ACADEMIC AFFAIRS | Trevor Zink, associate professor of management in the LMU College of Business Administration, has been named director of the University Honors Program, effective May 15, 2020. Zink has been involved in the University Honors Program for four years, teaching classes, advising theses and research and exhibition projects, representing CBA as an Honors Faculty Fellow, and serving on the Honors Advisory Council.
He was awarded the Honors Program’s Honorable Mentor Award in 2019 and Zink has participated in a variety of Honors programming, such as 60-Second Lectures, This is Honors, and Trustees and Presidential Scholarships candidates.
Zink earned his B.B.A. and MBA from Loyola Marymount University before attending UC Santa Barbara, where he earned his M.A. in economics and his Ph.D. in environmental science and management. In his years at LMU, he has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in environmental strategy, business ethics, and life cycle assessment, as well as applied ethics for the Honors Program.
His research has contributed to advances in life cycle assessment methodology, material end-of-life management, and the circular economy. Zink’s most well-known research combines the fields of industrial ecology and economics to challenge commonly held beliefs about the benefits of recycling and remanufacturing. He has published his work in top peer-reviewed journals and has been invited to speak at conferences worldwide and his findings have been featured in a variety of popular news outlets. Zink’s expertise has been sought by state agencies, trade organizations, NGOs, and private firms.
Zink is passionate about identifying tangible, practical ways to reduce damage to the natural world, focusing on win-win strategies that create net environmental benefit. His recent work examines the need for a new economic system and imagines how this transition might be accomplished. In his teaching and scholarship, Zink models interdisciplinarity, global understanding, ethical mindedness, and a passion for learning in consonance with the university’s mission.
Zink said he is excited to continue the legacy of excellence in education of the whole person that has come to define the LMU Honors Program. He wishes to build innovative and enriching programming for Honors Program students and the LMU community at large.
