School Notes: School of the Environment
May/June 2009

Eminent evolutionary biologist appointed F&ES dean

Sir Peter Crane, a distinguished evolutionary biologist, will take over as dean of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies on September 1. (See "Biologist to Head Yale's Environment School" for a Yale Alumni Magazine report.) He succeeds Gus Speth, dean of the school since 1999, who is stepping down to teach at Vermont Law School.

Crane, the John and Marion Sullivan University Professor in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago, is the former director of England's renowned Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Earlier in his career he also led the scientific programs at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Crane's research is focused on the diversity of plant life, including its origin and fossil history, its current status, and its conservation and use. Seeking to understand large-scale patterns and processes of plant evolution, he has worked extensively on questions relating to the origin and early diversification of flowering plants and, together with Paul Kenrick, published The Origin and Early Diversification of Land Plants: A Cladistic Study in 1997. He has written several other books and authored nearly 200 articles and essays.

F&ES students hold environmental film festival

A Yale film festival intended to raise awareness of global environmental issues featured a special advance screening of the Disney film Earth and a documentary by Madonna that chronicled the suffering of children in Malawi orphaned by AIDS. The three-day environmental film festival took place in April and showcased feature-length documentaries and short films, as well as panel discussions, conversations with filmmakers, and workshops that explored issues raised in the films. The festival was sponsored by F&ES. "Film is a unique medium to inform, educate, and influence the public on environmental issues," said Eric Desatnik, an executive director of the festival and a master's student at the environment school. "We wanted the series to not only be entertaining, but promote reflection, further inquiry, and environmental literacy."