Mellon Foundation awards Office of Sustainability substantial grant
By: Marguerite Moeller
Issue date: 10/31/08 Section: News
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded Furman an $850,000 grant to support sustainability initiatives in the new curriculum.
The award, which will be applied over four years, funds the creation of the Office of Sustainability. The office will work to oversee sustainability studies from an academic perspective and will act as a clearinghouse for all sustainability initiatives on campus.
Leading the office is Angela Halfacre, who this fall was appointed Director of Sustainability and Environmental Education.
"With this grant we can better train students to be able to address environmental and sustainability issues," said Halfacre. She affirms that sustainability has environmental, economic and community components.
Each year the Mellon Foundation, based in New York, gives out approximately $286 million to educational, research, fine arts and conservation institutions to "build, strengthen and sustain institutions and their core capacities," according to its website.
The Foundation invited Furman to submit an application for an award. Provost Tom Kazee worked with other faculty members to write a proposal that emphasized how sustainability's role in the new curriculum helps to revitalize Furman's intellectual community.
The new general education requirement "Humans and the Natural Environment," one of the first of its kind in the nation, requires all students to develop a familiarity with the dynamics between nature and society. Twelve of 110 proposed First Year Seminars focused on environmental and sustainability issues, and the curriculum supports more interdisciplinary courses, including sustainability-themed courses.
The Mellon grant will financially support the development of new courses and the redesign of existing courses to suit these new curricular requirements.
There will also be an emphasis on how non-curricular programs can support the goals of the grant.
"We need to promote environmental education in traditional and non-traditional ways," said Halfacre.
To that end, campus and community research will be emphasized. The Office of Sustainability will provide funding and idea generation, and it will help students do sustainability-centered work within existing entities.
The office will also support extra-curricular groups that focus on sustainability issues. It will work to include the perspectives and activities of students, faculty, staff and other members of the Furman community.
The award, which will be applied over four years, funds the creation of the Office of Sustainability. The office will work to oversee sustainability studies from an academic perspective and will act as a clearinghouse for all sustainability initiatives on campus.
Leading the office is Angela Halfacre, who this fall was appointed Director of Sustainability and Environmental Education.
"With this grant we can better train students to be able to address environmental and sustainability issues," said Halfacre. She affirms that sustainability has environmental, economic and community components.
Each year the Mellon Foundation, based in New York, gives out approximately $286 million to educational, research, fine arts and conservation institutions to "build, strengthen and sustain institutions and their core capacities," according to its website.
The Foundation invited Furman to submit an application for an award. Provost Tom Kazee worked with other faculty members to write a proposal that emphasized how sustainability's role in the new curriculum helps to revitalize Furman's intellectual community.
The new general education requirement "Humans and the Natural Environment," one of the first of its kind in the nation, requires all students to develop a familiarity with the dynamics between nature and society. Twelve of 110 proposed First Year Seminars focused on environmental and sustainability issues, and the curriculum supports more interdisciplinary courses, including sustainability-themed courses.
The Mellon grant will financially support the development of new courses and the redesign of existing courses to suit these new curricular requirements.
There will also be an emphasis on how non-curricular programs can support the goals of the grant.
"We need to promote environmental education in traditional and non-traditional ways," said Halfacre.
To that end, campus and community research will be emphasized. The Office of Sustainability will provide funding and idea generation, and it will help students do sustainability-centered work within existing entities.
The office will also support extra-curricular groups that focus on sustainability issues. It will work to include the perspectives and activities of students, faculty, staff and other members of the Furman community.