Bennington College
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

Students will learn environmental science related courses. They will be able to identify, analyze and address sustainability problems with not only scientific approaches, but also approaches from a society perspective. Students complete culminating projects that include research on the causes and manifestations of environmental problems, development of innovative and equitable solutions, and/or creation of new ways to express and communicate people’s relationship to their environment. Environmental studies graduates work in applied scientific research, policy development, conservation management, and political advocacy.

International conflict and leadership, the environment, incarceration reform, a regenerative economy, an educated and emboldened citizenry—imagine an education where the world's most urgent issues are your subject matter and doing something about them is your aim.

Through coursework and fieldwork, students develop capacities essential to taking effective action in the world, whether that means identifying stakeholders and building coalitions and collaborations, honing problem-solving skills, learning the techniques of effective mediation, understanding how to effect policy decisions by lawmakers, or the myriad other components of making meaningful change in the world.

In these efforts, students work with faculty who defy categorization, people who draw on Bennington's deep artistic and analytic resources to collaborate with public and private organizations and leverage the classroom as a new kind of laboratory for creative problem-solving—work that converges in the Center for the Advancement of Public Action.

Millions of pounds of plastic enter oceans every year, posing a major threat to fish, wildlife, and the marine environment, with unknown implications to human health. A study found that over 90% of sampled table salt brands globally found to be contaminated by microplastics. It is estimated that unless major change takes place, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish, by weight. Recently, the European Parliament Approved a ban on single-use plastics to help combat this issue.

The Beyond Plastics project will be housed in Bennington College’s Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA), which works to find solutions to the most urgent problems of our time.

Enck is currently teaching at the College. She will become a Senior Fellow and Visiting Faculty member in January 2019, in addition to her work on the project. Enck will be teaching two courses in the spring term: Addressing a Growing Environmental Problem: Plastic Pollution and Plastic Pollution: What Can We Do About It?. The courses will include community engagement and work with local policymakers.

“At Bennington, students take on the complex and urgent problems facing society today, now,” said President Mariko Silver. “The Beyond Plastics project will engage students directly in the thinking and problem solving required to tackle the pressing problem of plastics pollution. We are so pleased to welcome Judith Enck to Bennington College. With Judith Enck’s experienced leadership and the insights and hard work of Bennington students, we all look forward to significant outcomes from this effort. .”

“I am excited to roll up my sleeves and work on policies to reduce plastic pollution while also training college students on civic engagement. It is an honor to be affiliated with Bennington College and the Center for the Advancement of Public Action at the college. My entire professional life has revolved around promoting public action to protect the environment. I am looking forward to this educational experience and thank Bennington College for embracing this new environmental initiative,” said Judith Enck.

People who are interested can sign up to receive periodic information about the project.

The new project is supported by charitable donations from individuals and foundations. Persons interested in supporting the project can do so by contacting Ms. Enck at JudithEnck@Bennington.edu or 518.605.1770.



About Judith Enck

Judith Enck is currently working on climate change issues as a senior advisor at the Center for Climate Integrity. She served as Regional Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the Obama Administration and was Deputy Secretary for the Environment in the New York Governor’s Office. Enck served as a Policy Advisor in the New York Attorney General’s Office and began her career in the environmental community, serving as Executive Director of Environmental Advocates and Senior Environmental Associate at the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Due to the flexibility of Bennington College's degree program, some students here choose to study food. Therefore, they will have to learn all kinds of science, history of food. In order to understand food better, they will also have to learn food-chain and ecology to be an expert in this field.

This course will address Land Use in Vermont through the perspectives of land as a geographical and historical resource, land as the policies and practices of management and stewardship of public and private property, and land as components of the built environment, specifically looking at the Bennington region and Bennington College. Issues of racial and economic justice, as well as public policy and zoning/planning will all be examined. Steps for a more equitable, sustainable, and progressive use of the land in our region and at the College will be generated for the future.