Jack Dangermond

Doctor of Science

College of Design, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, and Institute of Technology, April 2, 2008

Jack Dangermond received a master of architecture degree with an emphasis on urban planning from the University of Minnesota in 1968. He is the founder and president of Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI hereafter). ESRI is the world's leading software company and the fourth largest privately held software firm. It is based in Redlands, California and employs more than 400 people. Universities, governments, and businesses in more than 200 countries use the company's software. He is described as "the leading global pioneer in the development of innovative mapping and spatial analysis products for academic, public, and private uses that have revolutionized knowledge and access to real-time information about how the Earth's environment is changing due to human impacts (e.g., urbanization, global climate alteration, deforestation and desertification." He is the author of hundreds of papers and has been the keynote speaker at numerous state, national, and international conferences. The breadth of his leadership in interdisciplinary collaboration can be measured by a joint letter of support from the deans of the College of Design, the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences, and the Institute of Technology.