Business View Magazine
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Science. “It’s the fastest growing major that Furman’s
ever had. Nearly 60 students have declared,” reports
Halfacre.
The university also has a vibrant, paid student Fellow-
ship program. Each summer, as many as 25 graduate
students receive a stipend to focus on sustainability
research and service on campus and in the commu-
nity. Over the last eight years, 170 individuals have
been Sustainability Fellows. Also, Furman’s Center
for Corporate and Professional Development offers a
post-graduate diploma in corporate sustainability. So
far, it has granted the diploma to over 100 individuals,
representing approximately 75 different businesses
and organizations throughout the Greenville region.
Meanwhile, Furman’s 2700 undergraduate students
have the option to engage in a wide variety of sustain-
ability research and activities, including: working on
the on-campus, organic-practice Furman farm; learn-
ing how to make sustainability assessments for cor-
porations, colleges, and governments; making green-
house gas inventories; learning how to collect data and
do analyses; among many other topics. In the process,
the students are gaining skill sets that are becoming
more and more attractive to prospective employers.
“Every Fortune 500 company has sustainability in its
strategic plan and/or they have a sustainability office,
or director, or program,” says Halfacre. “This is not a
fad. The opportunities out there have really expanded,
substantially. And our students are not having a chal-
lenge either getting into graduate school or getting a
job, in the sense that they have that leg up. They have
the ability to be able to represent themselves well
and open doors around sustainability topics. By giving
