A Kennesaw State University history professor has been selected to participate in a statewide leadership program focused on environmental conservation in Georgia.
Albert “Bert” Way, Ph.D., who specializes in environmental and agricultural history at the Norman J. Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences, is among 30 individuals chosen for the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership’s Class of 2025 (IGEL). He is the first KSU professor to join the program, which brings together professionals from academia, industry, government, and non-profit organizations to address key environmental issues across Georgia.
“We will all be making decisions about our environment in different ways. I mean, the chief sustainability officer of Norfolk Southern, who is also in this class… has a different set of issues and stakes than a professor of history at Kennesaw State,” Way said.
Way also owns land in South Georgia and serves on the board of the Georgia Forestry Foundation. He identified major environmental challenges facing Georgia as changing land use patterns, increased demand on water and energy due to data center expansion, urban growth around metro areas, and deforestation from construction projects. The IGEL program exposes participants to these challenges by holding sessions in various regions throughout the state until early 2026.
“We hear a lot about two Georgias, right? The metro area and the rest. Others will talk about three Georgias, or even four or five,” Way said. “What I really like about this program is they work really hard to pull people from all over the state, from the metro area, which has a very… different set of challenges, I think, than rural Georgia.”
Participants engage in activities such as fieldwork with Department of Natural Resources biologists and discussions with farmers about how environmental changes affect their livelihoods. The program emphasizes understanding diverse perspectives and developing leadership skills to address complex environmental issues.
“One of the big themes here, too, is empathy, and to try to understand where everyone’s coming from across the spectrum,” Way said. “I think the idea is to get that diversity of perspectives and views, and to learn a bit more about how to… make decisions about very difficult topics.”
Way expects his involvement with IGEL will benefit his teaching by making his research more accessible beyond academia and expanding his professional network. “I actually have a couple of folks I can call, even after just this first session,” he said. He believes that IGEL will equip participants with skills needed for effective decision-making when faced with differing viewpoints.
Recent developments offer some optimism for Georgia’s environment. In September 2025, DeKalb County reported an increase in tree canopy coverage by 2 percent between 2010 and 2023 in unincorporated areas. The county attributed these gains to new tree plantings and preservation efforts. Benefits cited include improved carbon sequestration, air quality improvements through pollution removal, reduced stormwater runoff, and energy savings due to a healthier urban forest.
“The threats are real, but there are practical solutions out there to many of the threats that we face,” Way said.
