Doctor of Humane Letters

May 20, 2018

Sherri Wasserman Goodman is a multidisciplinary expert whose pathbreaking work has shed light on the nexus between climate change and national security in our globally interconnected world. Bringing together the fields of military security and environmental science, Goodman is credited with persuading a generation of U.S. military and government officials of the real danger of climate change. Her famous coinage, “threat multiplier,” has been instrumental in fundamentally reshaping national discourse on the topic. 

Goodman is a senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, affiliated with the Environmental Change and Security Program, the Polar Initiative and the Global Women’s Leadership Initiative. She is a senior advisor for international security at the Center for Climate and Security, and a fellow at the Center for Naval Analyses. From 1993 to 2001, she was the first-ever U.S. deputy undersecretary of defense for environmental security. A lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, she has founded, led or advised nearly a dozen research organizations on environmental and energy matters, national security, oceans, and public policy.

Goodman has been awarded the Gold Medal from the National Defense Industrial Association, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Change Award and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service (twice). She has testified before numerous committees of the U.S. Congress and appeared in many documentaries.

Goodman graduated summa cum laude from Amherst with a major in interdisciplinary studies, focusing on international relations. “Amherst truly did shape my career and my life,” she has commented. “From ‘Diplomatic History’ with Professor Gordon Levin to Professor Bill Taubman’s invaluable guidance on my senior thesis, I was privileged to study with and learn from an extraordinary faculty.” After Amherst, Goodman earned a law degree from Harvard Law School and a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.