SOUTH BEND — Tom Springer has been hired as the new managing director of the University of Notre Dame’s Environmental Change Initiative.

He started June 1.

Springer has 27 years of experience with the Battle Creek, Mich.-based W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Most recently, he held the position of communications manager for the private foundation, and also served as a project manager and as a senior editor.

His book “Looking for Hickories: the Forgotten Wildness of the Rural Midwest” was named a Michigan Notable book in 2009, and he's also produced articles, essays and photos. Springer is involved with a local conservation district in Michigan and with the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy.

He earned at bachelor's degree at Western Michigan University and a master’s degree in environmental journalism from Michigan State University.

Originally published on www.southbendtribune.com.