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Kyle Whyte

Professor Kyle Whyte
George Willis Pack Professor; University Diversity & Social Transformation Professor; Professor of Philosophy
Environmental Justice
Climate + Energy
kwhyte@umich.edu
734-764-6708
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About

Kyle Whyte is a faculty member at the University of Michigan where he is George Willis Pack Professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability, University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor, and Professor of Philosophy in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Kyle teaches in the SEAS environmental justice specialization. He is founding Faculty Director of the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment, Principal Investigator of the Energy Equity Project, Faculty Associate of Native American Studies, and Senior Fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows. His research addresses environmental justice, focusing on moral and political issues concerning climate policy and Indigenous peoples, the ethics of cooperative relationships between Indigenous peoples and science organizations, and problems of Indigenous justice in public and academic discussions of food sovereignty, environmental justice, and the anthropocene. He is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

Kyle is currently a U.S. Science Envoy and serves on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, the National Academies' Resilient America Roundtable, and the National Academies’ Committee on Co-Production of Environmental Knowledge, Methods, and Approaches. He has served as an author for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, including on the National Climate Assessment, and for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II. He is a former member of the Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science in the U.S. Department of Interior and of two environmental justice work groups convened by past state governors of Michigan. He is President of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition and the Pesticide Action Network North America. 

The National Science Foundation has been a major supporter of Kyle’s research and educational projects for over a decade. Supporters also include the NorthLight Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Builders Initiative, Mellon Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development, Crown Family Foundation, Sustainable Michigan Endowed Program, Spencer Foundation, Marsden Fund, and Health Research Council of New Zealand. Kyle’s publications appear in journals such as Climatic Change, Weather, Climate & Society, Science, Daedalus, WIREs Climate Change, Environment & Planning E,  Synthese, and Sustainability Science.

Kyle is involved with a number of organizations that advance Indigenous research and education methodologies, including the Climate and Traditional Knowledges Workgroup, the Sustainable Development Institute of the College of Menominee Nation, the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, and Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence. He is a certificate holder of the Training Programme to Enhance the Conflict Prevention and Peacemaking Capacities of Indigenous Peoples’ Representatives, from the United Nations Institute of Training and Research.

He has received the Breaking Barriers Award from the Michigan Democratic Party, the Superior Teaching Award from the Student Governing Board of the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, the Community Engagement Scholarship Award and Distinguished Partnership Award for Community Engaged Research from Michigan State University, the Bunyan Bryant Award for Academic Excellence from Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, and the Forty Under 40 Alumni Award and Don Ihde Distinguished Alumni Award from Stony Brook University. Kyle has served as Austin J. Fagothey Distinguished Visiting Professor at Santa Clara University, Rudrick Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of Waterloo, Timnick Chair in the Humanities at Michigan State University, and Distinguished Visitor at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. 

Publications

Google Scholars page
Education

PhD, Stony Brook University 
 

In the News
SEAS research teams chosen for new Boost program
September 7, 2023

SEAS research teams chosen for new Boost program

The Bold Challenges Initiative has selected eight interdisciplinary teams, including three whose members are from the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)...

Lake Michigan from sleeping bear sand dunes
August 9, 2023

New guiding principles urgently needed for Great Lakes stewardship, U-M researchers say

ANN ARBOR—The tools and policies that worked to significantly reduce threats to the Great Lakes over the past century are ill-equipped to handle today's complex and...

Whyte named University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor
July 21, 2023

Whyte named University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor

Four University of Michigan faculty members, including Kyle Whyte of the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), have been named University Diversity and Social...

The future of Great Lakes stewardship
July 18, 2023

The future of Great Lakes stewardship

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is drafting an updated Great Lakes restoration plan, which presents an opportunity to create a new set of Great Lakes management...

Meet the future of environmental justice: Anna Bunting (MS ’23)
April 27, 2023

Meet the future of Environmental Justice: Anna Bunting (MS ’23)

A chance meeting with University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) Professor Kyle Whyte prompted Anna Bunting (MS ’23) to take a leap of faith...

Biden EJ EO
April 24, 2023

SEAS Prof. Kyle Whyte contributes to historic executive order on environmental justice signed by Pres. Biden

President Joe Biden signed a historic executive order called Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All, which will direct federal agencies to...

Jasmyn Noel (MS ’23)
April 18, 2023

Meet the future of Sustainability and Development: Jasmyn Noel (MS ’23)

Why SEAS? Jasmyn Noel (MS ’23) says she was drawn to the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) because she wanted to learn the skills...

Anishinaabek Line 5 project group
January 23, 2023

SEAS student team creates video highlighting Anishinaabek Caucus concerns regarding Line 5 pipeline

A team of students at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) has collaborated with the Anishinaabek Caucus to produce a video that...

In the Media
07/14/2023
Kyle Whyte
Toward Environmental Justice: Key Concepts (JSTOR Daily)
06/28/2023
Kyle Whyte
Michigan Lawmakers Introduce 'Michigan Indigenous Culture and Heritage Package' (Native News Online)
06/16/2023
Kyle Whyte
In Woodlawn, Naomi Davis planted a seed that now will help find green solutions to help Black communities
04/16/2023
Kyle Whyte
SEAS hosts Earth Day panel on environmental justice (The Michigan Daily)
02/27/2023
Kyle Whyte
These U.S. scientists are working to save the planet (Share America)
02/10/2023
Kyle Whyte
U.S. Science Envoys: Advancing U.S. Foreign Policy Through Science Diplomacy (U.S. State Department)
01/19/2023
Kyle Whyte
Six Environmental Justice Policy Fights to Watch in 2023 (Inside Climate News)
01/13/2023
Kyle Whyte
Ann Arbor embraces Kamala Harris’ climate call at University of Michigan (MLive)
01/12/2023
Kyle Whyte
Hundreds attend climate change talk featuring Vice President Kamala Harris at U of M (Michigan Radio)
01/12/2023
Kyle Whyte
VP Harris comes to U-M urging involvement in climate fight (University Record)
11/30/2022
Kyle Whyte
Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: A conversation with Dr. Kyle Whyte (We the People of Detroit)
11/28/2022
Kyle Whyte
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Environmental Justice and Congressional Leaders, Advocates Applaud the New Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (The White House)
11/22/2022
Kyle Whyte
Biden-⁠Harris Administration Launches Version 1.0 of Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, Key Step in Implementing President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative (White House press release)
11/15/2022
Kyle Whyte
Agency Says 30 Miles of the Rio Grande Could Vanish (The Paper.)
10/11/2022
Kyle Whyte
Biden’s promise to tribes faces test in Great Lakes (E&E News)
09/22/2022
Kyle Whyte
Impacts of Permitting Reform Proposal on Tribes and Indigenous Communities (NDN Collective)
08/31/2022
Justin Schott
Kyle Whyte
U-M releases national framework to measure energy equity (University Record)
08/27/2022
Kyle Whyte
Compromises in Democrats' climate bill will hit communities facing most pollution hardest, critics say (USA Today)
08/16/2022
Kyle Whyte
How US corporations poisoned this Indigenous community (Vox)
04/26/2022
Kyle Whyte
Cities @ Tufts Podcast: The Energy Equity Project (Shareable)
04/22/2022
Kyle Whyte
Kyle Whyte and Malulani Castro selected by SEAS students for Outstanding Teacher Awards
04/19/2022
Kyle Whyte
Kalamazoo does not approve agreement with factory to benefit surrounding neighborhoods (MLive)
03/05/2022
Alexandra Paige Fischer
Kyle Whyte
Floods, heat waves, crop failures: Report shows Michigan must prepare for climate future (MLive.com)
02/19/2022
Kyle Whyte
White House spending targets social justice; criteria vague (ABC News)
01/18/2022
Kyle Whyte
Biden environmental justice advisers air frustrations (E&E News)
11/29/2021
Kyle Whyte
Stateside: Monday, Nov. 29, 2021 (Michigan Radio)
11/08/2021
Kyle Whyte
Land loss leaves Indigenous nations vulnerable to climate change (The University Record)
11/05/2021
Kyle Whyte
The Rising Pacific Forces a Native Village to Move. Who Will Pay? (Bloomberg Quint)
11/02/2021
Kyle Whyte
Delays frustrate White House environmental justice advisers (E&E News)
11/02/2021
Kyle Whyte
How loss of historical lands makes Native Americans more vulnerable to climate change (NPR)
10/30/2021
Kyle Whyte
At U.N.'s COP26 climate summit, Indigenous voices are calling for more than lip service (NBC News)
10/28/2021
Kyle Whyte
Native tribes have lost 99% of their land in the United States (Science)
10/28/2021
Kyle Whyte
Forced Relocation Left Native Americans More Exposed to Climate Threats, Data Show (The New York Times)
10/07/2021
Kyle Whyte
SEAS receives $11M gift to expand environmental justice work (The University Record)
10/07/2021
Kyle Whyte
Why does ‘climate justice’ matter? (CarbonBrief)
10/04/2021
Kyle Whyte
Scholars look to Indigenous knowledge and practices in fight against climate change (St. Louis Public Radio)
09/28/2021
Kyle Whyte
Can climate fiction deliver climate justice? (Grist)
09/27/2021
Kyle Whyte
Stateside: redefining climate urgency from an Indigenous perspective (Michigan Radio)
09/15/2021
Kyle Whyte
In battles over mining, Indigenous people often lose. Healing begins in Michigan's U.P. (The Detroit News)
09/08/2021
Kyle Whyte
Q&A with Biden EJ adviser: Pipeline support undercuts equity goals (E&E News)
09/08/2021
Kyle Whyte
To solve the climate crisis, we must first repair our relationships (Grist)
08/16/2021
Kyle Whyte
Thin Air (Atmos)
08/11/2021
Kyle Whyte
‘Abolish these companies, get rid of them’: what would it take to break up big oil? (The Guardian)
07/30/2021
Kyle Whyte
Panelists discuss environmental hazards, ways to combat injustices (The Pitt News)
07/18/2021
Kyle Whyte
Fish advisories impact tribal traditions; Lake Superior smelt the latest species found contaminated (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
07/08/2021
Kyle Whyte
An Indigenous Group’s Objection to Geoengineering Spurs a Debate About Social Justice in Climate Science (Inside Climate News)
06/21/2021
Kyle Whyte
'Communities Know Best': Climate Solutions in The South Bay Start With Listening (QKED)
05/27/2021
Kyle Whyte
Can we untangle ecology from its baked-in colonial biases? (Popular Science)
05/14/2021
Kyle Whyte
White House advisers to Biden: Equity work 'must start today' (E&E News)
05/13/2021
Kyle Whyte
U-M students and experts discuss Biden’s climate plan (The Michigan Daily)
04/22/2021
Kyle Whyte
Biden’s New Environmental Justice Advisory Council Prioritizes Intersectional Approach to Climate Issues (WDET Detroit Today)
04/21/2021
Kyle Whyte
The Climate Tipping Point Nobody's Talking About (Vice)
04/14/2021
Kyle Whyte
Meet the Michigander who's advising Biden on environmental justice (Bridge Michigan)
04/09/2021
Kyle Whyte
Tribal leaders denounce Enbridge for 'manipulative' video about Indigenous peacemaking (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
03/29/2021
Kyle Whyte
Biden announces environmental justice advisers (E&E News)
11/24/2020
Kyle Whyte
The fossil fuel industry wants you to believe it’s good for people of color (Los Angeles Times)
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