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GVL Photo Illustration/Andrew Mills

Grand Valley freshman Thad Cummings reads over the information for the new environmental studies minor outside the Student Services building. Environmental Studies as a minor will be offered for the first time in fall 2009.

Environmental Studies minor set for 2009

By Chelsea Ponstein GVL Staff Writer
3/20/2009

Students now have the opportunity to partner their current major with an Environmental Studies minor, which draws a lot of its ideas and information from a variety of different areas already a part of the university's curriculum.

After almost three years of planning and gaining approval from committees, the University Academic Senate approved the minor on March 13.

"We are very grateful to the committees for working fast to approve our prospects and proposals," said Elena Lioubimtseva, the task force chair for the minor and assistant geography professor. "They have been very supportive."

Lioubimtseva is one of 17 authors who developed and planned for the minor.

Along with faculty members, students also played a role.

Together, faculty and students had conversations on how to broaden the Environmental Studies, Lioubimtseva said.

The Environmental Student Coalition gave their ideas on how the program would be useful for students, too.

"The minor is different from any other because it works with classes that already exist here and the minor is able to be used across the border," Lioubimtseva said. "It has an inter-interdisciplinary understanding because it reaches across so many boundaries."

The minor can be used with almost any major and students can really develop and create the pathway of their choosing, Lioubimtseva added.

"It is very important to us as a university for the advancement of sustainability because it is primarily an education for sustainability," she said. "I think (the minor) is very important because it has a service-learning component so students are able to work with the local community and make an impact with their projects."

Lioubimtseva added she personally hopes the minor will attract students with an environmental background as well as many students at Grand Vally State University majoring in different areas.

"Grand Valley has made some strong statements about having sustainability on campus," said Joseph Jacquot, a biology professor and member of the Environmental Studies Final Plan committee. "This is another step at taking a curricular action. Students can gain a broad perspective on why sustainability is important, not only learning about it but helping people understand directly why."

The requirements for the minor include at least 21 credit hours from a broad range of fields including but not limited to geography, philosophy, sociology, engineering, psychology and chemistry.

These courses prepare students to develop effective, practical ways to address sustainability and environmental concerns.

"The school does a good job already promoting sustainability around the campus, so it would be helpful to have a minor dealing with the environmental studies," said freshman Alex Gulow.

cponstein@lanthorn.com

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