Michael Mann has been named the University of Pennsylvania’s inaugural vice provost for climate science, policy, and action, effective Nov. 1.
Mann is a Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science and director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media. His appointment is a major step in implementing In Principle and Practice, the University’s strategic framework positioning Penn as an engaged, forward-thinking institution.
In making the announcement, Provost John L. Jackson Jr. called Mann “one of the world’s leading experts in climate change and sustainability. We are deeply grateful to him for deciding to become a candidate and withdraw as a member of the consultative committee before the start of the search process and then for taking on this role at a pivotal time for global climate action.
“As vice provost, he will continue his essential work while partnering across campus to bring together the wide range of work already being done at Penn, leading innovations and catalyzing new collaborations.”
Mann is a globally renowned scholar of climate science whose many honors include the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, Hans Oeschger Medal of the European Geosciences Union, Friend of the Planet Award from the National Center for Science Education, and John Scott Award from the City of Philadelphia. Elected to the Royal Society in 2024 and the National Academy of Sciences in 2020, he has been named one of the world’s most influential people in climate policy, one of the 10 most influential earth scientists, one of the top influencers in sustainability, and one of the 50 scientists who are changing the way we see the world.
Mann is an author and/or editor of six award-winning books and hundreds of publications across popular and scholarly media, including most recently “Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth’s Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis” (Public Affairs/Hachette, 2023), named one of the best books of the year by Financial Times; the widely acclaimed and influential “The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet” (Public Affairs/ Hachette, 2021), named one of the 20 Best Sustainability Books of All Time and to numerous other best books lists; and “The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars” (Columbia University Press, 2012), based on his landmark contributions to the 2001 report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which included the now-famous “hockey stick” chart documenting the rise in global temperatures during the past thousand years.
Mann came to Penn in 2022 from Penn State University, where he was Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science and director of the Earth System Science Center. He taught at Penn State from 2005 to 2022, following earlier positions at the University of Virginia and University of Massachusetts and an Alexander Hollaender Distinguished Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Department of Energy. He received a Ph.D. in geology and geophysics and an M.S. in physics from Yale University and an A.B. in applied math and physics from the University of California, Berkeley.
“I thank Provost Jackson, Deputy Provost Beth Winkelstein, and the members of the consultative committee,” Mann said. “I couldn’t be more honored to help lead Penn forward in its mission to address the defining challenge of our time. We have all the key pieces in place, across our 12 schools, to lead on every aspect of the climate crisis—from the fundamental science to the impacts, solutions, and communication challenges—while exploring the ethical, sociological, and political dimensions of this predicament. In doing so, we honor the legacy of our founder, Benjamin Franklin—a statesman, a scholar, a scientist, and an environmentalist—as we proudly seek to make a better world. I look forward to the progress we will make together in the months and years to come.”
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