Erin Seekamp to Co-Lead Climate and Sustainability Academy

Erin Seekamp, the Goodnight Distinguished Professor of Coastal Resilience and Sustainability in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, has been named executive director of NC State’s Climate and Sustainability Academy. She will lead the academy alongside Christopher Galik, who will serve as deputy executive director.

The Climate and Sustainability Academy will connect and oversee the Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (CRSI), focused on the coast and its watersheds, and the Sustainable Futures Initiative (SFI), working to bring together students, staff, scholars and practitioners to imagine and implement sustainable solutions for society. It also aims to facilitate and amplify climate and sustainability work on campus, including the State Climate Office, the Sustainability Office and the 20+ entities represented in the Climate Solutions Collaborative. 

“NC State is already a world leader in finding sustainable solutions and understanding climate. Through this academy, Erin and Christopher will make it easier for existing programs to work together; easier for our students to get the training they need to innovate and to better their communities and the state; and easier for NC State to help our partners in the communities to deal with the challenges and opportunities of the next decade,” said College of Natural Resources Dean Myron Floyd.

In addition to her faculty appointment in the College of Natural Resources, Seekamp also serves as the director of the CRSI. She joined NC State in 2012 as a professor and extension tourism specialist in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. As executive director, Seekamp will lead the overall academy as well as the components of the academy focused on climate.

Seekamp is the first woman in the College of Natural Resources to receive the Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professorship Award, and she was named a University Faculty Scholar in 2020. She received her Bachelor of Science in anthropology from James Madison University, her Master of Science in forestry from Virginia Tech, and her Ph.D. in natural resources from the University of Idaho.