Sanya Carley appointed vice provost for climate science, policy, and action

Sanya Carley, Presidential Distinguished Professor of Energy Policy and City Planning in the Weitzman School of Design and the Mark Alan Hughes Faculty Director of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, has been named the University of Pennsylvania’s vice provost for climate science, policy, and action.

In making the announcement, Provost John L. Jackson Jr. says, “As we celebrate another highly successful Climate Week, I am delighted to welcome Sanya Carley to this critical University-wide leadership role. She is one of the world’s leading experts on energy policy, especially related to affordability, decarbonization, and the impact of changing climate systems. She is a widely admired teacher, mentor, and collaborator who will be a dynamic catalyst across campus on issues of energy, climate, and sustainability. I want to express my gratitude to Michael Mann for his service as the University’s inaugural vice provost for climate science, policy, and action and to Stephen Decina, who will continue his outstanding work as the inaugural executive director of climate science, policy, and action, working closely with Vice Provost Carley and Vice Provost for Research David Meaney.”

Sanya Carley is a founder and co-director of the Energy Justice Lab, which aims to assess and address the equity and justice issues that arise as communities transition from fossil fuels to more diverse, efficient, and low-carbon energy sources. She also serves as a fellow of Resources for the Future, the independent, non-profit research organization in Washington DC that partners with select university leaders to develop impartial economic research that can improve public policies for environmental, energy, and natural resources.

“I am honored,” says Carley, “to assume this important role and very much looking forward to integrating and amplifying our incredible climate work here at Penn.”

Carley came to Penn two years ago from Indiana University, where she was associate vice provost for faculty and academic affairs and O’Neill Professor in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She is the co-author of “Power Lines: The Human Costs of American Energy in Transition” (U of Chicago Press, 2025) and “Energy-Based Economic Development: How Clean Energy Can Drive Development and Stimulate Economic Growth” (Springer, 2014). Caley is the recipient of the 2021 David Kershaw Award from the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management for distinguished contributions to public policy analysis and management by a researcher under the age of 40 among numerous other professional and teaching awards. At Penn, she also has secondary appointments in the Wharton School and the School of Social Policy and Practice. She earned a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her undergraduate degree in both economics and sustainable development from Swarthmore College.