Director of the Office of Sustainability leaves longtime role for UMich

Shana Weber announced she would be leaving her position as director of Princeton’s Office of Sustainability in an email sent to the Princeton sustainability community on July 21, just weeks before the start of the 2023-2024 academic year. Her departure is the latest in a series of recent resignations from University administrators, including former Provost Deborah Prentice, Dean for Research Pablo Debenedetti, and Executive Vice President Treby Williams ’84.

Weber wrote in the message that she felt "both sadness and excitement" to accept a new post as the inaugural Associate Vice President for Campus Sustainability at the University of Michigan.

According to the Office of Sustainability website, the director is responsible for advancing “strategic actions across campus operational and academic systems toward realizing an ethos of sustainability in service to local and global communities.”

Weber founded the role in 2006, and in her 17 years at the University, has also served as a board member for the municipal non-profit Sustainable Princeton, a senior advisor to the Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium, and a senior leadership liaison for the Ivy+ Sustainability Consortium.

“I am so proud of what we as a community have accomplished together and the momentum that is underway as Princeton enters a new era of scalable demonstrations of climate and sustainable solutions,” she wrote in the campus message. “One of those is the current transformation of the campus toward fossil-free energy infrastructure that comes with some pain, but also inspires hope.”

Weber was a leader in the development of the Sustainability Action Plan — a set of sustainability objectives for the University first outlined in April 2019, including the goal of reducing campus greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2046.

Weber’s departure falls between two benchmark years for the Sustainability Action Plan: 2021 and 2026. In her absence, Ijeoma Nwagwu, the current Assistant Director for the Office of Sustainability will take charge of the Office of Sustainability as interim director.

She told the ‘Prince’ that despite the challenges that this transition presents, it is “an opportunity to galvanize collective action by demonstrating what’s possible when everyone makes meaningful changes to the behaviors and actions within their circle of control.”

She communicated three main goals for her time as the interim director: to encourage more learning and engagement from students through various activities and programs, to further support sustainability research and inquiry on campus, and to foster more communication regarding the University’s objective to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2046.

Nwagwu expanded on the net zero project, explaining that “Princeton is undergoing one of the most extensive building programs in its history to house more students, expand research facilities, and replace aging buildings and infrastructure.”

Weber’s new role at the University of Michigan will consist of similar work. In an article announcing her role, the University of Michigan’s The University Record reported that Weber will be managing “efforts to achieve U-M sustainability and carbon neutrality goals across units.”

Santa Ono, the President of the University of Michigan, spoke to the ‘Record’ about Weber’s appointment, stating, “I’m inspired by Shana Weber’s proven record in this space, and I’m confident that, with her directing our campus sustainability work, this university will continue leading toward a sustainable and equitable future.”

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Weber will begin her new role at the University of Michigan on Sept. 5.

Jeannie Kim is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’

Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.

Correction: A previous version of this article misused the quote “inconvenient and messy transition" from Ijeoma Nwagwu, using it to refer to the transition of her office, rather than to the construction that is helping the Office of Sustainability complete their goals.