“Lori brings a broad and deep portfolio of expertise to the senior associate dean position,” Houlton said. “Serving since January 2021 as the inaugural academic chair for the Department of Global Development, she has worked diligently to support our college’s priorities to recruit and retain talented students, faculty and staff, and to create novel programming for the department.”
As chair, Leonard has overseen the hiring of seven new faculty members and charted the strategic academic hiring priorities and programming for the department’s first five years. She served as co-chair of the curriculum committee that helped create the global development undergraduate major and helped launch the major’s engaged and experiential learning pillar, providing students with internships and faculty-led study trips to field sites in eight countries around the world. Leonard also worked to secure funding for her department’s programming and the creation of the Daniel G. Sisler Global Development Student Hub on the ground floor of Mann Library.
Leonard’s current research focuses on the social and environmental implications of consumption, disposability and the global circulation of used and secondhand things. She is involved in research projects on the recycling of food waste in upstate New York and on the repair and recycling of used cars in West and Central Africa. Gender is a theme that cuts across her research.
An academic section chair for Global Development will be named in early summer, as plans advance for a new School of the Environment and Sustainable Development, which will bring together research and programming strengths of the Departments of Global Development and of Natural Resources and the Environment.
Serving as senior associate dean since July 1, 2023, Bryne assisted in the initial efforts to form the new school; supported faculty recruitment across a broad range of programs – including the CALS Roadmap to 2050 moonshot faculty recruitment strategy – and implemented a strategic reorganization of the Office of Academic Programs in CALS.
“I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to Sahara for her service to our college,” Houlton said. “Her contributions have enhanced CALS’ operations and supported our research, teaching and extension programming. I am excited to watch Sahara’s star shine at the University of Denver.”
