Steven Sadro Named Chair of the Department of Environmental Science and Policy

Professor Steven Sadro is the new chair of the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis. Sadro, who joined the faculty in 2015, is a freshwater ecologist who studies how lakes and streams respond to environmental change.

Sadro started the role July 1 and succeeds Susan Harrison, who served as chair for the past six years and will remain a distinguished professor with the department. Sadro said he plans to continue the department’s strategic planning efforts while looking for ways to give students the knowledge, experiences and support they need to succeed in their careers.

“I feel a strong sense of duty and responsibility to the department and our students, and I appreciate the opportunity to serve,” Sadro said. “Last year, we started dipping our toes into strategic planning, and I’d like to carry forward with that process. We also have our major program review taking place this year. It’s an opportunity to be reflective of our curriculum and the needs of our current students.”

Sadro earned his bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Cruz and his Ph.D. from UC Santa Barbara. After hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada one summer with his wife, he became interested in studying inland waters. He focuses on why lakes and streams change over time, using the Sierra Nevada as a living laboratory to understand how freshwater ecosystems work and how to better protect them. He frequently collaborates with researchers and students with the Tahoe Environmental Research Center on projects focused on the conservation of aquatic ecosystems.

He’s also an advisor with the Graduate Group in Ecology and serves as a member of the Tahoe Advisory Committee.

“Steve is exceptionally well qualified to serve as department chair with an impressive record of research, teaching, outreach, mentoring and service,” said Ashley M. Stokes, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “He is an internationally recognized limnologist, focusing on the drivers of ecosystem structure and function in the context of global change. His long-term research on the networks of Sierra Nevada lakes sets the standard for such studies worldwide.”

Looking ahead, Sadro said he hopes the department will continue doing work that makes a meaningful difference for the environment and in people’s lives.

“We live in a world where environmental change is widespread and rapid,” he said. “More than ever, we need future leaders who can understand complex systems and use evidence to guide effective action. Our department will continue to draw on the breadth and depth of our faculty’s expertise to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to improve environmental management, planning and policy in California and beyond.”