Sustainability Themes cut across all specializations—and give students and partners a chance to dig deeper in a particular area of impact and interest. There are also many examples of how our teaching, research and engagement span several themes, which we call cross-cutting. 

Tackling global challenges in more holistic and effective ways

Water is fundamental to Cities + Mobility + Built Environment, as are Food Systems. Similarly, Conservation + Restoration is greatly impacted by issues of Climate + Energy. Embracing the understanding of ecosystems—throughout the natural world and its inhabitants—allows us to tackle environmental challenges more effectively. 

That's the SEAS approach.

Lake Michigan from sleeping bear sand dunes
Feature

New guiding principles urgently needed for Great Lakes stewardship, U-M researchers say

12 University of Michigan researchers say that Great Lakes management is at a crossroads and that now is the time to implement true 21st-century stewardship. In a recently published commentary, the researchers, six of whom are SEAS faculty, propose establishing a guiding set of principles to work holistically and systematically on long-term social, economic, environmental, and racial equity and resiliency concerns that have too often been sidelined in a rush for immediate results.

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