New Director, Staff, and Mission Announced for WWU's Resilience Institute

DATE: July 30, 2009 3:55:27 PM PDT

Contact: Scott Miles, (206) 406-9805 or scott.miles@wwu.edu.

BELLINGHAM — Scott Miles, assistant professor of Planning and Environmental Policy at Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment, has been appointed director of the college’s Resilience Institute, formerly the Institute for Global and Community Resilience.

Rebekah Green, research associate at Huxley, has been appointed associate director of the Institute.

The Resilience Institute has a new mission, along with the personnel and name changes – to create and disseminate practical knowledge and tools that promote resilient human and ecological communities in the context of natural hazard risk. A resilient community is one that maintains services and livelihoods after a hazard or disturbance event; if disaster occurs, services and livelihoods recover rapidly with optimal resource use and vulnerability reduction.

Funded research projects associated with The Resilience Institute include developing a computer model of community loss and recovery from disasters, disaster risk reduction in informal settlements along Guatemala City's steep ravines, and enhancing resilience of small- and medium-sized farms to natural hazards and extreme events.

WWU's Huxley College of the Environment is one of the oldest environmental colleges in the nation and a recognized national leader in producing the next generation of environmental stewards. The College's academic programs reflect a broad view of the physical, biological, social and cultural world. This innovative and interdisciplinary approach makes Huxley unique. The College has earned international recognition for the quality of its programs.

For more information about The Resilience Institute see its Web site at http://resilience.wwu.edu or contact Scott Miles at scott.miles@wwu.edu.

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