| An environmental and sustainability studies interdisciplinary minor of the School of Urban and Public Affairs will start core courses in fall 2010.
Jeff Howard, School of Urban and Public Affairs assistant professor, said the Undergraduate Assembly approved the minor in environmental and sustainability studies earlier this month, and he received word Wednesday from the Provost’s Office that the program can be launched this fall.
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Those interested in the sustainability minor should contact interdisciplinary studies adviser, Denise Longgrear.
E-mail:
longgrea@uta.edu
Phone: 817-272-0416
Students need to complete 18 credit hours to receive the sustainability minor. For the minor, students must take a 3-hour core course and 15 credit hours of courses from three groups — liberal arts, social and cultural studies; natural sciences and engineering; and urban and public affairs and architecture.
Sustainability director Meghna Tare said she is excited to start the minor program this fall.
“It is a good foundation for a major program in the future,” she said. “It will give students an opportunity to learn the principles of sustainability and generate interest to pursue a career in the area of sustainability.
Sustainability director Meghna Tare
The faculty teaching these courses are very engaging and will make the sessions very interactive.”
The School of Urban and Public Affairs, along with the Working Group on Curriculum, Research and Community Engagement, will administer the minor. The latter is part of the President’s Sustainability Committee.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to teach the minor’s core course, which will be called introduction to environmental and sustainability studies,” Howard said. “It will be a sophomore-level course and is likely to be offered for the first time next spring. Although designed primarily for students in the minor, it will be open to anyone.”
This is one of several environmental courses he has developed at UTA and the first undergraduate environmental course, he said.
“It will offer a broad overview of issues and perspectives from the field of environmental studies,” he said. “The field involves people in a wide range of disciplines, from history, political science and rhetoric to anthropology, literature and marketing.”
Howard said the courses introduce students to faculty members addressing environment and sustainability issues in their own research. It will directly involve students in some of the environmental issues of North Texas, like prairie preservation and natural gas development.
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Biology professor James Grover said faculty members around the campus are already teaching similar courses, but they are spread out in different departments and degree programs.
This initiative will help coordinate people with similar interests and put the university on the map as a place where education and sustainability research are available, he said.
“It will enable students to identify and take courses related to sustainability to strengthen their major degree program and get recognition for doing so when they apply for jobs,” Grover said. “I think it will go part of the way to provide for the desires of students who want education in sustainability and environmental issues.”
Students cannot yet register for the minor because it needs to be included in MyMav, but students interested should contact the interdisciplinary studies adviser, Denise Longgrear, Howard said.
Originally published in The Shorthorn:
http://www.theshorthorn.com/content/view/19541/265/ |
