Cathy Badgley

— 5th — (1977) Jimmy Carter

Working toward a Ph.D. in paleobiology based on field work in northern Pakistan. Spent 1974 summer in Kenya doing geology at East Lake Turkana, followed by a fall of sheer frivolity, relaxation and sun in Crete. Am pleased to feel that there is still hope for the institution of marriage.

— 10th — (1982) Ronald Reagan

What an odd class we are compared to the others -- very few ties to each other (that is why there are never any entries under 1972 in the Radcliffe Quarterly). I think those college years were politically too disruptive. I remember being outrageously idealistic and unsettled in college. For years afterward, I thought that we were all perpetual drifters. But, I think that 1966-73 was the most interesting and diversified academic period of the last twenty years. I continue to poke about for fossils in the Old World: East Africa, Pakistan, China. To my surprise, I have become quite interested in computer programming (back in the New World), particularly modeling fossilization processes. If jobs are not good in paleoecology, I will work as a computer programmer and move west of the Rockies.

— 30th — (2002) George W. Bush

At the University of Michigan, where I have worked since 1982, I do research on changes in the ecological diversity of mammals over geologic time and among different regions of the earth today. This research continues to take me to Pakistan, China, and other such places. In addition to finding fossils there, I see how most of the world lives, and that has alerted me to the prevailing environmental and social injustices of the world. Most of my teaching is about environmental issues. I love this subject, despite its dark and overwhelming aspects, because it challenges us profoundly to question the status quo and seek more sustainable lives and social systems. At home, my husband, Gerry, and I live on a farm in rural Michigan. We built our own house there, a small, energy-efficient, timber-frame design that looks out over meadows and swamps. We have learned how to farm with horses and how to raise much of our own food. We are fortunate to have abundant wildlife in our midst all year round, including a pair of sandhill cranes that has trained us to try to imitate their mating dance and then throw them food!

The twentieth century seemed to me ambitious, recklessly prosperous, chaotic, and violent. I hope that this century will focus more on justice, equality, and respect for the earth.

— 45th — (2017) Donald Trump

I live on a farm in southeastern Michigan, where I grow much of our food and use my farming and gardening experiences as a focus for analyzing the global food system. Every day of the year, we eat something that we have grown ourselves — either fresh or stored for long-term use. We are both vegetarian for several reasons, ranging from ecological energetics (eating low on the food chain) to animal welfare to personal health. Here the wind and stars and clean air are daily experiences. We know individual trees and birds, and we support our native predators. Every day is affirming. At work, I am still enjoying research and teaching. My research has two main themes: the influences of landscape history on mammal diversity over deep time and transforming the food system. I teach courses on both subjects and have students doing research with me on both as well. This year I am working on a coedited book about the long fossil record in Pakistan that I have worked on since I was a graduate student. This book will synthesize thirty-five years of research (by me and many colleagues) about an extraordinary sequence of paleobiological history. I am also conducting field work in the Mojave Desert on a sequence of similar time frame.

Many friends ask about the connection between my research in paleontology and the food system. The link is biodiversity. The fossil record documents the history of life, with its opportunities and crises over millions of years. Biodiversity today faces a huge crisis from human impacts. The biggest collective impact comes through agriculture and harvesting of wild species. We will not avoid another mass extinction unless we transform the global food system radically to become more sustainable. Examples of such a system are emerging all over the world. I am excited to be part of a global movement to facilitate this transformation.

University of Michigan