Center for Sustainability and the Environment

Faculty

Douglas W. White, director, Center for Sustainability and the Environment; adjunct assistant professor of biology.
B.S., Pennsylvania State University; M.S., University of Tennessee; Ph.D., Rutgers University.

Introduction

The Center for Sustainability and the Environment (CSE), through its member students and affiliated faculty, encourages all Albion students to develop an awareness of the physical makeup of the biosphere and an appreciation of the vulnerability of the ecosystem. It further encourages students to explore environmental issues from multidisciplinary perspectives and to recognize that their actions have environmental consequences. Through dynamic interaction between environmental theory and practice, locally based but recognizing that the environment knows no boundaries, the Center enriches its immediate and extended communities.

Admission—Students must apply for admission to the Center and the majors and concentrations that it sponsors. Normally this step is taken as part of the application process to the College, and most members are admitted as incoming students. Admission to the Center is also available, by application, to all first- and second-year Albion students. Visit the Center’s website for information on the application process.

Policy on Advanced Placement Credit

Advanced Placement (AP) cannot be used to satisfy the requirements for BIOL 195 . Students who place out of CHEM 152 are required to take CHEM 123 . Students with AP credit for MATH 141  are required to take MATH 143  or MATH 210.

Majors and Concentrations

There are three majors and two concentrations offered by the Center for Sustainability and the Environment. Majors may be completed in environmental science, environmental studies, and sustainability studies. Concentrations are offered in environmental sciences and environmental studies.

Student Learning Outcomes

1.  Students recognize the complicated ways in which humans are fundamentally interconnected with natural systems.

2.  Students understand how human population, resource use, and technology have impaired environmental sustainability at local, regional, and global scales.

3.  Students can analyze how their personal actions and prospects relate to environmental sustainability and how different stakeholders will view environmental issues differently.

4.  Students can evaluate how complex environmental problems may require changes in scientific understanding, technology, public policy, social relations, worldviews, or fundamental values.

5.  Students can construct an integrated picture of a variety of environmental issues by drawing connections between courses in several disciplines and hands-on experiences.

6.  Students can appraise various environmental career opportunities available in the private sphere, industry, education, non-governmental organizations, and government agencies.

Programs

• Sustainability Studies, B.A.