Stacy VanDeveer becomes Uppsala university’s sixth Zennström visiting professor in climate change leadership. The guest professorship is part of a ten year’s series of yearly alternating guest professorships that is financed by a donation from Zennström Philanthropies, founded by Uppsala university alumnus Niklas Zennström and his wife Catherine Zennström. The purpose with the Zennström visiting professorship is to contribute through state-of-the art research and teaching with new perspectives and solutions related to the global climate crisis.
Stacy VanDeveer is a professor and chair of the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security & Global Governance at the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at University of Massachusetts Boston, interim director for the Centre for Governance & Sustainability at UMass Boston. He will work 50% at the Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University within the unit for Climate Change Leadership from September 2023 to August 2024.
VanDeveer’s research answers key questions of global environmental politics and the interface between science and policy. The resulting answers have left strong marks on scholarly and non-scholarly communities alike. This includes his work on the roles of experts in policymaking, EU environmental and energy politics, and processes and institutions of global environmental policymaking. Professor VanDeveer has also conducted community-engaged research on climate change policies in the US. He is frequently advising local, state and federal officials in the US on how to improve climate policy-making.
As recent events around the globe demonstrate, climate change is growing more dangerous. Our policies, and our local and national political leaders, must push forward to accelerate our commitments. If Sweden joins the ranks of the member states who want to go slower rather than lead, European and global climate action is likely to slow – or fail. I want to see a stronger climate leadership, that addresses problems in our lives and communities while, at the same time, reduces emissions and makes our communities more resilient and sustainable, says professor Stacy VanDeveer.
Stacy VanDeveer will participate in research, teaching and external collaboration as part of the growing research group in Climate Change Leadership, CCL, at Uppsala University.
The gap between climate goals and emissions is large and further research is needed on how to overcome barriers to climate mitigation in politics and society. Stacy VanDeveer has a unique international insight into how the climate issue and other environmental problems are governed. As visiting professor, Stacy VanDeveer will strengthen our research and support our communication about the opportunities arising when working to achieve society’s environmental goals in fair and effective ways, says Mikael Karlsson, head of the climate change leadership unit at Uppsala University and responsible for the recruitment of VanDeveer.
Read more about Stacy and his motivation and ambitions with the visiting professorship here. Take the opportunity to attend Stacy’s inaugural lecture on October 9th at 9am at Humanistiska teatern. More information about the programme and registration will follow.