Business View - October 2015 27
just started a chapter of the Food Recovery Network on
campus. Students are collecting foods that have reached
their ‘best by’ dates at campus retail locations to donate
at local shelters and soup kitchens.”
Southern’s Werth Center for Coastal and Marine Stud-
ies is the recipient of the largest donation in the school’s
history, supporting both faculty and undergraduates who
are actively involved in current research efforts. “One of
the major Werth Center research projects, conducted by
Dr. James Tait and student fellows, is to survey Connecti-
cut’s beaches, to create and maintain erosion profiles,
and to assess vulnerability to future storm-wave damage.
Cities and towns nearby are using their research, as is
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), to cre-
ate maps and coastal management plans as well as sea-
level rise resilience plans. The research is sorely needed,
and this type of planning hasn’t been done before,” Hu-
minski says.
It’s unlikely that Southern would be so deeply involved
in so many long-range and complex sustainability and
environmental projects if the school hadn’t integrated
sustainability principles and concepts throughout the
broader academic curriculum for many years. As Dr. Cu-
sato makes clear, “Southern has had a long history of
being at the forefront of environmental education and
recognizing the importance of environmental literacy for
our students. Our geography program is very closely tied
to sustainability, and offers a sustainability concentra-
tion. We have one of the only Environmental Education
graduate programs in New England. Our master’s grad-
uates have pursued and taken jobs in the energy field,
the utilities field, and the legislature, with emphasis on
environmental sustainability issues. The great majority
of Environmental Education alumni teach in our state’s
school districts, creating awareness for Connecticut’s
youth about environmental issues and solutions.”
Cusato continues, “During the last 15 years or so, we
have built up two undergraduate minors, Marine and En-
vironmental Studies. Because of their success, we are
in the approval process for creating an interdisciplinary
undergraduate major – Environmental Systems and Sus-
tainability. With three tracks -- Environmental, Marine,
and Policy and Management -- the major will include
courses in business, geography, environmental studies,
marine studies, biology, public health, sociology, politi-
cal science. Students with a broad range of interests can
find a way to integrate sustainability into their studies.”
Finally, Huminski asserts that her office works hard to
support student involvement in all its sustainability proj-
ects. “Student creativity and energy are very valuable
assets to the university,” she asserts. Dr. Cusato adds
her desire to see Southern as a living laboratory with les-
sons that can be learned and subsequently applied over
a lifetime: “I hope that Southern is a model for students
to see sustainability integrated throughout the campus,
whether it’s refilling their water bottles at a refill water
station or the campus dining facilities, or the place to re-
charge a car in the facilities building, or the way they’re
learning professional skills through a curriculum infused
with sustainable principles. I don’t want them to view
sustainability as something you just take a class in or
do at a particular time. I want them to understand their
campus experience as an opportunity to model sustain-
able practices and principles throughout a community,
and then extend to their personal and professional lives
after graduation.”
Based on all that Southern Connecticut State University
has accomplished in the fields of sustainability practices
and environmental studies, it’s clear that it has rightfully
earned its new moniker: “Sustainable Southern.”
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