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Print Edition StoriesWednesday, March 2, 2011
How I See It
Vetting the next generation of environmental practitioners
By James E. Samels, president and CEO, The Education Alliance; James Martin, academic VP, The Education Alliance
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There was a time in American higher education when global warming, natural resource stewardship and environmental technology were strictly the purview of major research universities. Indeed, over the past 50 years, public and private research universities won the acclaim of environmental ranking agencies, journals and federal and state grant funding.
As recently as the 1980s, the preponderance of environmental courses, laboratories and jobs were confined to the campuses of major universities — with the mantra of think globally and act locally. Well, times have changed.
Today, one of Massachusetts’ fastest growing work force development segments centers on the environmental sciences, green chemistry and renewable energy. Importantly, environmental scientists recognize that it takes several community and technical college bench-level environmental technicians to support one Ph.D. principal investigator.
With the proliferation of community college environmental programs come new grant opportunities sponsored by such funding agencies as the National Science Foundation, U.S. Departments of Energy, Labor and Commerce, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Over the last decade, community and technical colleges have gained considerable recognition as key sources for developing tomorrow’s environmental talent pool. After all, these institutions comprise nearly 20 percent of the American higher education marketplace.
Consider, for example, Berkshire Community College, founded in 1960 as the Commonwealth’s first community college. Central to the college’s special heritage is an uncommon commitment to the literacy and practice of sustainability. In fact, Berkshire has become one of the “greenest” community colleges in the New England region. To get to this point, BCC has regenerated its academic programs in the fields of sustainable energy, environmental technology and lean manufacturing. Importantly, Berkshire has helped transform Greater Pittsfield into a green college town — and a wonderful venue for the fine, visual and performing arts as well.
Berkshires President Paul Raverta said, “Berkshire plays an integral role in convening a broad range of mission complementary partnerships which, in turn, create a growing smartcollar work force. We genuinely believe these 21st century skills are fundamental to compete in an increasingly green and global economy.”
With this perspective, the college has formed a new Berkshire green team, which monitors carbon footprint reduction, energy consumption and environmental impacts. Uniquely, BCC has developed a green core curriculum where all full-time students complete a course on environmental science and sustainability and a veteran’s green training program focused on providing dislocated veterans with eco-skills in weatherization and solar installation.
Raverta summed it up: “Surrounded by the splendid beauty of the Berkshire foothills, it is only natural that the college’s programs reflect and celebrate our core values of sustainable energy, green technology and environmental conservation. Our environmental science students benefit through extensive hands-on field experience and direct access to a rich diversity of ecosystems — Berkshire’s forests, wetlands and meadows — making Berkshire a wonderful place to get your feet wet and your hands dirty while contributing to the sustainability of Massachusetts’ precious natural resources.”
What we have learned from the Berkshire experience is that community and technical colleges play a vital role in increasing the pipeline of aspiring environmental scientists and green scholar practitioners. This trend is likely to accelerate affordable access points to green learning in difficult economic times.
That is why major universities are partnering up with community and technical colleges to bridge the worlds of environmental learning and earning in the new economy.
James E. Samels and James Martin are authors of The Sustainable University, to appear from Johns Hopkins University Press later this year.
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