Global Consciousness

Interest in Environmental Studies heats up at Holy Cross

Catherine Roberts, associate professor of mathematics and director of the Environmental Studies program at Holy Cross, realized there was increasing interest in environmental concerns when she started getting deluged with requests from students who wanted to enroll in her already full Environmental Mathematics class earlier this semester.

“I turned dozens of students away,” Roberts says. “I asked my students on the first day why they took the class, and most said it was because they are interested in learning more about the environment.”

She’s not just blowing smoke. Over the last several years enrollment in the Environmental Studies program, which focuses on the causes, mechanisms, and effects of environmental problems, has risen steadily. There were eight Environmental Studies students who graduated in 2004; 12 in 2005; 23 in 2006; and 33 in 2007.

Students aren’t the only ones interested. Professors are showing the planet some love, too. When Roberts asked if faculty members would be interested in organizing an event for the Environmental Studies program, she was delightfully surprised at their enthusiasm. Approximately 15 events are scheduled for the spring semester. All the events are free and open to the public.

Among them, Judith Chubb, professor of political science, will host a talk titled “Hearing Nature’s Voice: The Possibilities of Ecological Democracy” by Roger Gottlieb, professor of philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, on Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in Rehm Library; and on Feb. 26 at 4 p.m. in Rehm Library, visual arts professor Virginia Raguin will host a talk by Michael J. Crosbie, editor in chief of Faith & Form, who will address churches and green architecture.

“We’re seeing this wonderful interdisciplinary cross,” Roberts says. Professors from other departments — such as religious studies, philosophy, and biology — are attending events. And students are constructing their own program of study in the Environmental Studies program, taking courses from three or more disciplines to provide a comprehensive understanding of environmental issues. Environmental Studies courses can be found in nearly every field of study at the College.

“That’s what’s great about a liberal arts college — that a chemistry professor would want to attend a talk by a humanities professor,” she says.

The growing interest in the environment probably has much to do with educating students about pollution at a young age and increased media coverage — all of which has altered the mindset of today’s college students compared to those from years past, Roberts says.

“These students have never seen anyone smoking on a plane. They never throw trash out of their car. Keeping the planet in mind is part of their everyday reality. There’s a growing enthusiasm around the topic,” she says.

She adds: “I also don’t think it hurts that Al Gore has won a Nobel Prize for a movie about global warming and others have drawn so much attention to the issue.”

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