Professor Kern will join the faculty on July 1, 2026.
Michael Kern
Bataua Professor in the Practice of Collaborative Solutions
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Michael Kern joins the Yale School of the Environment in July 2026 as the inaugural Bataua Professor in the Practice of Collaborative Solutions. In the position, he will establish a Collaboration Solutions Program that convenes diverse interests in environmental conflicts and engages them in dialogue to build consensus, mediate conflicts, resolve disputes, and develop collaborative solutions at local, regional, and global scales. Michael is also Principal of Michael Kern Consulting, LLC and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Washington State University (WSU). Prior to arriving at Yale, Michael was Director of Special Projects at the University of Washington's (UW) Center for Urban Waters/Puget Sound Institute, leading the Collaborative Leadership Program and Developing Collaborative Leaders for Puget Sound Project. In 2021, he wrapped up 12 years as Director of the William D. Ruckelshaus Center, a joint effort of WSU and UW that fosters collaborative public policy. Michael has decades of practitioner and academic experience in the field of collaborative governance.
Research Topics
History and development of collaborative governance
Role of universities in collaborative governance
Evaluating collaborative processes
Assessment criteria for collaborative processes
Developing and managing academic centers, programs and institutes
Michael Kern has published on innovation and agreement, assessing ripeness, the role of universities in collaborative governance, evaluating environmental collaboration, the public sector as mediator, hatchery reform, nuclear site cleanup, eldercare, and other topics. He focuses on areas where the interface between scholar and practitioner can contribute to moving the field of collaborative governance forward and improving the collaborative capacity of project conveners, sponsors, participants, decision makers, and third-party facilitators.
Michael Kern favors a facilitative teaching approach, where he serves as a guide and co-learner, rather than a unilateral authority. His teaching design emphasizes hands-on engagement, reflection, and application of theory to real-world policy contexts. The classroom ethos is established via co-created course norms that underscore respect, preparation, and reciprocity. A key pedagogical concept is Social Constructivism, which posits that learners develop understanding through active participation and collaborative knowledge-building.
Education
- MPA, University of Washington
- BFA, University of Washington
Areas of Expertise