From the Dean
From the Dean
Dear friends, colleagues, and alumni of SES,
It is with mixed emotions that I inform you that I will be retiring in the summer of 2025. I have had an exciting and privileged series of positions at Loyola over my 35-year career, providing a deep appreciation of Jesuit higher education and the University.
My career journey started as a junior faculty member in Biology (1989–2002). After attaining full professor rank and serving as a program officer at the National Science Foundation for a year, I was invited to serve the university as associate provost for research and centers (2003–2008), founding director of the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy (2005–2010) then vice provost for academics and new initiatives (2010–2013). I was then appointed to serve as founding director of the Institute of Environmental Sustainability (IES, 2013–2020) and then founding dean of the new School of Environmental Sustainability (2020 – present).
Some personal highlights along this journey include hiring and mentoring new faculty and staff, starting the Office of Sustainability and our campus sustainability initiative, guiding the design and development of a broad portfolio of undergraduate and graduate curricular programs, and seeing our students thrive during their education with SES and go on to land excellent positions in environmental organizations. It has also been gratifying to participate with Loyola’s Leadership Team to achieve national and international prominence in environmental sustainability from the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities in the US and the worldwide International Association of Jesuit Universities.
Building anything new at a university requires collaboration, and I am forever grateful for the vision and effort of the many University partners who have helped build our reputation as one of the most environmentally sustainable universities in the country. Every incremental step in bringing environmental sustainability to the forefront at Loyola was due to the generosity, experience, intelligence, and standards of excellence held by our leadership partners across the University.
I am thankful for University presidents—especially Fr. Michael Garanzini and our current president, Mark Reed—who made bold commitments to the environment and kept Loyola on this path. Our past and present provosts, CFOs, and VPs of General Counsel, Public Relations, HR, Information Technology Services, Student Development, and Mission Identity have also played vital roles in advancing this important work. VP Kana Henning and her team in Facilities have been excellent partners and leaders in advancing environmental sustainability and energy efficiency on our campuses, and University Marketing and Communications, Admissions, and Enrollment Management have helped build our reputation, leveraging the University’s distinguishing commitment to the environment.
In addition, the SES team recognizes and thanks university partners in Advancement and our loyal and generous donors, particularly Michael and Nydia Searle, Judi Duchossois, Taylor and Paulette O’Malley, The Alvin H. Baum Family Fund, Michael and Dorothy Carbon, Mary Ann Smith, The Eleven Eleven Foundation, Don McLauchlan, Porticus, The Gore Family Memorial Foundation, The Ferdi Foundation and many others whose generosity has been pivotal in advancing our work.
This year, Loyola is conducting a national search for the next dean to lead SES. I am confident that we will attract excellent candidates for the position given that concerns of the environment are top of mind for youth, the field is rapidly growing, and Loyola has a demonstrated 22-year commitment to the environment. The next dean will step into a thriving school with a talented, committed, and energetic faculty and staff and will help the school grow to meet future challenges. The University’s leadership will support the next dean in further expanding SES and decarbonizing our campuses.
My vision for the future of SES involves you. Moving forward, it is crucial that we continue to work together to care for our shared planet and to support the education and development of the next generation of environmental change-agents. Over the next decade, SES will continue to build excellence in its undergraduate and graduate programming, aiming to develop a PhD program to train effective environmental researchers and policy makers. SES will continue to lead interdisciplinary environmental sustainability in higher education, developing its specialty areas of expertise in food, bio-diversity, climate and energy, environmental health, and environment and society. The school will continue to grow and thrive because we are part of a Jesuit University with a remarkable commitment to the planet and its people.
In the following pages of this annual report, you will find stories of events and testimonies of students, alumni, faculty, staff, and donors. I hope you enjoy reading about their experiences at Loyola and how these experiences have inspired them to serve the planet and its people. As SES moves into the future, I invite you to help us continue to build our community in service of our common home. Together, we can make a difference!
Yours in solidarity,
Nancy C. Tuchman, PhD
Professor and Founding Dean
School of Environmental Sustainability
Dear friends, colleagues, and alumni of SES,
It is with mixed emotions that I inform you that I will be retiring in the summer of 2025. I have had an exciting and privileged series of positions at Loyola over my 35-year career, providing a deep appreciation of Jesuit higher education and the University.
My career journey started as a junior faculty member in Biology (1989–2002). After attaining full professor rank and serving as a program officer at the National Science Foundation for a year, I was invited to serve the university as associate provost for research and centers (2003–2008), founding director of the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy (2005–2010) then vice provost for academics and new initiatives (2010–2013). I was then appointed to serve as founding director of the Institute of Environmental Sustainability (IES, 2013–2020) and then founding dean of the new School of Environmental Sustainability (2020 – present).
Some personal highlights along this journey include hiring and mentoring new faculty and staff, starting the Office of Sustainability and our campus sustainability initiative, guiding the design and development of a broad portfolio of undergraduate and graduate curricular programs, and seeing our students thrive during their education with SES and go on to land excellent positions in environmental organizations. It has also been gratifying to participate with Loyola’s Leadership Team to achieve national and international prominence in environmental sustainability from the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities in the US and the worldwide International Association of Jesuit Universities.
Building anything new at a university requires collaboration, and I am forever grateful for the vision and effort of the many University partners who have helped build our reputation as one of the most environmentally sustainable universities in the country. Every incremental step in bringing environmental sustainability to the forefront at Loyola was due to the generosity, experience, intelligence, and standards of excellence held by our leadership partners across the University.
I am thankful for University presidents—especially Fr. Michael Garanzini and our current president, Mark Reed—who made bold commitments to the environment and kept Loyola on this path. Our past and present provosts, CFOs, and VPs of General Counsel, Public Relations, HR, Information Technology Services, Student Development, and Mission Identity have also played vital roles in advancing this important work. VP Kana Henning and her team in Facilities have been excellent partners and leaders in advancing environmental sustainability and energy efficiency on our campuses, and University Marketing and Communications, Admissions, and Enrollment Management have helped build our reputation, leveraging the University’s distinguishing commitment to the environment.
In addition, the SES team recognizes and thanks university partners in Advancement and our loyal and generous donors, particularly Michael and Nydia Searle, Judi Duchossois, Taylor and Paulette O’Malley, The Alvin H. Baum Family Fund, Michael and Dorothy Carbon, Mary Ann Smith, The Eleven Eleven Foundation, Don McLauchlan, Porticus, The Gore Family Memorial Foundation, The Ferdi Foundation and many others whose generosity has been pivotal in advancing our work.
This year, Loyola is conducting a national search for the next dean to lead SES. I am confident that we will attract excellent candidates for the position given that concerns of the environment are top of mind for youth, the field is rapidly growing, and Loyola has a demonstrated 22-year commitment to the environment. The next dean will step into a thriving school with a talented, committed, and energetic faculty and staff and will help the school grow to meet future challenges. The University’s leadership will support the next dean in further expanding SES and decarbonizing our campuses.
My vision for the future of SES involves you. Moving forward, it is crucial that we continue to work together to care for our shared planet and to support the education and development of the next generation of environmental change-agents. Over the next decade, SES will continue to build excellence in its undergraduate and graduate programming, aiming to develop a PhD program to train effective environmental researchers and policy makers. SES will continue to lead interdisciplinary environmental sustainability in higher education, developing its specialty areas of expertise in food, bio-diversity, climate and energy, environmental health, and environment and society. The school will continue to grow and thrive because we are part of a Jesuit University with a remarkable commitment to the planet and its people.
In the following pages of this annual report, you will find stories of events and testimonies of students, alumni, faculty, staff, and donors. I hope you enjoy reading about their experiences at Loyola and how these experiences have inspired them to serve the planet and its people. As SES moves into the future, I invite you to help us continue to build our community in service of our common home. Together, we can make a difference!
Yours in solidarity,
Nancy C. Tuchman, PhD
Professor and Founding Dean
School of Environmental Sustainability