Hello from Catherine, the Director of the Residential College!
Welcome to the University of Michigan and the Residential College! I look forward to seeing some of you during orientation this summer and to greeting you in person at the beginning of the fall term.
I hope that your summer is a memorable transition from your senior year or time off to your first semester in college.
A world of ideas and opportunities beckons, and we will do our best to help you make choices that meet your needs and aspirations, both during orientation and after you move into East Quad in August.
The RC has faculty and staff who are dedicated to enriching your education and learning about your ideas and goals.
I have been a faculty member at the Residential College for over 30 years. I have a joint appointment in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
I am a natural scientist with research interests in the ecology, evolution, and fossil record of mammals.
I teach part of an introductory environmental science course (Global Change: the Science of Sustainability) and a first-year seminar (Lessons from Deep Time) and advanced courses about biogeography in my other department.
I also offer RC courses about the food system and do research on how our food system can become fairer and more sustainable.
I live on a farm west of campus and grow quite a bit of my own food. This photo of my gardens shows some of the vegetables and fruits that are coming along.
Living with the land is a daily source of inspiration for me and grounds everything that I do.
Best wishes for these summer weeks! I look forward to meeting you.
Catherine Badgley
RC Director
