DeFries, Sachs Named University Professors

President Lee C. Bollinger recently appointed Ruth DeFries and Jeffrey Sachs as University Professors, the highest rank Columbia bestows on its faculty. DeFries, an environmental geographer who is an expert on sustainable land-use practices, is codirector of the undergraduate program in sustainable development at Columbia’s Earth Institute and the Denning Family Professor of Sustainable Development. Sachs, an economist who specializes in poverty eradication, is director of the Earth Institute, the Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and a professor of health policy and management. “It is fitting that Professors DeFries and Sachs receive this honor in tandem, as they are two of the world’s foremost scholars investigating how to ensure a sustainable future for our planet,” Bollinger said in making the announcement on April 13.