Saint Louis University
IN-1: Innovation 1

Center for Sustainability In 2010, Saint Louis University launched the Center for Sustainability. More than just another university office, department, or team, the Center for Sustainability is a dedicated degree-granting institution and the first of its kind out of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States. The Center for Sustainability was established by a $5 million grant from the Alberici Foundation, charitable arm of the Alberici Corporation. Alberici is recognized throughout the country as a leader in green building practices. With this grant they positioned SLU to become one of the nation’s leaders in the field of sustainability. Barely one-year old, the center has since received an additional $2 million in grant money from a separate source, further bolstering its mission to develop creative, collaborative solutions to the pressing environmental challenges facing society today. One way the center aims to achieve its mission is by educating the next generation of leaders in sustainability through its innovative Master of Sustainability (MOS) program. Launched in August of 2010, the MOS program is the first of its kind in the Midwest—a unique, interdisciplinary graduate degree focused entirely on sustainability. It is a collaborative effort between SLU’s college of Arts and Sciences, College of Education and Public Service, John Cook School of Business, Parks College of Engineering, Aviation, and Technology, and the School of Public Health. As a university-wide effort, the program exposes students to sustainability-related instruction across multiple disciplines, including business, public policy, engineering, social work, public health, environmental science, and government. The Center for Sustainability also focuses on ground-breaking research. $1 million of the $5 million Alberici grant was earmarked to create the Alberici Fund for Innovation in Sustainability, a seed grant program to grow green-related research projects. This fund supports SLU’s existing innovations in many critical areas of sustainability and will help spur exciting breakthroughs in the future.