New minor in sustainability studies underscores going green

A new minor in sustainability studies lends energy and coordination to a wide variety of courses that feature ideas, projects and policies for better stewardship of the world.

“Interest in sustainability education is growing among faculty and certainly among students, so we are hoping to add more choices, and we also are hoping to have students involved in projects so they can get experience while they are here,” said Lisa Glidden, assistant professor of political science and an adviser to students in the minor.

Technology education major Tim Governale ’12, left, holds a photovoltaic cell used to convert light energy to electricity while Steve Badaracco ’13 measures energy output in Professor Tom Kubicki’s class in energy technology. The course is one of 14 that students may apply toward the electives requirement for a new 21-credit-hour minor in sustainability studies.

Two years ago, then-political science major Rachel Rossi ’11 asked Glidden why Oswego did not have a certificate or a minor in environmental studies. Thanks to the efforts of enthusiastic professors and administrators, the minor recently gained final approval through campus governance and five students so far have completed paperwork to enroll.

The minor provides academic support for the vision behind the Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which President Deborah F. Stanley signed in June 2007, and for sustainability efforts that gained new momentum on campus this summer with submission
of the college’s first STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System) report.

Requirements include core courses in geology and in economics/political science; a choice among biology, anthropology and physics classes; and electives in several subjects.

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