Director's Message
Welcome
As Interim Director, I am pleased to welcome and invite your participation in the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy (CUERP). CUERP was organized, in part, as a response to the issues of unsustainable use of natural resources and the resulting consequences for the poor, for human health and for biodiversity on Earth. In 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment summarized their report on the status of global ecosystems as follows:
- Humans have altered ecosystems around the globe more radically in the past 50 years than ever before in history, and the degradation and loss of wetlands and coastal wetlands is more rapid than that of other ecosystems
- Changes in technology and development have brought gains but at high ecosystem cost, and the benefits are not equally shared by all people
- Further unsustainable practices will threaten development goals, human health, biodiversity and global climate stability, and widen the chasm between wealthy and poor
- Workable solutions will require significant changes in governmental policy and effective regulatory practices, as well as human lifestyle and behavioral changes
CUERP is a new and dynamic Center of Excellence at Loyola that seeks to advance understanding of the complex interactions and feedback between natural and human systems, especially in large metropolitan areas, through interdisciplinary research that combines perspectives of demographers, social scientists, educators, human health scientists, political scientists, aquatic ecologists, soil and atmospheric scientists, lawyers and policy makers, and economists, among others. The CUERP faculty includes more than 60 researchers with expertise in environmental issues, representing more than 20 disciplines.
CUERP faculty and students, along with a wide range of state and local agencies, academic institutions and non-governmental organizations are working together to study the structure and function of the urban ecosystem, assess the effects of urban and suburban development in the Great Lakes watershed and define the impact of reduced ecological conditions on urban sustainability, biodiversity and human health. CUERP provides excellent opportunities for interested undergraduate and graduate students to gain interdisciplinary research experience, as well as internships with our partners.
CUERP outreach and service activities engage Chicago area citizens, community partners, and K-12 teachers and students in its research endeavors to promote environmental education, awareness and stewardship, as well as social responsibility.
Thank you for your interest in CUERP. I encourage your participation in our monthly meetings and seminar series, as well as on our interdisciplinary research projects. Please contact us for more information including the dates of the upcoming meetings.
Nancy C. Tuchman, Ph.D.
Interim Director of CUERP
Associate Provost for Research and Centers
Professor, Department of Biology
ntuchma@luc.edu
773.508.2475