College to Offer Major in Environmental Studies "The goal of the program is to turn out people who are able to have environmental careers beyond those of a forester or an environmental activist. It's a broad area and there are countless possibiities." -- Frederik Kaufman, program coordinator
	Environmental studies, a popular minor at Ithaca College since 1991, will be offered as a major beginning next fall. The change, approved recently by the state education department, brings the College to the forefront in an area of study that is flourishing nationwide. "It is one thing to understand the science, and that is important, but we also need to bring in the normative, the humanistic," says program coordinator Frederik Kaufman, associate professor and chair in the Department of Philosophy and Religion. "The goal of the program is to turn out people who are able to have environmental careers beyond those of a forester or an environmental activist. It's a broad area and there are countless possibilities." Kaufman says the program will examine the relationship of people to the natural world, and that the relationship involves not only scientific matters, but political, economic, historical, and even philosophical issues. In the end, he says, the program will lead people to advanced education and jobs in law, public policy and administration, advocacy, urban and regional planning, environmental education and communication, and environmental protection and resource management. Graduates will also be well-suited for positions in local, state, or national agencies, not-for-profit organizations, and other firms that address environmental issues. The major requires a solid foundation in environmental science, biology, chemistry, statistics, and computers; a self-designed area of concentration; and a capstone experience, such as an internship or independent study, that can help prepare students either for graduate school or the workplace. "The core courses are fairly demanding, but what is unique is that a lot of the responsibility for charting the course is in the hands of the student, working closely with an advisor," says Kaufman. "This requires a creative engagement on the part of the students for shaping their own educations." Kaufman says the program seeks to meld both the sciences and the humanities in order to equip people to think critically and knowledgeably about complex environmental matters. "Environmental studies has gone from being a kind of flake fringe thing to the academic mainstream," Kaufman says. "It's something whose time has come, and it's great that Ithaca College is involved."