The Mellon Foundation has awarded nearly $4 million in a first-of-its kind grant to bolster the University of Michigan’s leading work in environmental justice.

The grant will create the Environmental Justice + Humanities Hub at U-M, which will provide students with education and training in environmental issues that are rooted in the humanities. Methods and insights from these disciplines have been called for by members of the communities working to address disparities in things like access to clean air and water, said Kyle Whyte, the grant’s principal investigator.

“Humanities fields, from history to literature, anthropology, philosophy and many others, can uplift why the environment matters at emotional and cultural levels,” said Whyte, a professor at U-M’s School for Environment and Sustainability, or SEAS, and the founding faculty director of the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment.

“The humanities also bring out community-based ideas and rationales for different types of solutions to environmental issues. That is huge, because it really helps facilitate democratic processes and bringing people together.”

Securing the grant also required bringing people together from across campus. The project’s development has included leaders and collaborators from SEAS, Program in the Environment (PitE), Office of the Provost, and College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Sara Soderstrom, director of PitE, is co-investigator on the grant. 

Read the full release on the Michigan News website.