GIER officially launched on October 22, 2019. Over 100 environmental researchers from all seven colleges of the University of Guelph were in attendance. We also had the pleasure of hosting several distinguished external guests including the Mayor of Guelph, MPP Mike Schreiner, Councillor Cathie Jamieson from the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations, and members from local and national media.
Top row: Dr. Jonathan Newman (first proponent of GIER) and Dr. Madhur Anand (Director); Dr. Noella Gray (Chair of GIER’s Governance Committee). Bottom row: Cam Guthrie (Mayor of Guelph); Dr. Genevieve Ali (affiliate member of GIER) enjoying the Arts+Environmental Science exhibition. Photo credit: Karen Whylie.
Dr. Madhur Anand, Director, said in her inaugural speech: “Many of us would agree that there is strength in diversity, but anyone who does interdisciplinary work knows it has its challenges. We have to feel comfortable stepping out of our departments, our colleges, and our existing networks and structures. My vision is that GIER will provide the opportunities to do just that. And in that process, all the outstanding environmental research occurring at Guelph, both current and potential, will have an even greater impact. That we will be able to solve environmental problems at a new level of thinking, far beyond where we were when we created them.” Cheers to the successful launch of GIER!
Faculty and external collaborators exchange greetings and ideas at GIER’s launch. Photo credit: Karen Whylie.
