Central Arizona College Debuts Renewable Energy Associate Degree
With funding from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Community-Based Job Training Alternative Energy Grant, Central Arizona College has debuted a renewable energy program. The college offers a renewable energy technician associate degree that is transferable to all three of Arizona’s state universities. The program focuses on interdisciplinary and outreach learning approaches to train students to develop the skills required to succeed in high growth industries. The college also offers solar energy and biofuel technician certificates.
Owens CC to Offer Urban Agriculture and Sustainability Program
Owens Community College (OH) has announced that it will offer a new urban agriculture and sustainability certificate program. The program will require 26 credit hours of coursework including plant science, soil science, greenhouse management, urban livestock and animal husbandry, organic gardening and food systems management, harvest and post-harvest technology, and urban horticulture and sustainability. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in various experiential learning laboratory projects at Toledo GROW’s Oneida Greenhouse.
Santa Clara U Creates Department of Environmental Studies
Santa Clara University (CA) has approved the creation of the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences. As a part of creating the new department, the university will also transform the environmental studies companion major into a stand-alone major with coursework that focuses on societal responses to environmental problems. The curriculum includes environmental law, policy, economics and sustainable development.
Wake Technical CC Students Install Solar Hot Water System
Students in Wake Technical Community College’s (NC) solar thermal training class have installed a solar hot water system in a specially outfitted trailer on campus. The project is part of the Green Building Training Program, designed to ready technicians and small business owners with the knowledge and skills to market themselves in the growing green economy. Solar thermal is one of four short-term “green” training classes being offered through a partnership with the City of Raleigh’s Office of Sustainability.
The New School Debuts Enviro Policy & Sustainable Mgmt Program
The New School's (NY) Milano Management and Urban Policy school will offer a new Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management graduate program starting in fall 2011. Offered on a part-time or full-time basis, the program is designed to prepare graduates for roles as planners, managers, policy analysts and consultants in defining environmental policy and giving support to institutions that seek to enhance their sustainability performance.
CNBC Highlights Green Job Training at Community Colleges
More than $500 million of stimulus money for education is targeted for green job training, says recent CNBC article “Hype Aside, ‘Green Jobs’ Are For Real.” The article highlights the growing "green" industry and the efforts of higher education institutions to meet the challenge of training students for “green-collar” jobs. Programs at Columbia Gorge Community College (OR), St. Phillip’s Community College (TX) and Lane Community College (OR) are featured for their alignment with the Sustainable Education and Economic Development Center, which helps community colleges develop green job training programs.
Concordia U Launches Sustainable Investment Certificate
Created in response to the growing interest in sustainable investment approaches, Concordia University's (QC) John Molson School of Business has launched a sustainable investment professional certificate. The program is designed to provide professionals in the finance, investment and corporate world with a unique set of skills, knowledge and analytical thinking.
Living Routes Earns Innovation in Sustainability Award
Living Routes, a program that partners with the University of Massachusetts, Amherst to run ecovillage-based programs around the world, has received the first annual Innovation in Sustainability Award from international education and experiential travel resource GoAbroad. Presented at the NAFSA: Association of International Educators Conference and Expo this month, the awards acknowledge institutions, organizations and individuals who are creating initiatives to move the field of international education forward and going beyond the conventional. Highlighted Living Routes efforts included co-founding the Green Passport Program, pioneering virtual tabling at study abroad fairs and advocating for "carbon consciousness" in the field of international education.
Northern Wake Tech CC Offers Free Solar Installation Course
Northern Wake Technical Community College (NC) has partnered with the City of Raleigh’s Office of Sustainability to offer a free solar photovoltaic installer course as part of the Green Building Training Series. The curriculum for the course is based on the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners Solar Photovoltaic Installer job task analysis. Students should gain a thorough understanding of the tools used to complete site evaluations, perform necessary measurements and calculations, and specify balance of system components. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant.
Clackamas CC Students Will Construct Wind Turbines
Clackamas Community College (OR) has announced the creation of the Homebuilt Wind Turbine workshop that focuses on the mechanical and electronic processes of making a wind turbine. Students will have the opportunity to construct and assemble a wind turbine from scratch using everyday hand tools. Turbines constructed by students will generate approximately 20-kilowatts of electricity a day. The workshop’s $350 fee will go to creating a 12-foot wind turbine on campus.
Indiana U Announces Sustainability Course Development Fellowships
Two Sustainability Course Development Fellowships have been awarded to Indiana University Bloomington faculty. This year’s recipients will receive $8,000 to provide support for newly developed courses in sustainability. The two courses are “Exploring the Challenges of Sustainability: Ecology & Society” and “Sustainability Law & Policy.” The fellowship represents an instructional component of a broad-based initiative originally developed by the university’s Task Force on Campus Sustainability. It is intended to provide support for individual faculty members interested in expanding their teaching into topics related to sustainability and environmental stewardship.
U California Berkeley Announces Energy-Related Law Degree
The University of California, Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group and Berkeley Law have announced a new concurrent degree program. Reflecting a growing interest in energy-related legal work and a spike in job opportunities within the field, students will now be able to earn both a J.D. and an M.S. or M.A. after four years of study. With more law students moving toward energy than ever before, says the director of Berkeley Law's environmental law program in the article, this new degree will enhance the law school's overall energy program and gives the school a competitive edge. "It was very rare five to 10 years ago," he says, "to have a student interested specifically in energy. Now it's one of the areas where law firms are hiring aggressively, even with the economic downturn."
U Oregon Launches Grad Sustainability Certificate Program
The University of Oregon has announced a new one-year graduate certificate program, "Oregon Leadership in Sustainability." Housed in the Department of Public Policy, Planning and Management, the sustainability "boot camp" will provide 30 students a year with the hands-on skills and experiences needed to contribute to a professional work environment engaged in sustainability issues including public agencies, nonprofits and private firms. The program's three components include leadership skills; core courses in energy and climate change issues and solutions for cities, green cities and ecological design; and a practicum working on projects for a real client.
Green Mountain College Creates Sustainable Food Studies Program
Green Mountain College (VT) has announced a new master’s degree in sustainable food systems. The program builds on the interest in food and agriculture issues in the U.S. and on the success of the college’s undergraduate major in sustainable agriculture. The primary objective of the new program is to educate leaders in food and agricultural systems with a graduate-level interdisciplinary program focused on sustainable production and knowledge of the economic, ecological and social forces driving food systems.
U Hawaii Maui College Debuts Sustainable Science Mgmt Degree
The University of Hawaii Board of Regents has granted provisional status for a new undergraduate degree in sustainable science management to debut at the University of Hawaii Maui College in fall 2011. With a focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation, the degree program provides green industry workforce training and integrates topics in energy, ecology, business and management, water and wastewater, agriculture, wastewater management, economics, policy and social science.
Colorado Mountain College Creates Sustainability Studies Degree
Colorado Mountain College has announced the creation of a bachelor's degree in sustainability studies. The program will focus on the economy, environment and social equity. Faculty studied programs offered at 30 colleges before designing coursework that will incorporate business, science and literature studies.
U Florida Announces New Sustainability Studies Program
The University of Florida has announced a new sustainability studies major that will start in fall 2011. The interdisciplinary program will investigate the means to maintain environmental health, create economic welfare and pursue social justice. Students will gain an understanding of how these goals are interdependent and explore how they best can be pursued over the long term on local, national and global scales. Students will also be required to take part in internships or service learning projects.
Washington State U Vancouver to Offer Renewable Energy Option
Washington State University, Vancouver has received a $250,500 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to develop curriculum in renewable energy. The program will develop and combine eight courses from mechanical engineering, computer science and electrical engineering. Students majoring in any of the programs will have the opportunity to complete the renewable energy option. Solar energy and wind power will be the primary focus of the course work. The grant will also be used to equip an energy systems laboratory and radio frequency communications laboratory. Courses will begin in spring 2012.
Central College Creates Global Sustainability Minor
Central College (IA) has created a global sustainability minor to be offered in fall 2011. The program is designed to offer all students a means of acquiring some of the tools and practical experience needed to enter the workforce and deal with complex issues focusing on the social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability. The minor requires 20-22 hours of class study and students must complete two courses including "Introduction to Environmental Science" and "Global Sustainability."
U Mass Amherst Launches Sustainable Food and Farming Certificate
The University of Massachusetts Amherst has announced a new sustainable food and farming certificate program that is open to the public. Available this summer, the 15-credit program is designed to serve students who are not able to make a commitment to a four-year degree but still want to earn college credentials. Available entirely online or by mixing online and campus classes, the program will offer sustainable farming systems, education, and public policy and advocacy areas of study.
Western Kentucky U Creates Master's in Social Responsibility
Western Kentucky University has announced a new master's degree in social responsibility and sustainable communities, scheduled to begin in fall 2011. The graduate program will provide students from diverse backgrounds the tools to lead communities toward social justice and sustainability. Students will have the opportunity to conduct an action research project to understand relevant community issues and to identify possible solutions. The program has core courses and additional electives, with or without a thesis option, for a total of 33 hours.
Bristol CC Receives $900K for Green Energy Curriculum
Including partnerships with area businesses and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Bristol Community College (MA) has announced a new Sustainability and Green Energy Across the Curriculum initiative. With a three-year, $900,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, the college will now offer concentrations in solar energy and wind energy including a new green building technologies certificate.
Fielding Graduate U Debuts Sustainability Leadership Certificate
Developed in response to demand from practitioners and executives who want to remain competitive and effective, Fielding Graduate University's (CA) School of Human and Organizational Development has announced a new sustainability leadership certificate program. The program is designed to give students an understanding of sustainability through an interdisciplinary perspective that integrates ecological, economic, cultural and organizational theory and research.
Fleming College Debuts Green Business Mgmt Certificate
Fleming College has announced a new green business management graduate certificate program that will be offered at its Sutherland Campus in January 2012. Offered in a format to accommodate those working full-time, the program will provide students with skills to promote and lead sustainability and green practices in business and industrial sectors.
U Arkansas Announces Minor in Sustainability
The University of Arkansas has announced that it will begin offering an undergraduate minor in sustainability. The new program will provide foundational knowledge and skills related to sustainability, organized by four thematic areas including social systems, natural systems, built systems and managed systems. Students can declare the minor starting this summer.
Ball State U to Offer Sustainability Minor
Ball State University (IN) announced plans for a new minor in sustainability during a recent 10th anniversary celebration of its Council on the Environment. The program, to be offered in fall 2011, will explore issues including systems theory, values and ethics, atmosphere and climate, population, energy, water, land, food (land-based and freshwater/marine-based), health (disease and nutrition), materials (resource harvesting, resource limitations and resource recycling), natural biological systems, and economies and poverty. The minor aims to prepare students to be able to describe social, environmental and economic elements of long-term human survival; understand the systems nature of the interrelationships among social, environmental and economic elements of civilization; articulate their personal values as related to this complexity; and apply concepts of sustainability in decision making.
Kansas City Kansas CC to Offer Hybrid/Electric Vehicle Cert
Kansas City Kansas Community College's Technical Education Center will offer an Automotive Hybrid and Electric Vehicle certificate program in fall 2011. The 40-hour technician certificate level program will allow students with automotive training or experience to understand operation and service for hybrid and electrical vehicles and expand their skills in the new technology.
U Notre Dame to Offer 2 New Sustainability Minors
The University of Notre Dame (IN) has announced plans to offer two new sustainability minors in fall 2011. The interdisciplinary minors, sustainability and energy studies, will be available to students in any major and will offer technical and non-technical course focuses to appeal to the greatest percentage of students as possible.
Duke U to Offer New Sustainable Systems Analysis Certificate
Duke University (NC) has announced a new two-year sustainable systems analysis certificate program. Beginning fall 2011, the certificate is designed to give students in-depth working knowledge of the economic, environmental, technological and social forces driving sustainability in the global marketplace today. The program will be open to students pursuing degrees in environmental management, engineering management, public policy and business administration.
Students Install Solar Panels at Fleming College
Students in a "Solar Installation and Maintenance" course at Fleming College (ON) recently completed the installation of 25 solar panels on the college's Alderville Band buildings. The six-month course also includes 350 hours of classroom training.
Berkshire CC to Establish Sustainable Energy Training Center
Berkshire Community College (MA) has received a $201,067 grant from the Northeast Utilities Foundation to convert its Ralph Hoffmann Environmental Center into the Sustainable Energy Resource Training Center. This new center will provide certification programs for workers interested in joining the renewable energy workforce. Programs will provide training in the development and installation of solar heating, wind and photovoltaic systems, as well as for energy auditors and for technicians trained in weatherization.
U Nevada Reno to Host Geothermal Academy
The University of Nevada, Reno is scheduled to host the nation’s first National Geothermal Academy at its Redfield campus in June. The eight-week educational program is a consortium of national leaders in the geothermal field from colleges and universities throughout the nation. Professionals from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and other companies will teach the 40 students who have been selected through a competitive application process.
Daemen College Debuts New Global and Local Sustainability Degree
Daemen College (NY) will offer a new interdisciplinary bachelor's degree in global and local sustainability starting in fall 2011. Students can choose from areas of concentration including liberal arts, business, health care studies and education. Internship opportunities will help students further their skills in economic and social development and cultural and historical preservation, and prepare for environmental careers in government, nonprofits and private businesses.
American U Announces New Sustainability Mgmt Program, Director
American University (DC) has announced that it will enroll the first class of its new sustainability management graduate program in fall 2012. Dan Jacobs, a faculty member in the university's Kogod School of Business, has been appointed to serve as director of the new program. The interdisciplinary business degree will combine coursework from multiple academic units at American University and students may choose to specialize in one of three tracks including business, science and policy.
U Georgia Debuts Local Food Systems Certificate Program
The University of Georgia was recently awarded a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop an interdisciplinary Local Food Systems certificate program. Students will complete 18 hours of coursework with foundation, capstone and internship project-based experiences for a strong foundation for a career in local food issues. A significant component of the grant proposal for the certificate is to develop more academic service-learning opportunities focused on local food issues.
U New Mexico to Create Sustainable Enviro Food Systems Program
The University of New Mexico Sustainability Studies Program has received a $1.5 million grant for an endowed chair in sustainable and environmental food systems and $150,000 in start-up funds from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The project is intended to provide a professional career path for students interested in pursuing sustainable agriculture and food security issues. Students will work with community groups using media arts, ecology and community engagement. Outreach and research will focus on local foodsheds as integrated systems of land, skill, regional plant varieties, infrastructure and markets.
Pepperdine U Debuts Social, Enviro, Ethical Business Certificate
Pepperdine University's (CA) Graziadio School of Business and Management has launched a certificate in Socially, Environmentally and Ethically Responsible (SEER) business practices. The program allows students to complement their MBA degree with courses and activities that will prepare them to apply SEER values to companies across a diverse range of industries.
RIT Offers Master of Architecture with Sustainable Focus
The Rochester Institute of Technology (NY) has announced a new Master of Architecture program that will begin in the fall, with curriculum that focuses on the areas of sustainability, urbanism and integrated practice such as energy efficiency. A collaboration between the school's Golisano Institute for Sustainability and the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, the program is founded upon the principle that architecture programs can no longer afford to teach anything other than sustainable architecture. In addition to courses in industrial ecology, sustainable science and sustainable buildings, traditional courses in design, theory and history will be taught through the lens of sustainability. Students will also have opportunities to collaborate with research labs and academic programs in pollution prevention, sustainable engineering, urban and community studies, and public policy.
San Diego State U Offers Green Job Training Certificates
San Diego State University's College of Extended Studies (CA) was recently profiled for its foresight in offering sustainable energy certificate programs that will meet the increasing need of the region’s green labor market. In addition to the Green Building Construction certificate that launched in 2008, the university now offers online certificates in Commercial and Residential Sustainable Practices and Green Energy Management.
Montgomery County CC Students to Build LEED Homes Over Break
Students at Montgomery County Community College (PA) will travel to Kent County in Michigan to work on the construction of Habitat for Humanity homes that will seek LEED certification as part of an alternative spring break program. Habitat for Humanity's Collegiate Challenge is a year-round alternative break program that offers more than 200 volunteer sites throughout the country. The Kent County chapter committed to building all future homes to LEED certification in 2007.
U Saskatchewan Offers New Critical Enviro Ed Graduate Degree
The University of Saskatchewan is offering a new Master of Education degree in critical environmental education to begin in July 2011. The degree will be offered through four online courses and three summer institutes that explore culture and environment; anti-racist education; research methods; re-inhabitation in relation to social and ecological justice issues; autobiography and contemporary fiction as a means to study the construction of identities; concepts of wisdom including Indigenous and deep ecology; and provide the opportunity to develop, practice and experience a range of curricula and assessment practices relevant to critical environmental education.
Durham Technical CC Expands Sustainability Technologies Program
Durham Technical Community College (NC) began a sustainability technologies program last fall for trained electricians, but due to an "outpouring of interest," the school will be opening a new program available to students without previous electrical training. The program focuses on solar panel installation, energy auditing, energy savings techniques, insulation and solar heated water. The college received a $250,000 grant from Duke Energy to help purchase the technology necessary for instructing students.
Kansas State U Students Design Green Campus Building
Students in the architecture program at Kansas State University are working on all phases of the design, permitting and construction process for a new design studio on campus, Studio 804. The studio will implement a host of green features including wind turbines, a green roof, a vented wall that improves circulation, a smart grid energy meter, energy-efficient appliances and electric vehicle charging stations. The students are raising money to finance the studio, which will seek LEED Platinum certification.
Maharishi U Mgmt Students Study Campus Sustainability Benefits
Students in a "Managing for Sustainability" course at Maharishi University of Management (IA) will perform sustainability inventories and cost/benefit analyses in campus system areas like waste, lighting, heating/air conditioning, composting and recycling. Based on their findings, the students will make recommendations to the university on which sustainability initiatives to tackle, and which ones might not be worth it. The students will start with small things that can make a difference like the university's recent switch to single-stream recycling.
U Kentucky Debuts Sustainability Studies Degree
The University of Kentucky is set to offer an environmental and sustainability studies degree. The undergraduate major will incorporate a broad range of subjects including humanities, natural sciences, writing, communications and environmental ethics. The program will begin in fall 2011.
Gambia Technical Training Inst Partners for Solar Energy Training
Power Up Gambia, an organization that works to provide reliable electricity and water in Gambia through solar energy, has reported a partnership with Gambia Technical Training Institute, one of the largest skills training centers in the country. The organization will work with the institute's Department of Electrical Engineering in an effort to help Gambian companies in the solar field by supporting the development of skilled and well-trained energy technicians who have a strong and common knowledge base in electricity and renewable energy.
Manipal U, Ashoka Trust Debut Ph.D. Program
The Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment is accepting applications for its interdisciplinary doctoral program in conservation science and sustainability studies. The program is recognized by Manipal University (India) and will provide a fellowship for two years. Applicants must have a master's degree in environmental sciences and will be expected to pursue environmental research for a multi-disciplinary dissertation committee.
U Southern Queensland Offers Global Reporting Initiative Degree
The University of Southern Queensland (Australia) has partnered with City University of Seattle to offer an undergraduate accounting degree designed around the Global Reporting Initiative, the international standard for businesses to report against a range of protocol categories including economic, strategy and profile, product responsibility, society, labor practices and decent work, human rights and the environment. The new courses are offered through the University of Southern Queensland's existing accounting and sustainable business bachelor's degree program.
Cal Poly Pomona Students Design Homes to Replace Wildfire Losses
Students at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona are working to design and build sustainable prototype homes for structures that were lost to southern California wildfires in 2007. Owned by the City of San Diego and leased to ranchers who maintain the land, the destroyed homes qualified for emergency assistance funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Known as the Pamo Valley Project, the City of San Diego has teamed with the university's Department of Architecture to engage students to design two low-cost structures for the site. The homes will feature water, energy and waste conservation strategies that will augment passive and active system performance. The Pamo Valley Project was recently awarded the 2010 National Council of Architectural Registration Boards Grant, which is designed to help architecture schools implement new programs that merge the practice of architecture and education in a studio or classroom setting.
U New Hampshire Debuts Sustainable Agriculture Program
The University of New Hampshire has launched a new major that reflects the region's agricultural landscape and growing appetite for local, sustainable food, products and services. The sustainable agriculture and food systems curriculum combines plant, animal and environmental sciences with related topics like nutrition, forestry, aquaculture, and business disciplines such as entrepreneurship and marketing. The major offers both Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees.
