UMM is the National Leader for Campus Green Initiatives
When you come to UMM for Environmental Studies, you don't just get great classes. You get a school that understands sustainability. We had hybrids in our campus fleet before hybrids were cool. Our commitment to local foods is several years old. We have a sustainability coordinator on staff (his name is Troy Goodnough). We are building a green residence hall. We were the first public campus in the nation to erect a commercial-scale wind turbine. We are moving forward on two more turbines. When our wind power is combined with a new biomass heating/cooling plant (under construction), our campus greenhouse gas emissions from heating, cooling and electricity will have been reduced by 80%. That doesn't make us "a" leader. That makes us THE leader.
What does that mean for academics at UMM? Research opportunities. Our wind and biomass facilities are real and functional, but they are also research tools. Already, bales of prairie grass are stacked at the edge of campus as we prepare for experiments to answer crucial, practical questions related to various potential sources of biomass energy. UMM undergraduates will be involved in this research.
In addition to working with UMM professors, our students work with scientists and staff at three other facilities in town: 1) the
USDA ARS North Central Soil Conservation Research Lab, 2) the
West Central Research and Outreach Center, and US Fish and Wildlife Service Morris Wetland Management District.
For Fall 2008: Welcome Dr. Karen Mumford!
We are happily anticipating the arrival of our newest environmentally-oriented faculty member, Dr. Karen Mumford. Her broad background includes a PhD in Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota, an MA in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Iowa, and an MS in Animal Ecology from Iowa State University. She has taught at both the University of Georgia and Emory University, and her list of courses taught includes Environmental Policy and Management, Energy and the Environment, Conservation Biology, Ethics and the Environment.
Karen is an accomplished environmental researcher. Her recent publications include:
Hewitt L, Mumford KG, Shreiner D. 2008. Coaster book trout rehabilitation in Lake Superior : A human dimensions perspective. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, in press.
Vondracek, B., Blann K.L., Cox C.B., Nerbonne J.F., Mumford K.G., Nerbonne, B.A., Sovell L.A., and J.K.H. Zimmerman. 2005. Land use, scale, and stream systems: lessons from an agricultural region. Environmental Management 36(6): 775-791.
Mumford, K.G. and J.B. Callicott. 2003. A hierarchical theory of value applied to the Great Lakes and their fishes. Pages 50-74 In D. G. Dallmeyer, ed., Values at Sea: Ethics for the Marine Environment. University of Georgia Press, Athens, GA.
November 2007: Newly approved Environmental Studies Coursework!
EnSt 1101: Environmental Problems and Policy. An introduction to the ways in which state, national and international political systems deal with environmental issues and goals. This course addresses the development of environmental governance, the regulatory and economic tools of environmental policy and the impact of institutions, culture, social movements and historical development.
EnSt 2101: Environmental Biology. Introduction to concepts in biodiversity, evolution, and ecology. Includes basic chemistry and concepts from cell biology, molecular biology, and genetics. This course allows students a one-course gateway into upper division Biology courses normally requiring the Biol 1111- 2101 sequence.
EnSt 3996: Internship/Field Experience in Environmental Studies. An educational experience in a work, research and/or field setting that provides practical application of the student's theoretical classroom learning experiences. A written plan of work must be approved by the Environmental Studies Internship Coordinator before registration.
EnSt 4901: Senior Seminar/Capstone Experience. Students will present one seminar on their internship/field experience and participate in discussion of the experiences of their peers. Students will also consider a case study, giving them the opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary work using the expertise gained from their own focus within the environmental studies major.
