THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY

The new directors of the University of Delaware’s Office of Sustainability are Jeffrey Summerhays, (left), director of sustainable operations, and Chris Williams, associate provost and academic director of the new office.

The office, established in 2022 by President Dennis Assanis at the recommendation of UD’s Sustainability Council, is charged with advancing sustainable approaches in every aspect of life at UD. The office will define goals and measure progress, report challenges and successes, and will ensure that sustainability is both a priority and consistent focus throughout UD’s domain.

Experience and expertise

The new directors bring a wealth of knowledge and practice to their respective roles.

Summerhays brings demonstrated success and administrative savvy to the operations front. He joins UD’s leadership team from the University of California, where he spent the past two years as co-chair of UC’s Zero Waste Working Group in the Office of the President, facilitating efforts on 10 campuses to share, adopt and engage in the best sustainability practices. He also served as sustainability manager for UC San Diego, where he oversaw a $2.4 million budget, developed a carbon reduction strategy and significantly improved recycling practices.

Williams, who joined UD’s faculty in 2004 and holds joint appointments with the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology and the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration, has been at the fore of sustainability efforts at UD. He co-chaired the Sustainability Council and has a long track record of building shared governance relationships, serving two terms as Faculty Senate president.

In addition to Summerhays and Williams’ leadership, the University of Delaware’s charge for creating a more sustainable world also includes some of UD’s most important voices and perspectives — our students — both undergraduate and graduate. UD is committed to providing outstanding experiential learning opportunities that mirror our core values and provide transferable career-building skills necessary to address today’s climate challenges. Listed below are the Office of Sustainability’s young leaders who have answered this call.