The UW College of the Environment is pleased to announce that Becky Alexander has been named the director of the UW Program on Climate Change (PCC).

Becky is an atmospheric chemist in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences who studies the feedbacks that arise between climate change and the chemical composition of the atmosphere. She also has a long-standing relationship with the program, as she was initially hired as new faculty spearheaded by the Program on Climate Change to promote interdisciplinary climate research and teaching.

“The Search Committee noted that there is widespread agreement throughout the PCC community that the interdisciplinary teaching and education focused on climate change that has been fostered by the PCC has created strong connections across the core units and has fostered important linkages with other units across the university. They also highlighted that PCC activities have led to tremendous results in creating and sustaining a strong community of graduate students. I am excited to have the opportunity to work closely with Becky to continue PCC’s momentum and build on its collaborative foundations so that the program continues to thrive.” said Lisa Graumlich, dean and Mary Laird Wood Professor at the College of the Environment.

The College would also like to thanks Cecilia Bitz for her service as the outgoing director.

“Cecilia’s collaborative approach and interest in a thriving climate community among faculty and students at the UW ensured that the PCC continues to be relevant after almost 20 years since its founding,” Graumlich said.

Thanks are also due to the advisory search committee for their outreach to the PCC community, energy and thoughtfulness, including Miriam Bertram (Assistant Director, Program on Climate Change), Dargan Frierson (Associate Professor, Atmospheric Sciences), Sarah Ragen (Graduate Student, Oceanography), Gerard Roe (Committee Chair; Professor, Earth and Space Sciences), and Rebecca Woodgate (Senior Principal Oceanographer, Applied Physics Lab; APL Professor WOT, Oceanography).