This article was originally published in UCSB's ' The Current '.
UC Santa Barbara has appointed Elena Irwin as the new dean of the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, a leading environmental graduate program, effective September 21, 2026. Irwin comes to UCSB from The Ohio State University, where she is currently a distinguished professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics and founding director of the Sustainability Institute.
“With a strong record of collaboration and consensus building, interdisciplinary teaching and research, and extensive experience translating sustainability scholarship into policy and practice, Dr. Irwin is ideally suited to lead the Bren School in the years ahead,” said Chancellor Dennis Assanis in announcing the appointment with Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost David Marshall. “She has a reputation for innovative program building and the development of major initiatives through strategic research development, as well as corporate and philanthropic partnerships. We are confident that she will work with her colleagues at Bren and throughout the campus to develop an ambitious vision building on campus strengths and priorities.”