About Us – LSA Sustainability

What is LSA Sustainability?

In 2024, the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts embarked on the Year of Sustainability, a theme year focused on climate action at the intersection of academics, operations, and engagement. The new LSA Sustainability Team, housed in LSA Facilities & Operations, is responsible for continuing this work and directing long-term action specific to the college’s physical and programmatic footprint. This includes a strong focus on facilities and operations, as well as ongoing collaborations with Planet Blue partners and college leadership to advance other topic areas.

The LSA Sustainability Team is available to support all faculty, students, and staff in the college or connect individuals with other sustainability resources on campus.

Our Mission

The LSA Sustainability team provides direction, topical expertise, resources, and project-management capacity for the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Inspired by our community, LSA Sustainability’s approach centers social, scientific, and cultural dimensions of environmental work. While our projects are primarily operational in scope, the team also partners with faculty and college leadership to support climate action efforts related to the curriculum, research, and broader engagement of students, faculty, and staff.

Our team is action- and solution-oriented, and aims to be responsive to the broader LSA community’s needs and areas of excellence.

The realities of climate change and environmental racism are disproportionately experienced by communities and individuals who have already been marginalized. Our team will prioritize environmental and climate justice in dialogue with subject matter experts and campus– and college–wide D.E.I work. We also acknowledge long-standing representation issues within the realm of sustainability and climate action. LSA Sustainability will provide opportunities to explore these and other intersections together as LSA envisions a just and low-carbon future.

Planet Blue and LSA

The University of Michigan is committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, with additional goals around watershed protection, transportation, community engagement, waste reduction, justice, and beyond. You can learn more about University-level climate action and goals through the campuswide Planet Blue initiative or through U-M’s Office of Campus Sustainability.

The LSA Sustainability team is committed to advancing University-level sustainability actions through strategic partnerships with central sustainability teams, such as the Office of Campus Sustainability, Planet Blue Ambassadors, and Student Life Sustainability. We acknowledge the privilege and opportunity of being the largest college at the University of Michigan and are excited to offer additional resources to our community.

Meet Our Team!

Staff Leadership

Meet Dan Rife! He is the Director of LSA Facilities and Operations. He and his team support all of the nearly 2 million square feet of space occupied by LSA units across 25 different campus buildings and leased spaces. Dan’s early career work as a Planet Blue Program Manager and LSA Energy Engineer have helped launch sustainability initiatives across the university’s campus.

Meet Caitlin Jacobs! She is the Carbon Neutrality Program Manager for the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. She works alongside LSA community members and leadership to advance strategies aligned with LSA’s mission and U-M’s campus goals. Before joining the University of Michigan in June 2023, Caitlin supported campus sustainability at the University of Notre Dame.

Meet Jenna Steele! She is the Sustainability Program Assistant for the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. She works at the intersection of operations and engagement to implement sustainability programming and opportunities for the LSA community.

We thank Dr. Anne McNeil, Dr. Nate Sanders, Dr. Sara Soderstrom, and Dr. Julia Cole for their incredible leadership during the LSA Year of Sustainability and continued support.