally just transitions and the power of multi-stakeholder designed solutions.
“The challenges of today – as recently highlighted at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, require all of us to work together in fusing our collective expertise, networks and intergenerational insights to create implementable equitable solutions that work on the ground,” Stanislaus said.
“The Climate Conference’s focus on climate justice, just transition, community leadership in driving solutions and the leadership role of young people, reinforces the value of The Environmental Collaboratory. I am honored to help realize this with the leaders of today and tomorrow – our students, the deep expertise of our faculty and researchers and community partners.”
The Environmental Collaboratory serves an important and lead role in the advancement of the Drexel 2030 Strategic Plan’s vision to design the future through the innovative integration of education, scholarship, diverse partnerships, and our global community. The Environmental Collaboratory’s mission is based on three key areas: use-inspired, social justice-driven civic engagement, and community building.
- User-Inspired research: Initiates, facilitates and encourages multidisciplinary teams to advance user-inspiring research to solve real-world environmental problems. Faculty, staff and students collaborate with external groups in mutually beneficial partnerships that are grounded in scholarship and consistent with Drexel and the Academy’s roles and missions.
- Civic Engagement: identifies research questions in reciprocal partnerships with communities; engages communities in the research process; devises, incubates and delivers implementation strategies with communities; shares outcomes with a wider audience; shapes beliefs and values through public programs and campaigns; and erodes the power-dynamic that commonly characterizes the relationship between “academia” and “community.”
- Community Building: Creates a Drexel community for students, faculty, and staff to connect with and engage in these issues.
The Environmental Collaboratory’s first project, which was funded by the inaugural Glenmede Environmental Collaboratory Research Fund will assess progress and identify actions that can be taken to reduce lead poisoning in West Philadelphia. According to studies, lead poisoning is decreasing in certain areas of Philadelphia. Rates remain high in the Overbrook neighborhood of West Philadelphia. Stepfanie A. Kroll, PhDJerome Shabazz is the executive director of Overbrook Environmental Education Center. He will be working with Cathy, an assistant research professor in College of Arts and Sciences, and the watershed ecology section leader at the Academy to understand which practices have caused declines in blood lead levels (BLL) in other areas.
GlenmedeThe company manages $43.5 billion of assets for Private Wealth, Endowment & Foundation and Investment Management clients. Its headquarters is in Philadelphia and has offices in Ohio, Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Pittsburgh, Washington DC. Glenmede works closely with high-net worth individuals, families, foundations, and institutional customers.
“We are thrilled to partner with Drexel to launch the Glenmede Environmental Collaboratory Research Fund, seeking to effect change on environmental issues right here in our backyard,” said Mark Hays, director of Sustainable & Impact Investing at Glenmede. “We believe this year’s project’s focus on reducing lead poisoning in West Philadelphia will bring awareness and deliver scalable solutions into an issue with significant effects on our environment and our children’s health.”
