Newswise — Ursinus College plans a year of both high profile environmental speakers as well as educational activities as a school committed to the national Focus The Nation.
Ursinus was the first college in Pennsylvania to sign on to Focus the Nation, a national educational initiative for 2007-2008. More than 600 institutions are participating, culminating in a national Focus the Nation Day Jan. 31, 2008. Ursinus is one of four colleges participating in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
Ursinus' role in the program was highlighted in the fall issue of E/The Environmental Magazine, which quotes Environmental Studies Professor Richard Wallace, who noted that the goal is to show students how to tackle the global issues. Ursinus is featured on the Focus the Nation web site. The campus steering committee includes students, faculty, staff and alumni.
Showing administrative and campus support for the need for solutions to global warming, President John Strassburger recently signed the American College and University President's Climate Commitment. Nearly 350 colleges and universities have pledged to eliminate campus-related greenhouse-gas emissions, and to incorporate sustainability into their curricula.
For the Focus the Nation program, Ursinus has confirmed speakers who include Richard W. Alley, celebrated climate change researcher; Andrew Revkin, New York Times senior environmental correspondent; Richard Kerr, senior environmental, energy and climate correspondent for the journal Science; Timothy Regan, executive director of the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission; Dale Jamieson, Director of Environmental Studies at New York University, and others including policy makers and artists. A political roundtable, activities in local schools and on campus demonstrations are also planned, as well as a concert by musician Dar Williams.
Ursinus' extensive participation in Focus the Nation is a result of a surge of interest on campus in the environment, in terms of course enrollment, recycling on campus, community activism and academic research projects. Since the first three majors in environmental studies graduated in 2000, the department today has about 30 to 35 majors each year. In each of the last three years, an Ursinus student has won a Udall Scholarship, a prestigious national undergraduate award for students interested in environmental studies. Students have completed projects such as planning and planting a thriving organic garden on campus, implementing energy-efficient lighting on campus and assessing energy consumption in residence halls.
Ursinus College is a highly selective, independent coeducational liberal arts college located on a scenic, wooded 170-acre campus, 28 miles from Center City Philadelphia. The college is one of only 8 percent of U.S. Colleges to possess a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. Its web site is located at <http://www.ursinus.edu>.
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