Dear alumni and friends,
From water to earth, we’ve reached air on our journey through the elements with The Commons. I truly hope you’ve been enjoying the updated storytelling and user experience, but whether your reaction has been hot, cold, or tepid, our editorial team would love to hear your feedback. If you have a moment, consider responding to this 1-question survey to let us know how you’re liking this era of The Commons.
With an issue covering air, it’s only fitting that our cover story takes a deep dive into air quality. Spanning science, policy, and practicality, this piece breaks down — in a remarkably engaging way (I laud writer Anica Graney) — what air quality actually means for you every time you take a breath. If you can spare 10 minutes today, this story is well worth taking a pause for. Our other stories offer quicker reads at more focused areas of air: pollen and allergens, tips for improving indoor air quality, even a look at how wildfire smoke affects birds featuring alumni expert Olivia Sanderfoot, who works at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
It would be impossible to talk about air and air quality without also discussing recent federal policy changes that specifically target clean air regulations. Professor Jonathan Patz has contributed an original commentary to this issue, in which he lays out the quantifiable health costs of air quality deregulation. You can also explore more air-related research from across the institute in our “Abstracts” section.
The stories in this issue deal with tangible things in the air: pollen and pollutants, satellites and songbirds. But change is an equally constant if less measurable matter “in the air.” Many of you will have heard the news earlier this year that UW–Madison Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin will be departing at the end of the semester to assume the presidency at Columbia University. Dr. Mnookin’s tenure at UW–Madison was notable for many of its remarkable commitments, which aligned closely with Nelson’s mission. Her tenure saw the implementation of a Wisconsin Tribal Educational Promise Program for undergraduate students, which advances work on Tribal relations that Nelson was key in helping kickstart many years ago. She also developed and oversaw the rollout of the campus’ first official sustainability goals; the campus Office of Sustainability Education and Research is housed in the institute, as you probably know, and has helped execute the charges made there to advancing research and providing student opportunities in sustainability courses, certificates, internships, and experiences.
Chancellor Mnookin left a terrifically positive mark on campus and on Nelson. We will maintain these commitments going forward.
On, Wisconsin!
Paul Robbins
Dean, Nelson Institute
