Hanley Sustainability Institute

By Mark Gokavi

Kelly Bohrer, University of Dayton director of community relations for the School of Engineering and a longtime teacher of SEE 402, recently was named one of 15 Women of UD honorees for 2021. The group was nominated by the campus community and selected by students, faculty and staff. 

This year's theme, “Leading with Character and Resilience,” celebrates the many UD-affiliated women who have risen to the challenge of this moment - marked by the pandemic, economic uncertainty and social unrest - and are making a contribution to our campus and/or their respective communities, in small and large ways, organizers said.

In lieu of a traditional in-person kick-off, a celebration event will take place via Zoom at 9 a.m. Friday, March 19. President Eric Spina, Provost Paul Benson and Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Larry Burnley will share remarks at the event. Zoom details forthcoming. 

Bohrer began teaching the sustainability project class with Professor Emeritus Daniel Fouke. The class is now the capstone course for bachelor degrees in sustainability.

Rebecca Potter, sustainability program director, said the experiential learning projects Bohrer has mentored with co-faculty in Philosophy have had tremendous impact on the Dayton community, exemplifying “resilience,” which is the theme of this year’s celebration. 

A March exhibit will feature the trailblazing women who embody both "firsts" who broke proverbial glass ceilings in an array of areas and fields, and those who lead the way for new initiatives, policies and practices that make our campus more inclusive and equitable.

Potter said Bohrer's work has included student projects such as Lincoln Hill Garden, Edgemont Solar Garden and impactful initiatives with the Miami Conservancy District, Five Rivers MetroParks and the City of Dayton, among others.

Bohrer holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from UD in environmental biology, specializing in ecosystem analysis and wetland restoration. Before joining UD in 2001, her work included environmental education consulting, habitat mapping with GIS/ArcMap, sage grouse field research, prairie and wetland ecosystem restoration, and computer systems assessment planning.  

At UD, she has served as a biology lab coordinator, a coordinator of community outreach and the Fitz Center Director of Community Engaged Learning and Scholarship. In her teaching roles, she has taught capstone courses for environmental biology and continues to teach for the sustainability minor and major.

For more sustainability news and information, visit HSI’s news blog, the Hanley Sustainability Institute website and the sustainability program website. To sign up for HSI’s Sustainability Spotlight newsletter, register here.