LSU’s Astrid Merget Elected Chair of NCSE Board of Directors

BATON ROUGE – The board of directors of the National Council for Science and the Environment, or NCSE, has elected Astrid Merget, a professor in the LSU Public Administration Institute, as its chair. Merget’s term began July 27 and will end at the end of July 2013.

“It is an honor to be selected as chair of the board of directors of the NCSE,” Merget said. “The members of the board, including scientists, academic leaders, philanthropists, public entrepreneurs and former and current public officials, all champion NCSE’s mission to establish solid science as the foundation for environmental decision-making.”

Merget’s engagement with NCSE began more than a decade ago when she, along with several of her academic colleagues, board members and university affiliates, teamed with NCSE officials to institutionalize linkages across academic programs of research, teaching and service in environmental science and studies. In result, the Council of Environmental Deans and Directors, a program that improves the quality of environmental programs at U.S. universities and colleges, now has more than 150 member institutions, including LSU.

“With national issues such as the Gulf oil spill, global climate change and natural disasters, the need for sound science in environmental decision-making is all the more compelling in the public, private and non-profit sectors,” Merget said.  

NCSE’s mission is to improve the scientific basis for environmental decision-making, especially public policy. The council monitors federal programs related to the environment, including its legislative and budgetary developments, but it is a non-profit, non-lobbying group.

The Public Administration Institute at LSU’s E. J. Ourso College of Business offers a 42-hour degree program that emphasizes management and financial skills for those leading public agencies, nonprofit and healthcare organizations and for-profit organizations that interact with governmental agencies. PAI’s faculty members are student-oriented and nationally-recognized for their expertise in their fields. For more information, visit www.bus.lsu.edu/pai or call 225-578-6743.