New Director for Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment
Lauren Cagle, Ph.D., has been appointed director of the Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment (TFISE) at the University of Kentucky. She will assume the role on July 1, 2025.
Dr. Cagle earned a B.A. in English from Rhodes College in 2007, followed by an M.A. in English from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2012 and a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition with graduate certificates in Professional and Technical Communication and Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of South Florida in 2016.
Since joining UK in 2016 as assistant professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies, Dr. Cagle has demonstrated a deep commitment to interdisciplinary research, teaching and service. She co-founded the Kentucky Climate Consortium in 2018 and has directed it since 2019, while also leading UK’s Environmental and Sustainability Studies Program from 2023 to 2025.
Dr. Cagle served as President of the Association for the Rhetoric of Science, Technology and Medicine from 2020 to 2021 and remains on its Board of Directors. She also serves on the editorial board of Technical Communication Quarterly.
Her mentorship and research explore how technical and scientific rhetoric can improve environmental outcomes and include more people in environmental decision-making. Her work involves long-standing partnerships with organizations including the Kentucky Division for Air Quality, Kentucky Geological Survey, UK Recycling and The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky.
TFISE is a donor-funded multidisciplinary center focused on research addressing environmental issues in Kentucky and the nation, mentoring future environmental researchers and modeling high-impact solutions. TFISE collaborates with multiple organizational partners in support of programs such as the UK Sustainability Challenge Grant. As director, Dr. Cagle will be responsible for developing and implementing a strategic plan including new research initiatives, training opportunities and programming.
We thank Shane Tedder for his service as TFISE interim assistant director.
We welcome Dr. Cagle and look forward to working with her in this new role.
