Boise State University
IL-65: Innovation A

The School of the Environment was created in 2022.

The School of the Environment works towards a more vibrant and resilient Earth and a sustainable future for Idaho through cutting-edge teaching, discovery-based learning, scholarly excellence and community-engaged action.

The School of the Environment nurtures the creation of new knowledge and builds curiosity about the environment within and beyond Boise State. Through deliberate integration of existing strengths, deep interdisciplinary learning and partnerships at every level, the school serves as the front door for Boise State University’s environmental connections in and beyond Idaho. We bring together scientific perspectives, policy tools, systems thinking, varied experiences, creative stories, partnerships and more to collaboratively develop solutions to environmental challenges on our changing planet.

The philosophy behind the School of the Environment at Boise State has existed in some form long before the was formally established. The university has prized environmental expertise across disciplines and degree programs like biology, public policy, geosciences, sociology, economics and public health. These shared objectives between experts from many fields laid the groundwork for a school dedicated to addressing the challenges climate change poses to our region and community.

In the summer of 2022, the Idaho State Board of Education made these informal connections official by approving the School of the Environment within the College of Arts and Sciences at Boise State. Creating the school helped us give shape and direction to the environmental collaborations that already existed on campus and find new ways to use those connections to benefit our students, faculty and community.

The School of the Environment is designed around an innovative organizational structure that nurtures connections in support of teaching, learning and research without having to physically move people or reorganize units. From this idea, we can create interdisciplinary opportunities for teaching, learning, research and service for anyone interested in helping to solve the environmental issues facing us today.

Now, several years after its founding, the School of the Environment is an active part of the Boise State campus community. The school regularly hosts events, creates new opportunities for collaboration and cultivates the next generation of trailblazers with its B.S. in Environmental Science and Masters of Environmental Management degree programs.

https://www.boisestate.edu/environment/about/