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Environmental economist Catherine Louise Kling to speak at 2024 UMSI commencement

Graduation 2024. Catherine Louise Kling, Speaker. Environmental economist and expert on water quality issues and the power of date. Thursday, May 2, 2024. 10am EDT. Crisler Center. umsi.info/events.

Wednesday, 03/27/2024

By Noor Hindi

The 2024 University of Michigan School of Information graduation ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 2 at 10 a.m. in Crisler Center, 333 E Stadium Blvd, in Ann Arbor.

This year’s commencement speaker is environmental economist Catherine Louise Kling. She is currently a professor in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, member of the Brooks School of Public Policy and faculty director at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability at Cornell University. 

For more than two decades, Kling has been a thought leader in research and teaching related to the values of environmental goods and services, particularly in water quality issues. As part of UMSI’s theme year on water conservation and access, Kling is excited to speak about the value of clean water and data. 

A Michigan native, Kling’s fascination with water began when she was a child.

“Growing up, we spent weekends going to local state parks, visiting the Great Lakes, stomping around in the water, fishing and catching minnows,” she says. “These are some of my happiest memories. And then when I went to college and started studying economics, I learned about environmental economics and I was quite excited by the field.” 

Kling chairs the Water Science and Technology Board of the National Academy of Sciences, and is the past editor of the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy. She is an elected fellow of the Association of Environmental and Resources Economists, the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development. She served for ten years on the EPA’s Science Advisory Board.

“The more I learned about water, the more I learned about the challenges of water quality and quantity issues,” she says. “Water is place-based and the issues, uses and values of it vary and are impacted by national policy, federal policy and state policy and economics.”

Of her favorite Great Lakes, Kling says she loves Lake Superior most of all because of trips up North as a child. During her freetime, Kling says she enjoys “looking at water, hiking and walking.” She’s also an avid bird watcher. 

At the UMSI graduation, Kling says she hopes to talk about the value of intentionality in one’s career, the complications of living in a world “drowning in data,” and the importance of taking care of one’s mental health. 

“I feel strongly about being intentional about life decisions and thinking about what you want to contribute over time. I also want to emphasize how important it is that we translate data into meaningful information to help us understand the needs of humanity and the needs of the environment.” 

“The third message I will likely share is my own personal struggles with anxiety and depression. I want to be open and transparent about this because I think it’s hard for people to talk about navigating mental health, so when I’m given an opportunity like this, I enjoy sharing.” 

More than 700 students in the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs are expected to graduate from UMSI this spring. 

UMSI will also celebrate 2024 graduates with a reception on Thursday, May 2 from 5:30-7 p.m. EDT at Ingalls Mall. The 2024 UMSI MADS reception will take place on Wednesday, May 1 from 4-6 p.m. EDT in North Quad Space 2435.

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Watch the UMSI Graduation 2024 ceremony