Fairfield Announces New Center for Climate, Coastal, and Marine Studies

With a focus on interdisciplinary research, faculty-student collaboration, and community engagement, the new center will provide a platform for addressing critical environmental issues.

This fall, Fairfield University will launch a new Center for Climate, Coastal, and Marine Studies. Guided by the University’s core mission and Jesuit commitment to social justice, the Center was designed to support research  through interdisciplinary scholarship.

“This project represents Fairfield’s first center singularly dedicated to supporting faculty and faculty-student research,” said Provost Christine Siegel, PhD. “The launch of the center builds upon the successful, interdisciplinary research of our faculty and students over many years, and aims to further advance this success through enhanced, targeted resources for research.”

The Center for Climate, Coastal, and Marine Studies will support research initiatives across Fairfield’s professional schools and the College of Arts and Sciences, in disciplines including: anthropology, applied ethics, biology, chemistry, computer science, counselor education, economics, education studies and teacher preparation, English, finance, management, mechanical engineering, physics, politics, sociology, visual and performing arts, and more.

In addition to advancing knowledge and developing answers to some of the most pressing questions in the field of climate, coastal, and marine systems, the center will promote the engagement of faculty and students with the community, through varied outreach events to both share the results of their scholarship and serve as a resource for local and regional stakeholders.

Robert Nazarian, PhD, associate professor of physics and special assistant to the associate vice provost for research & scholarship, will serve as inaugural director for the Center for Climate, Coastal, and Marine Studies. Nazarian’s primary area of research is the physics governing the ocean, atmosphere, and climate.

“The center aligns with our institutional priorities and strengthens our partnerships with the community and industry stakeholders,” Dr. Nazarian said. “We aim to address both global and local environmental issues through rigorous, peer-reviewed research and community engagement. By focusing on research and integrating Jesuit values, we are setting Fairfield apart as a leader in environmental scholarship and impact.”

Phase one of the initiative, which will take place over two years, begins in September and will include monthly seminar series, undergraduate and faculty summer stipends, mini-grants, and outreach with community partners. Each of the center's phases will focus on a specific theme, with the current one focusing on climate in and around Long Island Sound.

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