2015-2016 UMass Dartmouth Undergraduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]
Sustainability Studies Program
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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
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