Academic Plan Implementation Colloquium
Our World- The Environment
Thursday, April 5, 2007
4:00-6:15 – Bishop Center Room 3
Introductory remarks and instructions
Provost Nicholls welcomed everyone and
explained the development of the draft academic plan and his vision for its
implementation.
Representing the Steering Committee, Eric Schultz introduced the committee and
others who were involved. He provided the charge to the colloquium, directing
attention to specific points raised in the “Our World- The Environment” portion
of the Academic Plan.
Four working groups within the colloquium were
identified, each pertaining to a theme identified in the Academic Plan.
Participants in the colloquium were assigned to one of these four groups, and
Schultz directed them to break into discussions following the introductory
remarks. Schultz explained why some individuals were placed in discussion
topics that did not reflect their core professional interest, as the organizing
committee sought to constitute groups with topic expertise as well as disciplinary
breadth. Segerson amplified the importance of maintaining a broad perspective
by asking everyone to take off their department hats and put on their university
hats for the colloquium.
Breakout discussions: There were four breakout groups: Clean Technology, Environmental Policy, Human
Impacts, Urban Issues
Each group engaged in discussion for 50 minutes and then summarized their findings
for 10 minutes. Aids for discussion included flip charts, laptop computers, copies
of the Academic Plan and copies of the Organizing Committee’s instructions
Breakout group summary presentations
Colloquium discussion
Segerson identified common themes that appeared in the breakout group discussions.
These included:
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Interest in development of new degree programs related to the environment, such
as a BA in environmental studies, and more five-year BS/MS programs
-
Other changes in undergraduate academic programs to integrate programs and
stimulate interest, such as a Living/Learning community, keystone or capstone
curriculum offerings for students in environmental majors, team-taught lower
division general education courses
-
Improving scientific literacy among undergraduates by adding an environmental
component to General Education requirements
-
Development of more internship and fellowship opportunities for undergraduate
and graduate students, and means of making information on such
opportunities more available to interested students
-
Further strengthening linkages to state agencies such as the Connecticut
Department of Environmental Protection, following recent developments such
as the Connecticut Conference on Natural Resources, and meetings held by
President Austin and Commissioner McCarthy.
One way to strengthen
linkages would be to promote the University more strongly as the preferred
resource for state internships. Linkages would seek to enhance opportunities
for faculty research and contract opportunities in environmental issues of
interest to the state, such as transportation and energy issues
Ideas for overcoming barriers to better integration of University resources in
environmental teaching, research and outreach were identified. These
included:
-
Provision of common space for environmentally-oriented programs,
-
More student support such as environmental fellowships,
-
Development of
stronger incentives for teaching interdisciplinary courses, and for conducting
interdisciplinary research
-
More far-reaching initiatives to encourage integration were identified by multiple
groups, including cluster hires of faculty in appropriate areas to build
research/graduate program strength, more joint appointments in multiple
departments, changes to graduate programs such as multi-disciplinary joint
advisorships, and the possibility of separating faculty teaching home
appointments from research home appointments.
-
Finally, multiple groups
identified interest in a School or College for the Environment
The campus and the state represent microcosms of environmental issues. The
state contains gradients of human impacts over a relatively small geographic
area. Similarly, another potential focus that could engage a broad spectrum of
University researchers is the environmental impacts of urbanization.
There is potential for multidisciplinary research and training programs such as
NSF’s Long-term Ecological Research program, NSF’s Integrative Graduate
Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT), and NSF’s Graduate K-12
Educational Fellowships, focused on themes such as sustainability and
urbanization.
The colloquium culminated in a general discussion in which the following points
were raised.
There is great potential for links between environmental initiatives that derive
from the Academic Plan and other initiatives that may develop or are already
underway. The Center for Integrative Geosciences exemplifies several of the
general themes that were raised in the colloquium. The Human Rights
Initiative illustrates effective allocation of resources from the administration
and donors to create a vital interdisciplinary program in teaching, research and
outreach.
Incentives and restructuring will be critical to overcoming structural and
administrative impediments to interdisciplinary programs.
A planning process needs to begin with an inventory of existing expertise,
continuing with evaluation and prioritization of goals, and development of
timelines for completion
Environmental initiatives must keep in mind the global nature of environmental
challenges and the efforts of the University of Connecticut towards
internationalization of the student body.
Wrap-up
Provost Nicholls wrapped up the meeting by explaining that he is going to give the
Board of Trustees an update on the Academic Plan on April 10, and he will
communicate some of the colloquium’s discussions at that meeting. He also
invited further comments on the Academic Plan, as it remains a draft document.
Attendees at the colloquium
Peter Nicholls Provost
Greg Anderson Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Education
Lyndsay Nalbandian Office of Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Education
Larry Silbart Animal Science & Allied Health
Natalie Munro Anthropology
Mike Willig Center for Environmental Science & Engineering
Ross Bagtzoglou Civil & Environmental Engineering
Manos Anagnostou Civil & Environmental Engineering
Robin Chazdon Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Eric Schultz Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Kathy Segerson Economics
Jeff Osleeb Geography
Peter Miniutti Landscape Architecture
Kurt Strasser Law School
Ann Bucklin Marine Science & Avery Point Campus
Pieter Visscher Marine Science/Geo Science
Dan Civco Natural Resource Management & Engineering
Jack Clausen Natural Resource Management & Engineering
David Moss Neag School of Education
Rich Miller Office of Environmental Policy
Sylvain Deguise Pathobiology & Sea Grant
Jose Manautou Pharmacy
John Morris Pharmacy
Tom Morris Plant Science
Mark Boyer Political Science
Richard Hiskes Political Science
Lyle Scruggs Political Science
Richard Rockwell Sociology
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