Program & Other SUST-related News
May 2013: Congrats to the SUST class of 2013!
With majors as diverse as theater, engineering, historic preservation, environmental science, media communications and architecture, 22 students in the RWU class of 2013 have completed the Sustainability Studies minor. This is twice as many as in 2012 and more than five times as many as in 2011. In this case, exponential growth is a good thing! The SUST program faculty wish them all the best as they go on to put their sustainability knowledge to good use!
Members of the SUST class of 2013: Back row L-R: Garrett House, Cameron Peahl, Celina Hoar, Shannon Pitt, Daniel Khalife. Front row L-R: Katie Nolan, Lindsey Kaye, Mary Dillon, Kalya Maroney.
May 2013: Two SUST students pursuing graduate-level Sustainability Studies
Two architecture students from RWU’s Class of 2013 who have completed the Sustainability Studies minor, Alexandra Isham and Garrett House, have been accepted into graduate programs focused on sustainability.
Alexandra
will be pursuing a Master of Science in
Sustainability Management from the Kogod School of Business at
American University in Washington, D.C. Reflecting on her RWU
experiences, Alexandra commented that, “If it were not for the
Sustainability Studies minor at Roger Williams, I doubt I would have
discovered my passion for sustainability. I feel empowered, and am
ready to make sustainability decisions that are long overdue in the
corporate world. Roger Williams provided me with an invaluable
foundation for my future sustainability endeavors.”
Garrett will continue his architecture studies at Washington University in St. Louis with an emphasis on environmental systems and sustainability. In his application statement, Garrett wrote, “I look forward to further investigating the collaboration between design and sustainability… (and) develop an architectural identity that will allow me to reach a vision for a more sustainable future.”
March 2013: The following courses that fulfill requirements for the SUST minor and/or Core Concentration appear on the FALL 2013 course schedule:
ANTH 222 Environmental Anthropology
ARCH 101 Foundations of Architecture
ARCH 321 Site and Environment
ARCH 593 Sustainable Paradigms
BIO 312 Conservation Biology
BIO 360 Limnology and Lab
CHEM 201 Environmental Chemistry I and Lab
CHEM 434 Advanced Environmental Chemistry
ENGR 320 Environmental Engineering
ENGR 412 Water Resources Engineering and Lab
HP 150 Introduction to Historic Preservation
NATSC 103 - Earth Systems with Laboratory
NATSC 203 Humans, Environ. Change and Sust.
NATSC 204 Principles of Oceanography
NATSC 301 - Marine Resource Management
SUST 101 Introduction to Sustainability Studies
SUST 301 Analysis and Decision-Making for Sust.
March 2013: The RWU SUST Program is pleased to announce that the new Core Concentration in Sustainability Studies has been fully approved.
Photo: Current Students Rebecca Rokiki (Construction Management) and Alicia Wilson (Marine Biology) are among the students to declare their intent to enroll in the new SUST Core Concentration.
This fall, students from all majors and catalog years can enroll in the Core Concentration (CC) in Sustainability Studies (SUST) to fulfill general education requirements using the three SUST courses and two electives (see requirements and restrictions here).
Currently,
approximately 40 students are enrolled in the SUST minor which was
created in 2010. Theresa Polly, a Global Communication major and
SUST minor, said that the SUST program “allows
us to see the world differently and … is about truly becoming a
citizen of the world who cares deeply about its health.”
Environmental Science major Philip Yashinowsky commented
that, “Through (the SUST) courses I have gained decision-making
skills and insights which I will keep with me throughout my life.”
For more information about the SUST program and CC, contact the
program coordinator, Dr. Loren Byrne (lbyrne"at"rwu.edu).
September 2012: The President of Unity College in Maine announced that the institution "has adopted Sustainability Science as (its) overarching framework for all academic programming."
Is this something that RWU should strive for? Enrollment in our SUST minor has steadily increased suggesting that many students from many disciplines are interested in this area of study. Working to ensure that all students graduate with foundational understanding of sustainability ideas and practices is a worthy- and perhaps necessary- goal to catalyze a better future.
June 2012: Jessica Sasso '12 puts her Sustainability Studies major to good use in her new job.
After
enrolling in the SUST minor,
Jess
Sasso
decided that a minor wasn't
enough to satisfy her passion for the subject. She became RWU's
first SUST major by proposing an individualized program in
SUST studies to complement her major in English. She took a series
of environmental science and ecology courses to build a SUST major
and completed an English senior thesis analyzing the movie Into
the Wild through a sustainability lens. Her advanced work and
passion have rewarded her. In June, she received an educator and
outreach position with the environmental group, the
Buzzards Bay Coalition.
May 2012: Congratulations to members of the Class of 2012 who completed the Sustainability Studies minor!
In only the second year of the SUST program's existence, 11 students from diverse majors completed the minor. For their capstone projects in SUST 401, they helped advance sustainability projects on campus and in the local community.
L-R: Row 1: Keith Ducout, Keenan Tancil, Destiny Archambault, Bob Strother. Row 2: Michael Tancredi, Jess Sasso, Rob Hand. Not pictured: Andrew Ercolano, Peter Lehner, Caroline Martin, Collin Schmidt.
March 2012: Is RWU a "real green college"?
According to Lee Epstein, it seems it is. In his essay, he makes a strong argument that the "real green colleges" are the ones that have strong educational programs in sustainability studies. He writes: "Education is about the only way we are going to get out of the ecological mess we’re in. It’s up to our much-vaunted institutions of higher learning to lead the way, and we should insist ... that they finally begin a green century of ... learning and teaching." With our SUST minor, RWU is helping lead the way into this green century.
March 2012: SUST is mainstream
More and more professional organizations, including corporations, are valuing and committing to sustainability as standard operating procedure. As one author said: "In short, the debate about whether sustainability should be a part of the business agenda is mainly over." Read more quotes from leaders in a report from the NYC Sustainable Operation Meeting here.
July 2011: Research indicates SUST programs are valued by employers
A survey by researchers at Arizona State University indicates that employers view sustainability studies as a plus on a job candidate's resume. Professor Kevin Dooley, author of the study, stated that, "Job candidates with both sustainability skills and a solid professional background in a field like business or engineering are receiving job offers that far exceed what’s warranted in the current market, and that’s because there aren’t many of them.”
Read the ASU press release about the study here.
May 2011: First group of students complete the SUST minor
Five RWU students completed the Sustainability Studies minor in May 2011 after finishing the 401 capstone course. Monique DiTullo and Emerald Epke, an American Studies and International Relations major respectively, also graduated this year. Having completed their undergraduate degrees, Matt Callahan, Dan Contelmo, and Emily Korzynski are continuing their Architecture studies in RWU's master's program.
L-R: Emily Korzynski, Matt Callahan, Emerald Epke, Monique DiTullo
