William C. Clark

Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy and Human Development
Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government
Office Address
Littauer-360B
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 53
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-495-3981
Fax: 617-495-8963
Email: william_clark@harvard.edu
Assistant
Lauren Bloomberg (617-495-0879)
William Clark

Profile

William Clark is the Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy and Human Development at Harvard Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Government. His research focuses on sustainability science: understanding the interactions of human and environmental systems with a view toward advancing the goals of sustainable development. He is particularly interested in how institutional arrangements affect the linkage between knowledge and action in the sustainability arena. At Harvard, he currently co-directs the Sustainability Science Program. He is co-author of Adaptive environmental assessment and management (Wiley, 1978), Redesigning rural development (Hopkins, 1982); and The global health system: Institutions in a time of transition (Harvard, 2010); editor of the Carbon dioxide review (Oxford, 1982); coeditor of Sustainable development of the biosphere (Cambridge, 1986), The earth transformed by human action (Cambridge, 1990), Learning to manage global environmental risks (MIT, 2001), and Global Environmental Assessments (MIT, 2006); and co-chaired the US National Research Councils study Our Common Journey:A Transition Toward Sustainability (NAP, 1999). He serves on the editorial boards of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science and Annual Review of Environment and Resources. Clark is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a recipient of the MacArthur Prize, the Humboldt Prize, the Kennedy Schools Carballo Award for excellence in teaching, and the Harvard College Phi Beta Kappa Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

January 2012

Courses

Fall

  • IGA-944 Sustainability Science: Interactions Between Human and Environmental Systems

Not Offered

  • IGA-404 Managing a Living Planet: Governance Solutions for Global Environmental Problems

Media Expertise

William Clark welcomes media inquiries on the following subjects:

Additional experts may be found by clicking on each subject listed. You may contact faculty directly or if you need assistance contact the Communications Office at 617-495-1115.

Research

For a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Academic Journal/Scholarly Articles
    • Clark, William C., Thomas P. Tomich, Meine van Noordwijk, David Guston, Delia Catacutan, Nancy M. Dickson, and Elizabeth McNie. "Boundary Work for Sustainable Development: Natural Resource Management at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (August 15, 2011): published online.
    • Khagram, Sanjeev, William C. Clark, and Dana Firas Raad. "From the Environment and Human Security to Sustainable Security and Development." Journal of Human Development 4.2 (2003): 289-314.
  • Edited Volumes
    • Mitchell, Ronald B., William C. Clark, David W. Cash, and Nancy M. Dickson, eds. Global Environmental Assessments: Information and Influence. MIT Press, 2006.
    • Schellnhuber, Hans Joachim, Paul J. Crutzen, William C. Clark, Martin Claussen, and Hermann Held, eds. Earth Systems Analysis for Sustainability. MIT Press, 2004.
    • Clark, William C., Jill Jäger, Josee van Eijndhoven, and Nancy Dickson, eds. (Social Learning Group) Learning to Manage Global Environmental Risks, Vol. 1: A Comparative History of Social Responses to Climate Change, Ozone Depletion and Acid Rain. MIT Press, 2001.
  • Research Papers/Reports
    • Levin, Simon A., and William C. Clark, eds. "Toward a Science of Sustainability." Center for International Development Working Paper 196, May 2010.
    • Clark, William C., Nicole A. Szlezak, Suerie Moon, Barry R. Bloom, Gerald T. Keusch, Catherine M. Michaud, Dean T. Jamison, Julio Frenk, and Wen L. Kilama. "The Global Health System: Institutions in a Time of Transition." Center for International Development Working Paper 193, January 2010.