On Oct. 12, after only a year of service, the director of the Institute for Sustainable Solutions, Robert Costanza, was replaced by Jennifer Allen. Costanza’s position was changed to professor of sustainability, and Allen was named acting director.
On Oct. 12, after only a year of service, the director of the Institute for Sustainable Solutions, Robert Costanza, was replaced by Jennifer Allen. Costanza’s position was changed to professor of sustainability, and Allen was named acting director.
“As director, I am responsible for making sure we are focused on priority areas, and that programs are being implemented effectively,” Allen said. “I am also responsible for making sure the ISS staff have a good working environment so that they are able to do their job, as well as enjoy it. My job is to help provide leadership for the institute, for PSU and for the community. [I want to] make sure we are connecting and engaged in important conversations that are happening.”
Allen has been working in sustainability and development since 1987, and received degrees from Yale University. Later, she earned her doctorate from George Mason University in environmental sciences and public policy. She has previously worked at the World Bank, Ecotrust and the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department.
Allen is also an associate professor of public administration in the Hatfield School of Government.
Allen’s areas of research include environmental and natural resource policy and sustainable economic development, with particular emphasis on integrative policy approaches, economic clusters supporting sustainable development and rural-urban market connections.
“Jennifer had been the director of the center that preceded the ISS. She has been on faculty at PSU for a number of years and is very well connected to the faculty and the community. It was felt that in a transitional period, she would be the best person to re-strengthen the ties between the institute and the university and between the ISS and community,” Fink said.
Founded in 2005 and formerly known as the Center for Sustainable Processes and Practices, the ISS is the leader in PSU’s sustainability program. The ISS aspires to make PSU an ideal place to learn about sustainability, gain recognition for faculty as leaders in urban sustainability and answer real problems for real communities.
Costanza started his work at PSU in September of 2010, and was hired shortly after for the director position at the ISS. He was an ideal candidate because of his global reputation as a leading thinker in sustainability, according to Fink.
“Costanza is a tremendous international leader in ecological economics—his strength and his interests lie in global connections and helping PSU connect to international efforts, which is very important,” Allen said.
Costanza spent a lot of time actively connecting PSU with other organizations and opportunities worldwide, which unfortunately involved a lot of travel, taking him away from the management of the ISS.
“It was felt that it would be in the best interest of PSU and Dr. Costanza for him to focus on those [global] activities, rather than the day-to-day management of the institute,” said Jonathan Fink, the vice president for research and strategic partnerships.
“[We] looked the situation over, and concluded this would be the best arrangement moving forward. Having him affiliated with the university, Portland and the institute is still a very valuable relationship. The concern was over whether he had the time to do the daily management that the ISS also required,” Fink explained.
The director of ISS has several responsibilities: To manage the personnel in the ISS, to connect the institute with the rest of PSU and to connect the institute with partners in Portland and in the region. Finding opportunities for PSU to expand its sustainability expertise and impact to other parts of the world is also important, Fink said.
Costanza was most actively involved in that last objective over this past year, Fink said. “I would say he did it better than anyone else at the university. I think the idea was to have a balance between local and global influence, and in some sense Dr. Costanza’s focus was primarily in the rest of the world.”
Fink said that from his perspective, Costanza’s determinedly misplaced priorities were perhaps simply poor timing.
“I think we need to consolidate our connections to this region first, before we can best connect to the rest of the world,” Fink said. “Ultimately, connecting PSU and Portland to global issues is extremely important.”
According to Fink, the ISS’s plans for the future are being reevaluated. However, the institute does plan to continue some of its previous initiatives, such as the center for modeling, which pulls together many programs at PSU involved with modeling the future of cities, ecosystems and society.
“My position will be complementary to what [Constanza] will continue to do,” Allen said. “My role will probably be more focused on working on campus, engaging faculty, supporting them and building out curricular programs in key areas.”
“[Constanza] is a tremendous asset both to PSU and the entire planet,” Allen said. “I am excited to work with him on the initiatives he is involved in.
