Dear Trojan Community,
It is my pleasure to announce the appointment of Michael “Mick” Dalrymple as USC’s first chief sustainability officer for operations, effective August 23rd. Mick brings his extensive experience to focus and accelerate university-wide efforts in sustainability. He joins us from Arizona State University, where he most recently served as their director of sustainability practices.
Mick was tapped for USC’s CSO position after an extensive interview process in which dozens of students, faculty, and staff participated, assisted by external experts in the sustainability field. Mick was selected from a talented and experienced slate of applicants in a national search process. He emerged as the clear favorite due to his extensive background in sustainability and his outstanding leadership developing one of the most prominent university sustainability programs in the nation.
The chief sustainability officer position is a first for USC and demonstrates the move to implement aggressive initiatives to promote sustainability, a priority for President Folt and the USC community.
In transitioning to his new role, Mick will draw upon his experience at ASU. There Mick helped lead the university to reach ambitious sustainability goals, such as achieving carbon neutrality in 2019 – six years ahead of schedule. Sustainability leaders, such as the Sierra Club and Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, have lauded the school’s efforts.
At USC, Mick will report to me. He will co-chair the President’s Sustainability Coordinating Council while also serving on the President’s Working Group in Sustainability and the Operations Sustainability Steering Committee. The current associate director of sustainability, and the Office of Sustainability will report to him.
Mick has demonstrated his passion for excellence and working collaboratively throughout his career. He will work closely with USC sustainability leaders among students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as senior administrators, environmental organizations and community groups. The entire USC community will need to come together to advance sustainability and achieve the ambitious goals in the upcoming Sustainability 2028 plan.
Before closing, I would like to thank the members of our search committee, chaired by Mark Ewalt, the executive director of administrative operations. Their work was crucial to this important process.
Please join me in welcoming Mick and his wife Alison back to Los Angeles and to our Trojan Family.
Sincerely,
David Wright
Senior Vice President for Administration