Sustainability Studies Program

Program Description

The purpose of the Sustainability Studies Program is to prepare students to be educated citizens, to be conversant with the sustainability-related issues and tasks that arise in the modern workplace, and to pursue careers as sustainability professionals. Sustainability Studies currently offers an 18-credit minor that may be combined with any major field of study.

Sustainability is most often defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. As such, it focuses upon the interaction of natural, economic, and social systems. This triple focus is reflected in kindred concepts such as “corporate social responsibility” and “triple bottom line accounting.”

The rising importance of sustainability has been accompanied by an increased demand within all kinds of organizations—public, private, and nonprofit—for employees conversant with the issues and tasks involved. Individuals who devote themselves full-time or part-time to these tasks are known as “sustainability professionals.” Common duties of sustainability professionals include:

compiling regular reports on the organization’s environmental, social, and economic performance, both locally and throughout the world
ensuring compliance with governmental regulations regarding pollution and occupational health and safety
reducing waste and energy use by making operations more efficient
measuring and reporting on greenhouse gas emissions
ensuring compliance with nongovernmental sustainability standards, labels, and certifications
maintaining outreach to important stakeholders such as the local community, governmental officials, businesses, nongovernmental organizations, shareholders, and the media
creating and monitoring management plans for natural resources owned or impacted by the organization
educating and motivating fellow employees

All of these tasks require an ability to communicate across disciplinary boundaries. This emphasis on communication across boundaries is reflected in the design and delivery of the Sustainability Studies curriculum at UMass Dartmouth. The participating faculty and students represent a wide range of academic disciplines, and many non-faculty members of the campus community participate in the program as well.

Participating Faculty

Robert Darst (Program Director), Associate Professor of Political Science

Mark Altabet, Professor of Estuarine & Ocean Sciences

Godwin Ariguzo, Lecturer in Management & Marketing

Steven Baden, Part-Time Lecturer in History

Michael Baum, Associate Professor of Political Science

Sankha Bhowmick, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

James Bisagni, Professor of Estuarine & Ocean Sciences

Jerry Blitefield, Associate Professor of English

Dan Braha, Professor of Decision & Information Sciences

Paul Calvert, Professor of Bioengineering

Deborah Carlson, Professor of Artisanry

Vijaya Chalivendra, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

David Chapman, Full-Time Lecturer in Design

Garry Clayton, Adjunct Faculty, Sustainability Studies

William Dills, Chancellor Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Robert Drew, Assistant Professor of Biology

Maureen Eckert, Associate Professor of Philosophy

Qinquo Fan, Professor of Bioengineering

John Finnie, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Ronald Fortier, Part-Time Lecturer in Management & Marketing

Catherine Gardner, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Women’s & Gender Studies

Richard Golen, Professor of Management & Marketing

Michael Goodman, Associate Professor of Public Policy

James Griffith, Chancellor Professor of Medical Laboratory Science

Whitney Hable, Associate Professor of Biology

Randy Hall, Assistant Professor of Economics

Charlotte Hamlin, Full-Time Lecturer in Artisanry

Memory Holloway, Professor of Art History

Katja Hölttä-Otto, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Brian Howes, Professor of Estuarine & Ocean Sciences

Rebecca Hutchinson, Assistant Professor of Artisanry

Shannon Jenkins, Associate Professor of Political Science

Pamela Karimi, Assistant Professor of Art History

Lisa Maya Knauer, Associate Professor of Sociology & Anthropology

Kellyann Kowalski, Associate Professor of Management & Marketing

Rachel Kulick, Assistant Professor of Sociology & Anthropology

Spencer Ladd, Associate Professor of Design

Christopher Larkosh, Assistant Professor of Portuguese

Jeanne Leffers, Professor of Nursing

Daniel MacDonald, Associate Professor of Estuarine & Ocean Sciences

Yale Magrass, Chancellor Professor of Sociology & Anthropology

Chad McGuire, Assistant Professor of Public Policy

Cristina Mehrtens, Associate Professor of History and Women’s & Gender Studies

Howard Michel, Associate Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Heather Miller, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Walaa Mogawer, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Nancy O’Connor, Professor of Biology

Kenneth Oliveira, Associate Professor of Biology

Guillermo Paz-y-Miño, Assistant Professor of Biology

Cynthia Pilskaln, Professor of Estuarine & Ocean Sciences

Tara Rajaniemi, Associate Professor of Biology

Robin Robinson, Associate Professor of Sociology & Anthropology

Viviane Saleh-Hanna, Associate Professor of Sociology & Anthropology and Crime & Justice Studies

Sukulyan Sengupta, Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering

John Silva, Full-Time Lecturer in Physics

Bal Ram Singh, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Cathy Smilan, Associate Professor of Art Education

Jerry Solfvin, Adjunct Faculty, Center for Indic Studies

Adam Sulkowski, Associate Professor of Management & Marketing

Shawna E. Sweeney, Assistant Professor of Public Policy

Amit Tandon, Professor of Physics

Jefferson Turner, Chancellor Professor of Biology

Timothy Walker, Associate Professor of History

Steven Warner, Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Steven White, Professor of Management & Marketing

Marguerite Zarrillo, Professor of Physics