UNR launches new Academy for the Environment

RENO, Nev. (AP) - A new Academy for the Environment will bring more visibility to environmental programs at the University of Nevada, Reno, and provide better coordination of various lines of study, officials said.

The goal, said interim director Mike Collopy, is to "pull some of these different programs together," and not only provide students with a better education, but serve the community and state with a coordinated approach to environmental issues.

"Outreach will be a major part of what the academy's about," said Collopy, a professor and chairman of the Natural Resources and Environmental Science Department in the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources.

"There's a lot of ways people look at environmental issues," Collopy said. For example, people involved in environmental economics may not be familiar with work going on in other areas, such as biology, hydrology or geology.

The academy, Collopy said, will link the various environmental programs in the university's schools and colleges under one umbrella organization.

"This Academy for the Environment will make Nevada unique among western colleges of our size, because of its holistic emphasis on environmental studies," said John Frederick, UNR provost and vice president.

"Our prime focus is to better coordinate and raise the collective visibility of our campus environmental programs," Frederick said. "We hope to do this by taking advantage of our considerable historic expertise and our prime location in Nevada, with Lake Tahoe in our backyard."

Collopy is a professor and researcher specializing in birds of prey. He helped establish and served as director of a federal research lab at Oregon State University for 10 years before coming to UNR in 2001. Before that, he was chairman of the Wildlife and Range Sciences Department at the University of Florida.

A national search will be conducted for a permanent academy director, officials said.