Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 60.10
Liaison Michael Amadori
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

Hobart and William Smith Colleges
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Michael Amadori
Sustainability Manager
Office of Sustainability
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Does the institution offer at least one ​sustainability-focused​ major, degree, or certificate program for undergraduate students?:
Yes

Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate degree program:
Environmental Studies

A brief description of the undergraduate degree program:

Earth's environment is maintained through complex feedback mechanisms which, over geologic time, have created an environment replete with myriad life forms and incredible biological, geological, and cultural diversity. Humans have always affected their environment, but since industrialization, the nature and scope of human impact has increased dramatically.

Our current use of natural resources is spiraling due to consumption-based economies and increasing demand by humans for necessities such as food, energy, and fresh water. Human activities have led to widespread air, water, and soil pollution, and set in motion long-term and troubling changes in our climate, new extinctions, unsustainable patterns of resource extraction and waste creation. Poverty and racism further exacerbate resource access disparities and threaten the livelihoods and survival of many humans around the world.

Environmental concerns will be with us for generations as we work toward a more sustainable way of life. The Environmental Studies program structures a liberal arts education around these concerns and prepares students for entry-level positions, as well as graduate study, in fields related to environment and sustainability.


Website URL for the undergraduate degree program:
Name of the sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
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A brief description of the undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
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Website URL for the undergraduate degree program (2nd program):
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Name of the sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
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A brief description of the undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
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Website URL for the undergraduate degree program (3rd program):
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The name and website URLs of all other sustainability-focused, undergraduate degree program(s):
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Does the institution offer one or more sustainability-focused minors or concentrations for undergraduate students?:
Yes

Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor or concentration:
Environmental Studies minor

A brief description of the undergraduate minor or concentration:

Earth's environment is maintained through complex feedback mechanisms which, over geologic time, have created an environment replete with myriad life forms and incredible biological, geological, and cultural diversity. Humans have always affected their environment, but since industrialization, the nature and scope of human impact has increased dramatically.

Our current use of natural resources is spiraling due to consumption-based economies and increasing demand by humans for necessities such as food, energy, and fresh water. Human activities have led to widespread air, water, and soil pollution, and set in motion long-term and troubling changes in our climate, new extinctions, unsustainable patterns of resource extraction and waste creation. Poverty and racism further exacerbate resource access disparities and threaten the livelihoods and survival of many humans around the world.

Environmental concerns will be with us for generations as we work toward a more sustainable way of life. The Environmental Studies program structures a liberal arts education around these concerns and prepares students for entry-level positions, as well as graduate study, in fields related to environment and sustainability.


Website URL for the undergraduate minor or concentration:
Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor or concentration (2nd program):
Sustainable Community Development minor

A brief description of the undergraduate minor or concentration (2nd program):

Sustainable Community Development (SCD) is an interdisciplinary program that integrates curricular and experiential components in architectural studies, economics, environmental studies and sustainability. The program aims to familiarize students with the concept of sustainable development as applied to real world communities. Requirements include technical writing, service learning, and methods courses. The goal of these courses is to provide students with skills such as survey design, statistics, ethnography, cost/benefit analysis, historical archive research, GIS, environmental impact assessment, and others that will be valuable in community-based research and service projects.


Website URL for the undergraduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
Name of the sustainability-focused undergraduate minor or concentration (3rd program):
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A brief description of the undergraduate minor or concentration (3rd program):
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Website URL for the undergraduate minor or concentration (3rd program):
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The name and website URLs of all other sustainability-focused undergraduate minors and concentrations:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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