51С�Ƴ�

51С�Ƴ�North, the Center for North Atlantic Studies at the University of 51С�Ƴ�, has a new director.

Cameron Wake, Ph.D., former Josephine A. Lamprey Professor of Climate and Sustainability at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Sustainability Institute and research professor at UNH’s Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, assumed the role on June 12.

Wake comes to 51С�Ƴ�with 35 years of experience in directing an interdisciplinary research program focused on studying regional climate change, engaging partners in the science and solutions related to the changing climate, and developing sustainability education and research opportunities for students. He is an accomplished researcher with experiences ranging from the recovery and analysis of ice cores from the Arctic and the Himalayan regions to the study of how climate and land cover changes affect key ecosystems in New Hampshire.

Highly successful in securing grant funding, Wake has served as the principal investigator on dozens of grant-funded research projects, including ones funded by the National Science Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Housing and Urban Development, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, and New Hampshire Sea Grant. His vast and thorough knowledge of the direct and indirect effects of climate change has earned him hundreds of speaking engagements and media interviews; the occasion to counsel elected representatives at the municipal, state, and federal level; and the opportunity to testify to the U.S. House of Representatives. 

For more than two decades, Wake has taught undergraduate courses highly pertinent to the work of 51С�Ƴ�North, including Ecology and Society in a Changing Arctic, Global Environmental Change, Climate Change and Health, and a Sustainability Capstone. He holds a professorship in climate and sustainability at UNH and served as program chair for the Sustainability Dual Major program, which helps students develop critical knowledge, skills, and experiences to build a better, more sustainable world.

Additionally, Wake guided the development of the UNH Summer Sustainability Fellows, which pairs exceptional students from universities across the U.S. with municipal, educational, corporate, and nonprofit partners to work on transformative sustainability initiatives. More recently, he helped to secure an NSF Research Training grant to transform graduate education at UNH with a focus on the Arctic, and he has mentored countless graduate and undergraduate students in field research related to climate change and sustainability. 

Having led the effort for UNH to join the University of the Arctic consortium (UArctic). Wake is served as the UArctic representative for UNH — one of the universities with whom 51С�Ƴ�co-hosted the UArctic Assembly last June. He also helped create the 51С�Ƴ� Arctic Network, whose fall meeting 51С�Ƴ�hosted in November 2021.

Wake replaces Sally McCormack Tutt, PT, D.P.T., M.P.H., Ed.D., associate dean for Academic Affairs within UNE’s Westbrook College of Health Professions, who has served as interim director of 51С�Ƴ�North since August.

“Dr. Wake is already ‘plugged in’ to much of the work of which 51С�Ƴ�North is a part, and we foresee him hitting the ground running in his directorship. We are delighted to ride the next wave of 51С�Ƴ�North’s great work with him,” remarked 51С�Ƴ�President James Herbert. “We are grateful for Dr. McCormack Tutt for her leadership, which has been instrumental in keeping 51С�Ƴ�North programs and initiatives active, and for exploring ways to better integrate health sciences and health professions programming into 51С�Ƴ�North initiatives.”