Director of UW-Madison's Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies Frances Westley announced her resignation Tuesday, effective June 30.
Tom Sinclair, public information manager for the Nelson Institute, said health issues affecting members of Westley's immediate family living in Canada led to her decision to leave Madison and return to her family.
Westley arrived at UW-Madison in January 2005 after working as a professor at McGill University in Montreal for over 20 years, Sinclair said.
He said though Westley has only been director for a short time, she has accomplished much.
""We're sorry to see her go before more of these initiatives are actually complete, but I think everyone here understands that family comes first, and we're grateful to her for the energy and time that she has put into the Institute,"" Sinclair said.
Westley helped to initiate a new center the Institute is in the process of launching, which will focus on culture, history and environment, and will act as a humanities-oriented center within environmental studies, according to Sinclair.
""I feel confident that we have a stronger sense of direction now than we did before she arrived, and we thank her for that,"" he said.
Westley accepted a position at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, close to her family.
""I think she feels that she is leaving things in good hands with the faculty and staff members here and there is a momentum now that is going to carry on even without her being here,"" Sinclair said. ""We'll be eager to see what happens next, but we all have plenty of work to do.""
