A better environment for a UW College of the Environment

The provost's instinct against building too many academic units into the initial COE is correct, but is also the very reason why so many essential units resist its ultimate bigness, and why so many faculty believe that a huge, traditional college only creates a new hierarchy, which could obstruct an innovative UW approach to research and teaching about the environment.

The UW could have much more influence on how the region and nation address environmental issues through science by creating institutes for Human Ecology and Environmental Sciences, and really address the complex nature of environmental challenges and their economic and social implications. This could be done by creating a virtual environment, with porous walls, for teaching, research, outreach, and collaboration that involves every person at the UW with expertise in environmental interactions. Whoever says collaboration has to take place in the same room, the same building, the same college, hasn't been paying attention to what's been going on in bioengineering, nanotechnology, surgery, or even Facebook.

Exploring these possibilities would be better than just rearranging boxes on organizational charts and demoting existing academic units. Done right, with all 400 faculty and 50 programs able to play a role, a UW Center for Human Ecology and Environmental Sciences could be a flexible reflection of the multidisciplinary approach of the new century, rather than a recapitulation of old models and old failures. What's needed now is a serious effort to create an expanded vision and execute a business plan that would turn a good idea into a brilliant stroke.