Peter Salovey President | Yale University
Peter Salovey President | Yale University
Dorceta Taylor, a scholar known for her work in environmental justice, has been appointed as the Wangari Maathai Professor of Environmental Justice. Her appointment is effective immediately. Taylor joined the faculty at Yale School of the Environment (YSE) in 2021 after serving as the James E. Crowfoot Collegiate Professor of Environmental Justice at the University of Michigan.
The professorship honors Wangari Maathai, a Nobel Prize-winning environmental leader and founder of Kenya's Green Belt Movement. Taylor's career includes significant research on diversity within environmental organizations, notably her 2014 study that encouraged greater inclusivity in the sector.
Taylor has authored influential books such as “Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility” and “The Environment and the People in American Cities.” She established programs like the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program to support underrepresented students entering environmental fields.
Her accolades include receiving the 2020 Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal from Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and being named an Honorary Fellow in the American College of Environmental Lawyers. As YSE's inaugural senior associate dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion, she increased representation among underrepresented students in STEM doctoral programs.
From 2022 to 2023, Taylor secured funding from multiple foundations for various initiatives totaling millions of dollars. Her teaching roles at YSE include courses on poverty and environment inequality, food systems, and sustainability labs.
Taylor serves on several boards including EarthDay.org and contributes to global policy discussions through roles with organizations like We Act for Environmental Justice. She holds a Ph.D. in environmental sociology from Yale University.
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