Message from the Dean

Greetings from the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, with whom we continue to seek a better relationship – a relationship that is built upon respect, reciprocity and efforts toward reconciliation.  I am grateful for the offerings I have from my Indigenous Advisor, Dr. Cliff Atleo, a Tsimshian (Kitsumkalum/Kitselas) and Nuu-chah-nulth (Ahousaht) scholar, and professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management.  We have a lot of work to do to address how to co-exist on stolen land and to combat racism.

The pandemic has highlighted our interdependency.  So have the recent natural disasters in our near environments, such as floods, forest fires, and heat waves.  The longstanding and recurring injustices that have brought on movements like Every Child Matters, Black Lives Matter, and Asian calls to action to stop discrimination, further expose our interdependency, because we must know how to learn to live well together. In unity, there is strength. 

We are all students in this changing world, and it is my joy to be a student with all of you in our learning journeys.  The Faculty of Environment can guide us and share expertise about climate change and policy, urban change and planning, earth systems change and natural resource management, cultural and historical change and heritage management, and Indigenous rights and relationships with land and sea. 

We are a truly interdisciplinary faculty that is leading the way in informing positive change.  Twenty percent of our research professors hold prestigious research awards -- as SFU Distinguished Professors, Royal Society of Canada members, or Canada Research Chairs.  Our Archaeology and Geography departments are among the best in Canada, and our three-year old School of Environmental Science is our fastest growing program.  Our School of Resource and Environmental Management continues to increase its undergraduate offerings and is leading Western Canada in its interdisciplinary Masters in Resource in Environmental Management program.  Last year, SFU students rated our faculty, “excellent”, in the learning environment it offers, and we continue to enjoy pride in superb teaching alongside a high level of student engagement and activism tied to social justice and a healthy environment.  EcoCanada recently indicated that there was a 20% increase in the green job sector, just in the past year. This underscores the need for the programs we offer and the research we lead.

We have a great deal to offer in the Faculty of Environment about the current state of knowledge about our interdependencies, positive pathways to change, and ways to collaborate, unify, and make improvements. 

I hope you will join us in your learning journey.