University President Lee Bollinger and Provost Nancy Cantor announced Wednesday their recommendation of Rosina Bierbaum, an advisor to former President Clinton and the acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, to lead the School of Natural Resources and Environment.

Bierbaum will assume the position of dean as the SNRE prepares to undergo major internal changes. The University announced a tentative plan to merge the SNRE"s undergraduate program with the larger College of Literature, Science and the Arts.

"A number of things are ripe for attention," Bierbaum said, citing the need to stabilize graduate student funding and examine core courses.

Bierbaum said she plans to speak with faculty and students about possible alterations in the school. "I believe the first job of the School is education, so I wanted to focus very much on the students," she said.

SNRE Prof. David Allan, who chaired the search committee for the new dean, said he felt Bierbaum is fit to handle the changes facing SNRE. She has shown "enthusiasm for the challenges and suggestions of how we can meet them," he said.

Bierbaum said her experiences in the White House in public policy will help in multiple ways. As acting director of the OSTP, Bierbaum had to reach across different government agencies, an act she likened to dealing with different departments within the University.

"She has a marvelous ability to cut through to the essence of a problem," Allan said.

Bierbaum said part of her experience lies in identifying problems and assessing the timeliness of a solution, taking into account the impact it might have on other environmental issues. This skill could be communicated to students and was lacking in her own education, she said.

"I came out with the science but not nearly the understanding of policy, law and technology that I think students ought to have," Bierbaum said.

Before serving as acting director of the OSTP in January, Bierbaum was the associate director for environment in the OSTP, which she had held since 1998. She was the Clinton Administration"s senior scientific advisor on environmental research and development in many areas. Bierbaum is also the former senior associate in the environment program of the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment.

"In her roles as policy analyst and senior science adviser in Washington, she has worked tirelessly to advance sound environmental policy based on scientific values," Bollinger said in a statement. "Her energy and commitment will surely infect faculty and students within the School and throughout the University."

Bierbaum, Allan said, embodies leadership, scholarship and vision all characteristics the search committee was looking for. Her experiences, he added, during the eight years of Clinton"s tenure are a unique asset to the position.

Allan also mentioned that Bierbaum has not only worked with the top specialists in a number of environmental fields but is well-known and well-respected among them.

Bierbaum"s appointment "sends a message to people who are interested in the environment and the School that we have a dynamic new leader," Allan said.

Bierbaum"s term is scheduled to begin Oct. 1, pending the approval of the University Board of Regents. She will also be a full professor of natural resources and environmental policy with tenure.