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Change begins here

- January 21, 2009

Student Alison Koper has been involved in the creation of the ESS program. "“What’s unique about the program is that it allows you to go beyond just ‘environment’ or ‘business,’ but earn a degree in sustainability that has all of these aspects to it,” she says. (Nick Pearce Photo)

Educating a new generation of environmental leaders. Training global citizens for a sustainable century. Tackling the most difficult challenges facing our society with bold, interdisciplinary approaches to learning.

Not exactly modest goals. Then again, ±«Óătv’s new College of Sustainability and its flagship program—Environment, Sustainability and Society—are hardly modest endeavours.

Wednesday, the college was formally unveiled with a news conference in the D-Drive lab in the Goldberg Computer Science Building. It was followed by a public celebration in the atrium of the Rowe building, with well over 250 members of the ±«Óătv community crowding the floor and filling the staircases to learn more about the college and program.

“This initiative reflects what ±«Óătv does best: find innovative and meaningful ways to tackle urgent challenges,” said President Tom Traves, crediting ±«Óătv’s mix of disciplines and intimate academic culture for making the college possible. “It’s truly a bold step forward for the university.”

Steven Mannell, a professor of architecture, is the college's director. "What began as grassroots enthusiasm for the program quickly gained support from all ends of the university." (Nick Pearce Photo)

The college had its genesis less than a year ago, when about 100 members of the ±«Óătv community gathered for a two-day workshop to discuss how the university should approach the challenges of climate change, the environment and sustainability. It will be home to educational programs, research initiatives and community outreach activities, and will begin accepting students into the Environment, Sustainability and Society program (ESS) for this September.

The ESS program is the first of its kind in Canada, allowing students to take a double major or combined honours program in ESS and a host of other disciplines, from Arts and Science to Management and Community Design. Its professors are drawn from six faculties and dozens of academic disciplines, creating a uniquely interdisciplinary classroom experience linked with sustainability projects on campus and throughout the community.

“What began as grassroots enthusiasm for the program quickly gained support from all ends of the university,” said Steven Mannell, director of the college. “It’s proof that when ideas are strong, we can make change happen.”

The announcement of the new college and program in the Rowe Building atrium attracted a large crowd. (Nick Pearce Photo)

Also present at the news conference were John Crace, an expert on green building design with WHW Architects, and David Walden, secretary-general of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. Both spoke positively of the program’s potential to train sustainability leaders, with Mr. Walden noting the ESS program is precisely in line with the United Nation’s objectives around sustainability and education. He also said the College of Sustainability has been selected as the only North American exhibitor at the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development.

As if the large crowd at the public event wasn’t evidence enough of the enthusiasm for the college, the ESS program already has more than 60 applicants prior to its formal announcement. The expectation is that 150 students will be admitted this fall, with the number of first-year students eventually growing to 300. Within five years, there will be more than 1,000 undergraduates enrolled as part of the College of Sustainability.

“What’s unique about the program is that it allows you to go beyond just ‘environment’ or ‘business,’ but earn a degree in sustainability that has all of these aspects to it,” said Alison Koper, an environmental science student who has been involved with designing the ESS program. “This is a program that would have drawn me to ±«Óătv, and it’s a program that I will be proud to support as an alumnus.”