Academic Divisions

The Division of Organisms & Environment focuses on relationships among organisms, populations and the environment within the contexts of genetic, physiological, behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary processes. We address environmental challenges relating to sustainability, loss of biodiversity, invasion of organisms and the emergence of disease, and the maintenance of natural and cultivated ecosystems.

The Division of Ecosystem Sciences examines the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems including agricultural lands, forests, and rangelands, and their interactions with soil, air, water and organisms (microbes, plants, invertebrates, wildlife, livestock). We investigate the role of human activity in ecosystems and the problems humans create, including atmospheric changes and ecological diversity.

The Division of Society & Environment brings perspectives from the social sciences, humanities, and environmental sciences to our teaching, research, and extension in the field of natural resources and the environment. Faculty and students explore how natural resources and the environment influence and are influenced by social, cultural, and politico-economic institutions and processes.