Sustainability minor introduced
Mark Scialla
Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: News
URI faculty members conceived the idea for the environmentally friendly minor following the 2001 Honors Colloquium, A Just and Sustainable Future: Overcoming Boundaries to Action. With the popular rise in interest for the stability of the environment and the current 2008 Honors Colloquium, the program finds more faculty and students willing to collaborate.
According to Swift, the minor took a long time to finally materialize. Faculty members, representing different departments, submitted the proposal to a lengthy approval process. At the last faculty meeting, the deans of the various colleges finally approved the proposition, which meant that students were able to start enrolling for this fall.
Swift said the Sustainability Council has been working on projects on campus to reduce URI's carbon footprint. They are trying to set up efficient park 'n' rides, bus lines and are encouraging students to carpool.
Swift said there are no existing plans for the program to grow into a major, but she fully expects that it will in the future. There are approximately 17 students enrolled in the minor and Swift expects more to come following the 2008 Honors Colloquium.
"I think it will show students that there are things they should care about for their own sake and the sake of those they care about," Swift said.
Course descriptions and schedules will be made available online soon.
According to Swift, the minor took a long time to finally materialize. Faculty members, representing different departments, submitted the proposal to a lengthy approval process. At the last faculty meeting, the deans of the various colleges finally approved the proposition, which meant that students were able to start enrolling for this fall.
Swift said the Sustainability Council has been working on projects on campus to reduce URI's carbon footprint. They are trying to set up efficient park 'n' rides, bus lines and are encouraging students to carpool.
Swift said there are no existing plans for the program to grow into a major, but she fully expects that it will in the future. There are approximately 17 students enrolled in the minor and Swift expects more to come following the 2008 Honors Colloquium.
"I think it will show students that there are things they should care about for their own sake and the sake of those they care about," Swift said.
Course descriptions and schedules will be made available online soon.
