About
Shalanda Baker, vice provost for sustainability and climate action, advances sustainability education and research across U-M schools and colleges.
At the forefront of her responsibilities is leading interdisciplinary engagement on environmental topics, exploring opportunities to integrate sustainability within core curricula and supporting critical research that addresses the climate crisis.
The vice provost also advances U-M’s role as a living-learning lab toward climate solutions, in collaboration with Business & Finance, the Office of Campus Sustainability, Student Life Sustainability, the Graham Sustainability Institute, Michigan Medicine, and schools, colleges and units.
Core Work
OVPSCA advances sustainability and climate action across the University of Michigan by helping connect vision to implementation across schools, colleges, units, and partners. Working across all three campuses, the office convenes collaborators, supports emerging initiatives, and helps align academic, operational, and public-facing efforts around a shared commitment to climate action, sustainability, and environmental justice.
OVPSCA’s efforts focus on five interconnected areas of impact.
Research and Innovation – OVPSCA helps catalyze interdisciplinary research and innovation that address urgent climate and sustainability challenges. By connecting ideas, people, and institutional priorities, the office supports initiatives that expand U-M’s research leadership and create new opportunities for collaboration, visibility, and impact. Examples include the Michigan Futures Initiative and other cross-campus efforts that advance applied, future-facing climate work.
Education and Curriculum – OVPSCA advances sustainability education by exploring opportunities to integrate sustainability and climate topics into the curriculum and by strengthening connections across academic programs. This work helps expand student learning, interdisciplinary exchange, and the university’s capacity to prepare learners to lead in a climate-changed world. Examples may include initiatives such as M-CCAF and other cross-campus frameworks that support coordination, planning, and long-term impact.
Community Impact – OVPSCA brings together faculty, staff, students, and external partners to strengthen collaboration and accelerate climate action. Through university-wide convenings, partnerships, and public-facing initiatives, the office helps build shared momentum, deepen engagement, and connect U-M’s work to broader communities and societal needs. Examples include Climate Week and other efforts that invite wide participation and shared ownership.
Institutional Alignment and Capacity Building – OVPSCA helps build the structures, partnerships, and shared tools needed to advance sustainability work across a complex institution. By coordinating across units, supporting strategic initiatives, and fostering alignment among academic and operational partners, the office strengthens the university’s capacity to move ambitious ideas into sustained action.
Campus as a Living-Learning Lab – OVPSCA helps position the university as a living-learning lab for climate solutions by connecting academic expertise with campus practice. In collaboration with the Sustainability Leadership Council, the office partners across operations, student life, institutes, and schools and colleges, and supports efforts that turn the campus itself into a site for experimentation, learning, and measurable progress.
Central Office Team
Shalanda Baker, Vice Provost for Sustainability and Climate Action and Professor of Environment and Sustainability, School for Environment and Sustainability
Eric Aiken, Project Senior Manager for Sustainability and Climate Action
Anjuli Jain Figueroa, Assistant Vice Provost for Sustainability and Climate Action and Director of Strategic Initiatives
Kathy Rivera, Executive Assistant
Reporting Units
Graham Sustainability Institute
Drew Horning, Director, Graham Sustainability Institute
The University of Michigan Graham Sustainability Institute works to bring together the world-class expertise of U-M faculty and students with the knowledge and needs of these off-campus partners to solve sustainability challenges on all scales, from the local to the global.
Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum
Anthony Kolenic, Director, Matthaei Botanical Garden & Nichols Arboretum
The University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Garden & Nichols Arboretum is a living, immersive museum designed to help students learn, UM faculty conduct research, and the public understand ourselves as part of the natural world at a time that it’s most urgent.
Central Affiliate and Partnership Websites
Graham Sustainability Institute
Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum
Michigan Futures Initiative
Climate Week
School for Environment and Sustainability
Planet Blue- Sustainability Leadership Council