We are deeply impressed the proposal for the College of the Environment, and we encourage the faculty to approve it. In the midst of a inhospitable economic climate in which other schools are seeking any way to cut costs at the expense of their students, the administration has fulfilled its promise to turn the Environmental Studies certificate into a major and is prepared to create a new College. They deserve our full support. The vision behind the College is impressive, as is the swiftness with which it was planned. We hope that it will be implemented just as quickly.
The creation of the College of the Environment would be innovative, as the College of Social Studies and the College of Letters were in the days of their inception. We all recognize that the environment is becoming more important to study, and it would be gratifying to have a department devoted to such a pressing issue. Moreover, the College of the Environment’s structure provides exciting educational opportunities.
The think tank component of the College, the first of its kind in the nation, offers an opportunity for undergraduates to conduct research that will contribute to the formulation of public policy. We are excited that our campus may play host to research that can help curb the affects of Global Warming.
The College of the Environment could be an exciting step forward for Wesleyan, but it is also in line with the institution’s character and history. Our University is already known for innovative academic programs, but in recent years, we’ve heard a lot about practical or pragmatic idealism as Wesleyan’s defining characteristic (it’s even wound up in our new mission statement). The opportunities provided by the College of the Environment would show that those are more than just buzzwords.
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