Media Contact: Susan Cipollaro , scipollaro@fairfield.edu, 203-254-4000 x2726

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 related to climate, coastal, and marine systems 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 faculty, research initiatives across Fairfield’s professional schools and 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 this 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.

Posted On: August 29, 2024

Volume: 56 Number: 18

Fairfield University is a modern, Jesuit Catholic University, rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 36 states, 47 foreign countries, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are enrolled in the University’s five schools.  In the spirit of rigorous and sympathetic inquiry into all dimensions of human experience, Fairfield welcomes students from diverse backgrounds to share ideas and engage in open conversations. The University is located in the heart of a region where the future takes shape, on a stunning campus on the Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.