Dr. Stacy Philpott, professor of Environmental Studies and Alfred and Ruth Heller Chair in Agroecology, has been named the new executive director of the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS, the Center). Philpott has long been involved with the Center, serving as interim executive director for the 2015-2016 academic year in addition to her role as CASFS faculty affiliate from 2012 to 2019. She looks forward to leading CASFS as it continues to work toward building a healthy and just food system.
Philpott is an agroecologist interested in community ecology, ecosystem services, urban agroecology, and interactions amongst agriculture, conservation, and farmer livelihoods. She received her BS in Zoology at the University of Washington, then went on to earn a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan. She has worked for more than 15 years to understand how farm management, the landscapes surrounding farms, product certification, and land tenure influence diversity of insects, plants, and birds on farms, and the ecological interactions among species.
While at UCSC, Philpott has worked to get more students involved with agroecology and sustainable food systems. She coordinates a program known as Supporting Undergraduates by Promoting Education, Research, Diversity, and Agricultural Resilience (SUPERDAR), which supports underrepresented students who are interested in agriculture-related fields, and she helped develop a new scholarship program for students interested in agroecology, sustainable food systems, and food justice, funded by the US Department of Agriculture's Multicultural Scholars Program. She also helped develop a new major in agroecology at UCSC that may launch as early as fall 2020.
As CASFS executive director she plans to continue to expand the Center’s support for undergraduate and graduate students. With new state funding for UCSC's “Basic Needs” programs, CASFS will increase production of food for campus dining halls and food pantries and create more opportunities for students to gain food systems work experience at the Farm and Garden.
“We want to make sure our students have access to fresh, local, and healthy food, as well as the opportunity to learn more about our food systems,” Philpott said. “Our students care deeply about social justice and the environment, both of which intersect with how our food is produced."
Philpott takes over as the fifth executive director of CASFS beginning October 1.
