W&M Gets $1.5 Million Grant

The College of William and Mary has gotten a $1.5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to add two novel programs to its environmental studies lineup.

The first will be a Center for Geospatial Analysis, which will train students to use geographic information systems to analyze environmental data. The Mellon grant will also be used to set up a postdoctoral program in environmental science and policy. According to Carl Strikwerda, W&M's dean of arts and sciences, the program will help graduate students learn to balance the teaching and research aspects of the faculty positions they are likely to hold. The college must, however, raise $1.6 million to complete the endowment for the teacher-scholar program.

W&M's environmental studies efforts have received money twice before from the Mellon Foundation, which counts conservation and the environment among its core program areas. In 2000, the foundation funded the development of its environmental science and policy minor--now a major. It provided a second round of funding in 2004.

Image credit: The College of William and Mary

Nebraska's Switchgrass Researchers

There seem to be, thankfully, few sacred cows when it comes to university research on the environment.

The clearest sign of that came last week, when the University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced that researchers there had shown that switchgrass produces 540% more energy than is needed to grow it, compared with just 25% more for corn. This from a university in the heart of America's corn belt.

The research was led by Kenneth P. Vogel, an adjunct professor in the department of agronomy and horticulture whose research into plant genetics is focused on developing perennial grasses and legumes. His work has important implications not only for biofuels, but also for soil and water quality in the heartland: The planting of perennial grasses would mean less erosion from plowing and less pesticide runoff into rivers and streams.

In addition to its research, UNL also offers both a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of science in environmental studies through its College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and the College of Arts and Sciences. Beyond the core courses, students can tailor their studies to place emphasis on areas from applied climate science to sociology.

Image credit: University of Nebraska-Lincoln

To Africa And Back At UCSC

Right now on the Web site of the University of California Santa Cruz there's a fascinating look at how one student constructed a rich major in environmental studies.

The piece says that Katie Roper (right) was encouraged to seek ways to expand her studies. And she did, through on-campus studies in globalization, two internships in Kenya and a stint living in UCSC's own sustainable community. Through her globalization studies, known as the Global Information Internship Program, Roper gained videography skills that she put to work in Kenya. She produced a six-minute video documentary on the supporters and opponents of an invasive tree whose growth is providing fuel but compromising the African nation's fragile water supply.

Her experience with UCSC's Program in Community and Agroecology seems to have been equally challenging: PICA students are required to grow, harvest and cook as much of their own food as possible.

Roper was graduated in December and she already has her next step in hand. Next month, she starts work at production assistant for filmmaker Alicia Dwyer.

Photo credit: Jim MacKenzie/UC Santa Cruz

Knox Gets $1M For Earth Science Chair

Microsoft money is funding a fast-growing major at Knox College. The Galesburg, Ill.-based college, whose initial charter was approved by an Illinois legislator by the name of Abraham Lincoln, announced late last week that it had received $1 million from an alumni who had retired from Microsoft to endow a faculty chair in earth sciences.

The money comes from Douglas L. and Maria Bayer of Bellevue, Wash. Douglas Bayer was graduated from Knox in 1966 a bachelor's degree in physics. He had worked at Microsoft since 1994, and held the title of software security architect before his retirement.

At Knox, earth sciences are part of its interdisciplinary environmental studies program. Although the major was created just seven years ago it is currently one of the top 10 majors at the college. The chairman of the environmental studies department said the college is now reviewing applications for the position and hopes to fill it later this year.

Ferrum Fund Seeks To Grow Green Majors

The scholarship outlook for green majors gets greener every day.

Ferrum College, a small institution in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains has announced that it has gotten backing for a scholarship fund for high school students who plan to be environmental science majors there.

The funding comes from West Development Group, an Ohio-based maker of eco-friendly roofing materials. But WDG has also committed to pulling some of its business partners into the fund, which is called the “Scientia Terrae Causa” Environmental Science Scholarship.

Ferrum, which was founded in 1913, claims to have the second-oldest environmental science program in the United States. For more information, check out the major's description here.

Rutgers Seeks Environmental Stewards

Rutgers University offers 25 undergraduate majors through its School of Environmental and Biological Sciences alone, ranging from partially to fully green in outlook. It has a center that looks at the role of biotechnology in agriculture and the environment, another that explores quantitative modeling of environmental systems and an institute that looks at changing energy policy and technology.

But what if you don't have time for a four-year degree? Rutgers is now recruiting students for an environmental stewardship program that combines classroom learning with service learning. The Rutgers Environmental Stewards program aims to give ordinary New Jerseyans the science background they need to become involved with environmental issues in the state. Students will spend 60 hours in a classroom or field study, and then another 60 hours volunteering on an environmental project.

Classes will be held at four locations around the state. For more information, or contact the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station by clicking here.