By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Grand Valley State University's sustainability initiative has landed it on an elite list of 25 colleges in the U.S. touted as “cutting-edge green” by the Kaplan College Guide 2009. And while the college’s green initiative has a favorable impact on each of its campuses, arguably the university’s greatest impact on the environment is yet to come.
This year GVSU launches two inaugural programs: an environmental studies minor and a sustainability emphasis within the Liberal Studies major.
But how will these studies help students when they enter the jobs market?
“We’re also beginning to work on a green jobs database,” says Norman Christopher, director of GVSU’s sustainability initiative. “Many of these jobs are just now being created, some in environmental conservation, environmental engineering, environmental design, geothermal development and others. If you take these courses now, you’ll have these jobs waiting for you.”
Students going for a Liberal Studies degree can choose sustainability courses as electives to round out their education and prepare themselves for earth-centric jobs of the future.
“We could give you one more bullet in your holster, which is sustainability,” Christopher adds. “Thousands of students picked up these courses as electives in the past, and when they put the classes on their résumé they’ve gotten hired because of having these classes. If you know something about urban sustainability and apply for a geology job that needs someone with that information, you’re going to be more visible to that employer.”
Christopher notes that GVSU students have made clubs like Geology Club and Biology Club popular on campus. Over 700 students last year became involved in what the university calls an earth and environment theme that has tied the environmental interests together.
“The environmental studies minor” Christopher says, “is tying those interests together even tighter.”
Source: Norman Christopher, Grand Valley State University
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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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