By Mike Sherr
Editor-in-Chief
The society of the future is clearly green. Climate change is ravaging the globe and there needs to be vital changes. Colleges and universities throughout the world recognize this and have for decades aimed to educate students to work in environmental fields. While the College does have programs and classes dedicated to environmental topics, they miss a larger specialized educational opportunity.
Ever since my freshman year, I have been trying to essentially make my political science major be an environmental policy major. I picked up the environmental studies minor that year and have since been trying to supplement my required classes with environmentally focused ones that will fulfill my major’s requirements.
Finding these classes have been somewhat difficult, and have partly left me feeling unfulfilled in my environmental education.
I realized that while the classes I have taken talk about environmentalism in their respective fields, there is no coordinated path that leads to a higher understanding of the environment. I have recognized my personal need to go on to pursue a graduate degree in an environmental field.
Looking back, knowing the career path I now want, I would have never come to the College.
I was excited to hear that the College will be starting a Bachelor of Arts in environmental studies next fall, especially because the faculty involved included some of my favorite professors. Only time will tell whether the major will solve the problem I faced, but I have confidence that it will.
What is embarrassing though, is that it has taken the College this long to get to this point. Rutgers’ School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, formerly known as Cook College, was established in 1864 as an agricultural research center. Much more recently, Rowan University created its School of Earth and Environment in 2015 specifically recognizing the importance of environmental careers.
The College has been home to Sustainable Jersey, a leading quasi-government environmental group that attempts to aid municipalities and schools in becoming more sustainable, since at least 2009. If you walk around campus though, you will not see many students that even know it exists. The new Masters of Public Policy program at the College has created a fellowship with the group, but this is after years of little opportunities for students.
I understand that the College’s main programs will always be education and nursing, but modern institutions need environmental degree options in order to be competitive in the growing green economy. While the new environmental studies degree is a start in the right direction, a greater focus and more resources are needed to make the environment an institutional priority.
