Alice Grgicak-Mannion, who will take up a two-year appointment as special advisor to the provost on sustainability Sept. 1, brings to the role a “strong understanding of how our environment works, how we impact it, and what we need to do to maintain it,” said provost Robert Aguirre.

“Alice is deeply qualified to help us move forward as an institution on this important file,” Dr. Aguirre said. “As we develop the sustainability commitments set forth in our university strategic plan, Aspire, she will provide crucial faculty leadership in helping us understand sustainability from multiple perspectives, with an eye on developing solutions in an applied way.”

Grgicak-Mannion’s UWindsor career spans more than 25 years. She started as a technician within the Department of Geography and is now a learning specialist in the School of the Environment, where she has just completed a one-and-a-half-year tenure as acting director. She also holds a faculty position in the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research.

With a research focus on the use of geospatial technologies for environmental modeling, Grgicak-Mannion has led and worked on government and industry funded projects through such organizations as Health Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Syncrude Canada. Her work has appeared in journals such as Atmospheric Environment, Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, Science and the Total Environment.

She was the primary architect and developer of the GISc. Certificate program within the School of the Environment, building relationships between students and community partners who use these technologies in the workplace.

“I am sure her strong record of collaborative work with academic and community partners will advance our current and future sustainability initiatives,” said Aguirre.