Colby Environmental Studies

09/25/2026

Be sure to stop by the Diamond Atrium to view the new ES photo exhibit by Leo Dale '29.

09/18/2026

Congratulations to Brynne Robbins '26 who received a Young Environmental Leader Award from the Natural Resources Council of Maine yesterday at their annual "Protecting What We Love" event. Conservation leadership awards were presented to individuals who have done extraordinary work in their communities.

09/18/2026

Environmental Studies at Sea: Opportunities in Marine Affairs
Elizabeth Mendenhall, Associate Professor
Department of Marine Affairs, University of Rhode Island
Tuesday, September 22nd
7 p.m.
Olin-1

The oceans and coasts represent a major realm of the global environment, but their importance is often
overlooked or underplayed. In this lecture. Dr. Elizabeth Mendenhall will explore challenges,
opportunities, and career pathways in the field of Marine Affairs, which focuses on the human
dimensions of life in, on, and around the ocean. Attendees can expect to learn about emerging maritime
industries, pressing ocean problems, and the basics of how we manage the ocean and ocean use
activities.

Dr. Elizabeth Mendenhall earned her Ph.D. in International Relations in 2017 from Johns Hopkins
University and is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Marine Affairs at the University of
Rhode Island, with a (limited) joint appointment in Political Science. Her research centers on the ocean
governance regime, especially the Law of the Sea Convention. Recent work addresses maritime nuclear
transit, artificial island building, sea level rise, marine plastic debris, the South China Sea, strategic
nuclear submarines, COVID-19 and cruise ships, and the ‘Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction’
negotiations. She teaches the graduate course;International Ocean Law; and the general education
course;International Politics of the Ocean;

Dr. Mendenhall is an active member of her community. From 2018-2022, she served as an Associate
Editor of Frontiers of Marine Science, and from 2022 she has been a member of the Advisory Board
at Ocean Development & International Law. In addition to these academic service roles, Dr. Mendenhall
is a member of the Board of Directors for Save the Bay, a nonprofit dedicated to protection of the
Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. She is also a regular member of the URI Sea Shanty Social Club!

05/26/2026

Congratulations to the Class of 2026! We look forward to following your journey.

05/07/2026

Congratulations to Brynne Robbins '26 whose work is included in the latest issue of the Bates Undergraduate Law Review. Her article, “Increasing the American Commitment to Multilateral Climate Action from the Bottom Up: An assessment of U.S. states’ federally protected capacity to increase compliance with international climate commitments,” discusses the evolving role of environmental federalism and the paradiplomacy of subnational actors in the fight against climate change.

Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ejs9zcDk

With comprehensive domestic rollbacks to environmental protections, environmental federalism is more important now than ever. Can states’ prerogatives under federalism be channeled into international institutions in a way that affects meaningful change and mitigates the federal government’s inac...

01/27/2026

By Elias Kemp

01/27/2026

By Brynne Robbins

01/27/2026

By Makena Logan

01/27/2026

By Alexis Shepardson

01/22/2026

By Mollie Block