College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Community Sustainability

Michael D. Kaplowitz is a professor of environmental law, resource economics, and sustainable development. Kaplowitz holds a BS in Industrial Economics from Union College (NY) and a JD from Duke University. After practicing law in New York City, Kaplowitz returned to school and received an MA in Latin American Studies, Environmental Policy, and International Economics from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a PhD in Resource Development and Resource Economics from Michigan State University (MSU).

Kaplowitz currently serves MSU as one of its two Faculty Athletics Representatives (FAR) to the Big Ten and NCAA. As FAR, Kaplowitz’s responsibilities center on looking out for and enhancing the welfare of student-athletes as well as the academic integrity of the athletics program. Additionally, Kaplowitz is engaged in CSUS undergraduate education teaching multiple sections of the department’s CSUS 200-Introduction to Community Sustainability. Kaplowitz is also working on international development and sustainability efforts in Ghana and Nepal with his graduate students and colleagues.

Kaplowitz published Property Rights, Economics, and the Environment (JAI Press) and has peer-reviewed articles on topics including nonmarket valuation of ecosystems, watershed management, international development, and research methods in journals including American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Ecological Economics, Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum, Journal of Environmental Planning & Management, and Public Opinion Quarterly. Kaplowitz has co-authored chapters in: Methods for Testing and Evaluating Survey Questionnaire, Eds. S. Pressor et al. (John Wiley and Sons); Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (United Nations); and Valuation of Ecological Resources (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry). In 2004, Kaplowitz received a Fulbright U.S. Scholars fellowship for teaching and research in eastern Costa Rica at EARTH University.

To date, his research has been supported, in part, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Great Lakes Protection Fund, Michigan Sea Grant, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and others.

In addition, since 2018, Kaplowitz has been a co-facilitator for MSU Dialogues, specifically dialogues on race for MSU faculty and staff. Intergroup dialogues (dialogues) use co-facilitators and specially-designed curricula to foster sustained discourse between participants with different social identities to advance improved intergroup relationships, develop critical consciousness, and increase capabilities for promoting social justice. MSU Dialogues runs non-credit dialogue programs each semester on race and gender (and religion) for undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty/staff. If you haven’t done an MSU Dialogue, you should really think about adding that to your list of things to do.

Kaplowitz served as department chair from 2011-2016.