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Teena Gabrielson has been selected as the new dean of Western’s College of the Environment.

Hired following a national search, Gabrielson will begin as the College’s dean on Aug. 1. She succeeds Jean Melious, professor of Environmental Studies, who is serving a one-year term as dean.

Gabrielson comes to Western from the University of Wyoming, where she has served as associate dean of the College of Arts & Sciences for the past five years and taught for more than 15 years in the university’s department of Political Science, where she also served as department chair for three years. She has also taught at Southwestern University in Texas, California State University, Sacramento, and University of California, Davis. The courses she has taught have included U.S. environmentalism and environmental justice, and she has published extensively on topics related to environmental citizenship and environmental political theory.

Gabrielson earned her doctorate in political science and master’s in political science from the University of California, Davis, and her bachelor’s in political science from Macalester College.

 “I am honored and thrilled to be selected as the next dean of Western’s lauded College of the Environment at this pivotal time,” Gabrielson said. “I look forward to collaborating with students, faculty, staff, alumni, administrators, and community partners to celebrate the storied past of this incredible college and to chart a vibrant and inclusive future that continues to build on the college’s strengths in environmental research, teaching, service, and outreach.”

Gabrielson’s interdisciplinary work led to collaboration with colleagues in the University of Wyoming Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, where she served on multiple faculty searches and participated on the Faculty Advisory Board and the committee to create a Sustainability Studies Minor.

Her work on equity includes being co-director of the University of Wyoming’s Search Equity Advisor Program, which trains faculty on national best practices for promoting diversity, disrupting implicit bias, and ensuring an equitable search. She also served on the Executive Council of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

In her time at the University of Wyoming, Gabrielson has won the Extraordinary Merit in Teaching Award and two Top Prof awards, and her work was named Best Paper on Environmental Political Theory by the Western Political Science Association.

“We’re excited that Dr. Teena Gabrielson has accepted our offer to serve as the next dean of the College of the Environment,” Provost Brent Carbajal said. “Dr. Gabrielson’s ample administrative acumen, leadership experience, and her commitments and vision related to environmental justice broadly conceived prepare her well to lead the College into the future and to leverage its considerable strengths. I look forward to welcoming Dr. Gabrielson to campus this summer and I know that she’ll enjoy working with the talented faculty, staff, and students in the College.”