Steelman Named Dean of Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment

Wildfire expert Toddi Steelman, the first permanent executive director at the University of Saskatchewan’s School of Environment and Sustainability (SENS), has been selected as the next dean of Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment effective July 1, Duke President Vincent Price and Provost Sally Kornbluth announced Tuesday.

Steelman, who earned her Ph.D. from the Nicholas School in 1996, has some unusual items on her resume, including qualified wildland firefighter, ice-road trucker and participant in the world’s largest snowball fight. 

Steelman will follow Jeffrey Vincent, Clarence F. Korstian Professor of Forest Economics and Management, who has been serving as the interim dean since the departure of former dean Alan Townsend last year.

“I am delighted to welcome Toddi Steelman back to Duke,” said Price. “She has a rare combination of scholarly achievement and successful leadership in environmental education and research that will only accelerate the Nicholas School’s great momentum in focusing on perhaps the defining issues of our time.  And as a Duke graduate, she has a special understanding of our culture of collaboration, ambition and action.”

Read the full article on DukeToday here.