Environmental & Sustainability Sciences and Sustainability Pathway
Environment/Sustainability Pathway Summary Concept
UNI will enhance our applied fields related to environmental management and sustainability through transdisciplinary integration of natural science, social science, public policy, engineering, and humanities to focus on a holistic approach to understanding the interactions of people, societies, and environments. Through collaborative discussions, UNI can leverage the new synergy to integrate and modernize the curriculum.
Key Objectives
Strengthen existing programs through creating a core unit with new administrative structures
Create a clear identity for sustainability and environmental management majors that can be leveraged for recruitment
Find new, low-investment majors or update current majors that can be built from existing expertise
Launch new integrated majors focused on interdisciplinary approaches
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Objectives
Identify obstacles to achieving equity and inclusion in the environment & sustainability sciences
Address the obstacles with adaptive solutions
Recommend innovative strategies to enhance environment & sustainability sciences at UNI for a diverse student and faculty body
Why this Pathway
Current student and market demand data do not suggest that traditional environmental science fields will see significant future growth, but other data demonstrates that college and high-school aged populations are passionate about environmental issues like global climate change1-3. As a result, we will take a modest approach by building viable degree programs from existing resources and seeking new relationships. This may include realignment of existing stakeholder programs into a new administrative unit at the department or school level. Although UNI has a relatively small footprint in most related fields with potential to gain market share, UNI has has a strong market share in related fields like Leisure Studies and GISc. There is currently limited competition for programs at 4-year institutions and ample opportunity to partner with community colleges. Market data show potential demand for more general environmental sciences and related fields, and less for traditional fields like forestry and fisheries. This concept allows us to consolidate existing resources and opens pathways for programs to work together to form new progressive programs focused on student interests. It can also serve as a mechanism to allow centers to more directly contribute to the applied learning within programs.
How this pathway will impact UNI
The alliance of programs will position UNI to maintain or increase overall enrollment with minimal new costs. Potential consolidation into a new structure will impact the existing programs, faculty, and staff. Programs will be asked to review existing curriculum in the context of the new structure and focus, and determine if transitions are needed to align with current student interests. Primary stakeholders likely involved in the planning would include Earth and Environmental Science, Geography, Center for Energy & Environmental Education, Environmental Resource Management major, and Iowa Waste Reduction Center. Secondary or collaborating stakeholders might include groups such as History, Tallgrass Prairie Center, Biology, MPP program, HRCS, and College of Business.
2 https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/young-adults-climate-activism/
Data
Sustainability Related Degrees Awarded in Iowa | Market data on in-demand majors and top professions for natural resources, environmental and sustainability sciences - focused on percent |
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Recombined market data from Stamats focused on absolute values | Background on Stamats Data |
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