Meet J.D. Wulfhorst, Miami University's new forward thinking and future focused director of IES
Long-term goals include supporting Miami’s climate action plan
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Published
J.D. Wulfhorst is Miami University's director of the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability and professor of Geography.
Meet J.D. Wulfhorst, Miami University's new forward thinking and future focused director of IES
•
Published
When you sit down with J.D. Wulfhorst, Miami University's new director of the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability (IES) and professor of Geography, you meet a storyteller and a passionate sociologist who's spent decades navigating the intersection of people, landscapes, and the invisible, yet vital, systems that hold communities together.
“I’ve become as much of an interdisciplinary scientist along the way, even though I never had that vision as an undergrad,” he said, reflecting on a path that started when he literally designed his own major at Appalachian State University. That early refusal to fit neatly into one academic box became the summary of his entire career.
Before arriving at Miami three months ago, Wulfhorst spent more than 25 years out West as professor of rural sociology at the University of Idaho, researching such topics as environmental risk, rural communities, and the social realities of hazardous waste. The work took him across 39 states and more than 66,000 miles, by motorcycle.
“Ranchers didn’t understand why some dude from the university was showing up on a motorcycle down three miles of gravel road,” he laughed. “But that was my life for years.”
At Miami, he's all in on building something bigger. Short-term, Wulfhorst wants students to know IES exists, and that adding a co-major in Sustainability to any field of study “puts you ahead in the race.” Long-term, he wants IES to help lead Miami’s push toward carbon neutrality – a commitment he sees as essential to the university’s future.
He explained that the world's ecological issues are rarely isolated; they intersect and blend together. As a forward-thinking leader who brings real-world insight, Wulfhorst said Miami’s sustainability mission should continue to reflect that idea.
“The world’s problems aren’t in silos”, Wulfhorst said. “There’s an infinite number of ways that we can apply and try to help support other groups and programs on campus.”
“I’ve become as much of an interdisciplinary scientist along the way, even though I never had that vision as an undergrad,” he said, reflecting on a path that started when he literally designed his own major at Appalachian State University. That early refusal to fit neatly into one academic box became the summary of his entire career.
Before arriving at Miami three months ago, Wulfhorst spent more than 25 years out West as professor of rural sociology at the University of Idaho, researching such topics as environmental risk, rural communities, and the social realities of hazardous waste. The work took him across 39 states and more than 66,000 miles, by motorcycle.
“Ranchers didn’t understand why some dude from the university was showing up on a motorcycle down three miles of gravel road,” he laughed. “But that was my life for years.”
At Miami, he's all in on building something bigger. Short-term, Wulfhorst wants students to know IES exists, and that adding a co-major in Sustainability to any field of study “puts you ahead in the race.” Long-term, he wants IES to help lead Miami’s push toward carbon neutrality – a commitment he sees as essential to the university’s future.
He explained that the world's ecological issues are rarely isolated; they intersect and blend together. As a forward-thinking leader who brings real-world insight, Wulfhorst said Miami’s sustainability mission should continue to reflect that idea.
“The world’s problems aren’t in silos”, Wulfhorst said. “There’s an infinite number of ways that we can apply and try to help support other groups and programs on campus.”
Established in 1809, Miami University is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg. Interested in learning more about the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability? Visit the website for more information.
