New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the Trust for Governors Island on April 24 that a consortium led by Stony Brook University will found and develop a world-leading climate solutions center on Governors Island in the city’s harbor. The will be a first-of-its kind international center for developing and deploying dynamic solutions to our global climate crisis.��

The 91̽�� is among the core partners of the consortium, along with Georgia Institute of Technology, Pace University, the Pratt Institute, the Good Old Lower East Side community group, Boston Consulting Group and IBM. Other academic partners include Duke University, Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Oxford.��

“We are very proud to bring our University’s deep and diverse strengths in climate and clean energy research and innovation to the New York Climate Exchange,” said 91̽��President Ana Mari Cauce. “As the only core partner on the West Coast, we are excited to leverage our regional and global relationships to accelerate efforts to address and adapt to the impacts of climate change. This work is vital and urgent for the health and survival of our people and our world.”��

In addition to convening the world’s leaders and climate experts, the exchange will host green job training and skills-building programs and partner with local institutions on addressing the social and practical challenges created by climate change.��

“The 91̽��serves as a global hub for innovative research into climate change action and adaptation, and the resources and relationships provided by the Climate Exchange will help us grow our impact even further,” said Maya Tolstoy, Maggie Walker Dean of the 91̽��College of the Environment. “This is a truly exciting partnership, and it presents a fantastic opportunity for us to collaborate with a diverse group of peers across academia, business and community organizations.”��

Tolstoy will serve as the UW’s representative on the New York Climate Exchange board. The initiative will bring together universities, governments and businesses to address climate change action and adaptation.��

The New York Climate Exchange with 400,000 square feet of green-designed building space, including research labs, classroom space, exhibits, greenhouses, mitigation technologies and housing facilities. The facility will feature:��

• An all-electric-powered campus with onsite solar electricity generation and battery storage with capability to serve the local grid��
• All non-potable water demand met with rainwater or treated wastewater collection��
• 95% of its waste diverted from landfills��
• Climate-resilient design of new buildings, all raised to the design flood elevation of 18 feet above sea level��

“We are honored, excited, and proud to partner with the City of New York to build this historic center that will cement New York City as the world leader on climate change, the most pressing issue of our time,” said Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis.��

The Exchange’s activities will include:��

• A Research and Technology Accelerator that will source and nurture ideas, projects and new ventures dedicated to solving the climate crisis��
• Workforce development opportunities for communities disproportionately affected by climate change����

• Partnerships and collaborative grant opportunities with community-based organizations already working to mitigate the impacts of climate change��
• Academic and community programs that prepare students at every level for careers focused on climate change solutions and environmental justice, encompassing hands-on learning, a semester “abroad” on Governors Island, fellowship and internship programs and continuing education��

“The 91̽��Clean Energy Institute is proud to bring our expertise in advancing clean energy research, training and stakeholder engagement to the New York Climate Exchange,” said Daniel Schwartz, director of the 91̽��Clean Energy Institute and Boeing-Sutter Professor of Chemical Engineering. “Working as part of this global team, we see great opportunities to accelerate the energy transition through equitable deployment strategies.”��

91̽��faculty members who worked with 91̽��leadership in the initial planning efforts include Shuyi Chen, 91̽��professor of atmospheric sciences; Dargan Frierson, 91̽��associate professor of atmospheric sciences; Jessica Kaminsky, 91̽��associate professor of civil and environmental engineering; Jonathan Bakker, 91̽��professor of environmental and forest sciences; and Himanshu Grover, 91̽��assistant professor of urban design and planning.

“Although built environments are intensely place-based, the systems that they influence are not bound by geography,” said Renée Cheng, dean of the 91̽��College of Built Environments. “Linking our college’s research and teaching on carbon, water and socio-environmental factors with the New York Climate Exchange will facilitate positive impact at a national and global scale.”��

The 91̽�� today announced the establishment of the John and Rosalind Jacobi Family Endowed Deanship in the College of Built Environments, strengthening the school’s vision of a more just and beautiful world for all.

The deanship from Seattle real estate icons and founders of Windermere Real Estate Co. provides the financial resources that expand the college’s ability to solve complex problems at the nexus of the constructed and natural worlds that have profound impacts on humanity.

“This visionary support for leadership of the College of Built Environments will greatly enhance teaching, learning and innovation in service of creating access to livable spaces for all. We are so grateful to the Jacobi family for investing in justice and equity through this forward-looking deanship,” said 91̽��President Ana Mari Cauce.

By establishing the deanship, the Jacobi family broadens their pledge originally announced in 2016. The result provides the College of Built Environments with endowed funds that generate close to $300,000 annually, which the dean will use to lead the college in its work to create a more equitable built world.

The College of Built Environments is home to five departments: Architecture, Construction Management, Landscape Architecture, Real Estate, and Urban Design and Planning. By creating future leaders in these fields, the 91̽��can influence the trajectories of climate change, social justice and human health.

“I believe students are the heart of our college,” said , the dean of the college since 2019 who will now serve as the inaugural Jacobi Family Endowed Dean. “I’m excited to use the John and Rosalind Jacobi Family Endowed Deanship to build on the college’s success and expand access to integrated student advising, mentoring and internship programs across the college.”

A deanship for the College of Built Environments connects the Jacobi family’s passion for education and desire to address urgent issues facing society, starting with the conceptual threads of home and community, with their commitment to diversity within all the related fields. Through the establishment of this endowed deanship, the Jacobi family aims to support academic leaders who share their values and can orchestrate action and positive change.

“Improving the ways that built environments are conceived, designed and constructed is essential to a better future for everyone,” Cheng said. “With committed partners and supporters like John and Rosalind Jacobi, the college will be more nimble, more leading-edge and have an even greater impact on our students and faculty, in practice and in our community. This endowed deanship reflects a shared commitment by the Jacobi family and all of our faculty and staff to nurture and challenge current and future generations of students.”

The Jacobi family has an extensive history of supporting the UW, beginning in 1987 with the creation of the , the signature spring rowing regatta, and extending to endowed scholarships in men’s and women’s crew, and many gifts to other 91̽��Intercollegiate Athletics programs. The Jacobis’ generosity has supported academic programs in the School of Art +Art History + Design; the College of Education; 91̽��Medicine; the School of Environmental and Forest Science; the Department of Communication; and more. Most recently, their wish to help students led to the launch in 2021 of the program in the College of Built Environments, which focuses on increasing diversity within the real estate profession, and on the long-term goal of increasing individual prosperity by making home ownership accessible to more people.

“As a result of Dean Cheng’s ingenuity and perseverance, we became very interested and thus committed to working with programs within the College of Built Environments that will promote different aspects of education that students might have never been exposed to,” John and Rosalind Jacobi said in a joint statement. “In our opinion, the Deanship will go a long way in helping students learn about different disciplines.”

The Deanship also is a way to honor the prior generation, John and Rosalind’s parents, who attended 91̽��during the Great Depression. Rosalind’s mother spent 40 years as an educator, and John’s father became an advertising executive and taught courses at the UW.

“We only wish that our parents were alive to experience this involvement with us,” the Jacobis said.

John Jacobi grew up in the shadow of the 91̽��in Seattle’s Roosevelt neighborhood, and in addition to John and Rosalind’s parents, both his wife and their children also are alumni. Although he began his studies at the 91̽��more than six decades ago, his academic career was delayed by a stint in the U.S. Coast Guard, marriage, and a need to feed six children. He left school a few credit hours short of graduation. Sixty-one years later, he and earned a degree from the 91̽��Foster School of Business in 2020.

Started by John Jacobi in Seattle’s Windermere neighborhood in the early 1970s, today more than 7,000 agents work out of 300 offices in a network that spans much of the western U.S. and into Mexico. It is one of the largest real estate brands in the country.

The College of Built Environments is at the forefront of a global discourse increasingly focused on the process of urbanization, globalization and sustainable development. The College’s work has immediate and tangible impacts in the physical world and implications for urban systems, human health, environmental resilience, social equity and economic vitality.

For more information about the College of Built Environments, visit this .

The , a 91̽��class on mitigating gentrification in Seattle’s Central District designed by , and with support from College of Built Environments Dean , has been honored by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. The course supports joint efforts by the college and the to train graduate students to help mitigate displacement in Seattle’s Central District.

The college’s “Nehemiah Interdisciplinary Studio: Building Beloved Community” course is one of four recipients of the given by the in partnership with the nationwide . The institute is a nonprofit private foundation to improve land stewardship. Berney is an associate professor in the Department of Urban Design & Planning, and faculty director of . King and Levine are affiliate professors.

The awards, which each come with $7,000, recognize curriculum proposals on land use that are accessible, innovative, interdisciplinary and effective, and which connect theory and research to practice.

In the Nehemiah curriculum, graduate student design teams will draw up proposals to lessen or reverse the impact of gentrification and displacement in Seattle’s historic Central District through the development of real estate assets of historically Black churches. Each year the studio focuses on up to three sites.

The larger project goal, according to the course description, is to provide affordable mixed-use projects that meet community needs and help retain, bring back and attract new residents. “This project has the capacity to show long-term residents a successful path to maintaining their community in the face of urban transformation.”

The studio and initiative borrow their name from the central figure in the Book of Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period in Jewish history.

Also receiving 2021 Curriculum Innovation Awards were projects at the University of California, Irvine; Columbia University; and Future Generations University.

Renée Cheng comes to the 91̽�� from the University of Minnesota, where she was professor and associate dean of its school of architecture and design. A licensed architect, Cheng is a leader in the American Institute of Architects and advocates for equity in the architecture field and practices related to the built environment. She joined the 91̽��on Jan. 1.

Cheng answered questions about the college and her new role for 91̽��News.

What is it about the College of Built Environments, the 91̽��and the Seattle area — with its many challenges — that attracted you?

It was actually those challenges — particularly around housing and homelessness — that attracted me, especially because the College of Built Environments has a real chance to have an impact on an urgent societal issue. It goes without saying that housing and homelessness is incredibly important, but we also know that it’s not the only “wicked problem” or grand challenge facing us. It’s clear to me that the college can establish a method or approach to contribute positively to the dialogue and lead where we are best suited to do so.

You’ve had an interesting career path, starting your education with pre-med in mind, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology and social relations, and then a master’s in architecture — and founding your own firm. How do these diverse experiences help inform your work?

It’s easier to see now in hindsight, but all my choices have been based in trying to make a difference in the world through action and to take those actions with respect for humanity. I try to have my actions — whether they are large or small scale, on my own or with others — to be the best: with care, integrity and beauty.

What are some of your priorities coming in as dean, both in the short and longer term?

I’m fortunate to come at a time when our college, students and faculty are very strong. I’m not starting with a blank page, instead I’m helping add a chapter to a wonderful book. My first step is to speed-read that book to catch up with everyone else who understands it so well. That content includes internal college matters but also its partners, alumni and community as well as its past history and context.

Moving forward, I would love to amplify and enhance the college’s contributions to advancing solutions to our most intractable problems that involve or include the built environments. I think most people know that College of Built Environments disciplines are good at looking to the future and designing beautiful places, but its even more than that: The college has great visionaries and designers, but they work with historians who know that the future is in the context of the past, and with scholars who understand the policy and financial models that shape the parameters in direct dialogue with designers. In the ideal world, faculty and students from our disciplines respect the distinct differences and find ways to work effectively to impact society.

In Seattle as in Minneapolis — where you headed the University of Minnesota School of Architecture / College of Design — there is a great focus on homelessness, housing affordability and density in communities. How can the college contribute to conversations on these topics and pursue solutions?

Housing, homelessness, affordability and density involve some of the most difficult issues in society and there needs to be a diverse set of skills and great depth of information brought to bear to make progress. Lots of good ideas with many insights and resources are needed to have constructive dialogue.

The college offers a great platform for multidisciplinary collaboration including a coalition of academic experts, students, communities, public and private institutions. In addition to providing the space for productive dialogue, we are able to envision scenarios and we are comfortable with holding open multiple parallel options simultaneously. This lateral thought process, sometimes called “,” can be incredibly powerful to define and solve complex layered problems.

Coming decades will bring continued environmental challenges such as rising seas, warming temperatures and extreme weather. Innovation is bringing driverless cars, the proliferation of drones and more. How might — how must — the built environment world respond?

The built environment has already adapted, not always in positive ways, to changes in climate and technology. Changing in a positive way is the key.

We also need to realize that we don’t just react to those forces of change, we have a responsibility to attend to the social justice implications of environments. Change will happen, it’s guaranteed. Positive change is not guaranteed, it will take concerted efforts by colleges like ours to define, nudge, cajole and lead.

You are an advocate for equity in the built environment professions and recently led the research effort for the American Institute of Architecture’s . How will this inform your leadership in the college?

You asked earlier about my background; I think in many ways I’ve come full circle to my focus on human interaction and relationships. Practicing equity and inclusion have shown me that bridging across differences — cultural, gender, disciplinary — is at the heart of so many things I care about. It has also taught me that we learn through taking risks and making mistakes.

I love that the 91̽��has been such a leader in equity, diversity and inclusion. President Cauce has set such a great example in her aspirational yet grounded approach, and she has well defined values that are clear and shared among the deans. It’s impressive and exciting to be adding to this mix that which I have learned about equity in the practice of architecture.

• Questions by Peter Kelley of 91̽��News and Kailey Waring of the College of Built Environments.

Cheng is professor and associate dean of research at the University of Minnesota, where she has developed award-winning curricula and recently has been directing an innovative graduate program linking research with practice and licensure. Cheng has been honored twice as one of the top 25 most admired design educators in the United States by DesignIntelligence, an organization that ranks architecture and design schools across the country.

“Professor Cheng recognizes that the building professions – from architecture to urban planning to construction management – are part research and part practice. Their work reflects our communities, serves them and becomes part of them,” Baldasty said. “By continuing to advocate for a research-based approach to this work, and increasing the number and visibility of women and people of color, Professor Cheng will serve as a dynamic leader in the college and beyond.”

A licensed architect, Cheng is a leader in the American Institute of Architects and advocates for equity in the field of architecture and more broadly in the practices related to the built environment. Cheng has pioneered research surrounding the intersection of design and emerging technologies, including work on industry adoption of Integrated Project Delivery, Building Information Modeling and Lean.

Bringing deep connections to industry and teaching expertise, Cheng will lead the College of Built Environments and all its disciplines, which include architecture, construction management, landscape architecture, real estate, and urban design and planning. The College’s approach and work goes beyond the design of buildings, as it considers the physical, cultural and ecological systems in which we live.

“The College of Built Environments is a unique collection of disciplines that together, have unparalleled access to, and impact on, the lives and well-being of each and every community around the globe,” Cheng said. “I am honored and excited to join the College of Built Environments and work with new and existing partners, in the greater Seattle area and elsewhere, to collectively make the greatest positive impact.”

Cheng earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and social relations from Harvard University. She went on to receive a professional degree in architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design. After academic appointments at the University of Michigan and University of Arizona, Cheng joined the University of Minnesota in 2001, serving first as head of the School of Architecture and later as associate dean for research for the College of Design.

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