As a new academic year begins, it’s a great pleasure to welcome our students and faculty back to campus. I’d like to extend an especially warm welcome to students joining the Odum School for the first time. Whether you are arriving as an undergraduate, beginning a graduate degree, or transferring in from another institution, you are now part of a community united by curiosity about the natural world and a commitment to understanding and sustaining the ecological systems upon which we all depend.

The beginning of an academic year always brings renewed energy to the Odum School, and we have much to look forward to in the months ahead. On Sept. 17, the school will co-host a symposium on Urban Ecology and Environmental Justice, bringing together three outstanding scholars to explore how ecological benefits and environmental burdens are distributed across urban communities. The symposium is part of a three-year collaboration among the Odum School, the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, and the UGA School of Law, reflecting the interdisciplinary work required to address today’s complex environmental issues. 

On Oct. 15, we will host a screening of Groundswell, a 2026 documentary film that explores the global movement toward regenerative farming practices as a solution to climate change, biodiversity loss, and soil degradation. Following the showing, we will host a panel discussion with the film’s producers and regional experts on regenerative agriculture. Events like this allow us to reconnect with the Odum School’s long tradition of agroecological research by former faculty including Professors Dave Coleman, Paul Hendrix, and Dac Crossley. I hope that many of you will join us.

I also hope that everyone has had an opportunity to read the latest print edition of EcoVoice. Its stories capture the remarkable breadth of our School—from fundamental discovery to student learning and public service—and the many ways in which our faculty, staff, students and alumni put ecological knowledge to work. EcoVoice offers a vivid reminder that, while the environmental challenges we face are substantial, so too are the creativity, dedication and expertise being brought to bear upon them every day.

That expertise continues to grow. The Odum School has hired four new assistant professors in ecosystem ecology, three of whom joined us this fall. Together, they bring exciting new perspectives, tools and research programs to an area that has been a defining strength of the School since its founding. Gene Odum helped establish ecosystem ecology as a discipline by insisting that we understand nature as an interconnected whole. Our new colleagues extend that tradition at a moment when knowledge of how ecosystems function—and how they respond to rapid environmental change—has never been more important. I am delighted to welcome them to Odum and excited by the momentum they bring to our teaching and research.

With continuing threats to ecological systems and to the environment upon which all life depends, it can sometimes be difficult to remain optimistic. Yet the enthusiasm and accomplishments of our students give me enormous confidence in the future. This year, Odum School graduate students received five National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. Only 13 were awarded across UGA as a whole, meaning that more than one-third went to Odum students. That extraordinary achievement speaks volumes about the quality of the students we attract and the exceptional mentorship they receive from our faculty.

As we begin the year, I encourage everyone to take full advantage of the opportunities ahead: attend a symposium or film screening, read and share EcoVoice, welcome a new colleague, and learn something from a student whose energy is contagious. The challenges before us are real, but so is the talent of this community. I can think of no better reason to approach the coming year with optimism.