University Distinguished Professor Emeritus Tom Dietz returning to MSU for Stan & Toba Kaplowitz Distinguished Lecture Series
October 2, 2025 - Karessa Weir
The 2025 Stan and Toba Kaplowitz Distinguished Lecture Series will feature University Distinguished Professor Emeritus Tom Dietz who will discuss "Making Better Decisions About Sustainability" at 3 p.m. Nov. 5 in the Kellogg Center Auditorium.
Sociology Professor Emeritus Stan Kaplowitz and his wife, Toba, created the Stan and Toba Kaplowitz Distinguished Lecture Series in 2024 with their inaugural lecture by renowned environmentalist Dr. Robert Bullard.
“Our decisions in the 21st century will shape the future of humanity and the planet. We hope to improve human well-being and protect the environment. Climate change, new technologies like AI, and many other rapid changes call for effective responses. But our decision-making is often flawed. Recent political changes in the U.S. and around the world may heighten those flaws. Can we do better?” Dr. Dietz wrote.
“Research on decision-making lets us understand how we make decisions and where we go astray. There is no simple highway to make better decisions. But there are paths we can follow to make the best of uncertain facts and diverse values.”
Dr. Dietz holds a B.G.S. from Kent State University and PhD in Ecology from the University of California, Davis. Here at MSU, he was founding director of the Environmental Science and Policy Program and active in Sociology, Animal Studies, and the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability. His research focuses on environmental decision making, macro-comparative analysis of the drivers of sustainability and the use of deliberative processes to link science and decisions. Dr. Dietz, who retired from MSU Sociology in 2023, will share his most recent award-winning book, “Decisions for Sustainability: Facts and Values" (Cambridge University Press) as part of the lecture.
Having Dr. Dietz return for this important lecture series means a lot to the department, said Sociology Chair Dr. Carla Pfeffer.
“Tom Dietz’s research productivity and quality was nothing short of exceptional during his time as a professor here in MSU Sociology. Even in retirement, as University Distinguished Professor Emeritus and member of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he continues building this remarkable scholarly record, publishing new books and journal articles and co-publishing with a long line of peers and former students. Dietz’s scholarship has been cited a remarkable 118,934 times and his h-index is in the triple digits. During his time at MSU, he established and contributed to enduring programs and areas of research expertise focusing on sociology of the environment. We are so excited and honored to have him back for a day as he delivers this year’s Kaplowitz Lecture and joins us for a centennial luncheon, celebrating 100 years of Sociology at MSU—a proud and vibrant history and legacy to which he remains an active contributor,” Dr. Pfeffer said.
Dr. Dietz is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has won the Sustainability Science Award from the Ecological Society of America. Decisions for Sustainability: Facts and Values (Cambridge), his most recent book. won the Gerald R. Young Book Award from the Society for Human Ecology.
In conjunction with the Kaplowitz Distinguished Lecture Series, MSU Sociology will be hosting an internal Centennial Luncheon and Panel Nov. 5 including Sociology faculty emeriti. Panelists will reflect on the past, current and future strengths, contributions and challenges of MSU Sociology over the years.
Tickets for the Stand Toba Kaplowitz lecture are free and open to all but advanced registration is required. To register, please click here.