Director of SEAS discusses impact of FIU’s new school


‘We are going to have a lot more opportunities for students to get involved and get their hands dirty.’

By Sissi Aguila

FIU’s College of Arts and Sciences has created the School of the Environment and Society (SEAS), which features a multidisciplinary approach and collaboration among faculty across the university to address environmental challenges. Part of the new school’s mission is to educate the community on these issues and explore how best to address them.

Michael Heithaus, associate professor of biology and director of FIU’s Marine Science Program,  is director of the new school. SEAS will include the Marine Science Program, the newly formed Department of Earth and Environment, and FIU’s centers and institutes that focus on environmental issues, such as the Southeast Environmental Research Center. Heithaus is well known nationally and internationally for his research on the ecological role of large sharks both in Australian and Florida waters.

Heithaus recently spoke to News@FIU and shared his vision for SEAS, which will be based at the Biscayne Bay Campus.