The mission of Clark University's School of Climate, Environment, and Society can be summarized in one word, according to Lou Leonard, the school's D.J.A. Spencer Dean, and that word is impact.

"For the last 10,000 years or so, the world has been in what many call the 'Goldilocks period' of climate: not too hot, not too cold ... The bottom line is we've left that period," says Leonard. "There is no magic key that's going to solve this problem. It is going to take the collective work of everyone, and every step that we take matters. Every quarter of a degree of warming that we don't experience saves lives."

As the world faces a polycrisis of climate, biodiversity loss, and social disruption, Leonard says Clark students will reach out into the community to learn hands-on how they can contribute to building a healthier planet.

"The nature of these problems is that they are a result of the intersection of politics, economics, culture, and technology," says Leonard. "The real world doesn't operate in disciplinary boxes. It operates in the messy middle where everything comes together, so that is part of the way students will learn."

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.