Rosina Bierbaum, Ph.D.
In October 2001 Dr. Rosina Bierbaum joined the University of Michigan as Dean of the School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE). Since her arrival, Bierbaum has: overseen the creation of a new undergraduate Program in the Environment; enhanced interdisciplinary teaching and research by successfully recruiting thirteen new faculty to the School, eight of whom hold joint appointments in other Colleges at the University of Michigan; developed a new MS track to link business, engineering and natural resources; tripled research activity in SNRE; and expanded the mission of the School to include global change. Each year, she teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate programs and guest lectures in a dozen classes across the University. Additionally, she delivers about 50 presentations in national and international venues annually.
Bierbaum currently serves as a trustee of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR); and as a board member for the Federation of American Scientists, The Energy Foundation and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. She is also a member of the International Advisory Board for the journal “Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment”, the National Research Council’s Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, the Design Committee for The Heinz Center’s The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems project, and the Executive Committee for the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. On campus, she co-chairs the University of Michigan’s Sustainability Task Force and chairs the Deans’ Council of the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute. Governor Granholm appointed her to serve on the State’s Task Force on Chronic Wasting Disease in Cervids in 2003.
Prior to joining the School of Natural Resources and Environment, Bierbaum was acting director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) from January 2001, and preceding that, she directed the Environment Division at OSTP. Dr. Bierbaum was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Associate Director for Environment of OSTP on July 30, 1998. She served as the Administration’s senior scientific advisor on environmental research and development, with responsibilities for scientific input and guidance on a wide range of national and international environmental issues. These included global change, air and water quality, endangered species, biodiversity, ecosystem management, endocrine disruptors, environmental monitoring, natural hazards, and energy research and development. She worked closely with the President’s National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), and co-chaired its Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources, which coordinated the $5 billion Federal research and development efforts in this area. Bierbaum led the U.S. delegations to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Plenary in Shanghai in 2001, the IPCC Plenary in Montreal in 1999, and the IPCC plenary in Costa Rica in 1998, and served as alternate head of delegation to the IPCC plenary in Mexico City in 1996. She headed the U.S. Delegation for the U.S./China bilateral on Climate Science.