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Luce Foundation funds Environmental
Analysis and Action Program
For Immediate Release
January 4, 2005
WOOSTER, Ohio - The College of Wooster has received a
$270,000 grant from The Henry Luce Foundation in New York City for
a three-year program to expand student and faculty engagement with
environmental issues. The Environmental Analysis and Action Program
will support several joint student-faculty research projects each
year, as well as an annual symposium devoted to interdisciplinary
exploration of environmental issues.
"Because of the Luce family's long-standing ties to The College
of Wooster," said H. Christopher Luce, program director for
public policy and the environment at the foundation, and a trustee
of the college, "I am pleased that Wooster has created a program
in environmental education which surpasses in quality proposals
from so many other institutions of higher education."
Beginning this summer, four faculty members, from the departments
of biology, geology, political science, and psychology, will work
with teams of three students each on research projects that will
continue through the following academic year. The four initial projects
will focus on global climate change, the management of agro-ecosystems,
urban landscape ecology, and the decline of a once-common species
of amphibian in Ohio.
The projects will add a new dimension to Wooster's tradition of
strong scientific research by asking students to link their research
and analysis of environmental problems to a discussion of the public
policy implications of their findings. Students who develop their
Independent Study (I.S.) topics out of the work they do in the Environmental
Analysis and Action Program will be encouraged to include a section
in their I.S. theses that specifically connects their work to local,
regional, or global environmental policy issues.
The objective of the annual symposium is to inspire faculty and
students to build links between curricula in the sciences and the
humanities through an interdisciplinary exploration of environmental
issues. Each symposium will be linked thematically to at least one
of the ongoing research projects, and will include a faculty panel
discussion, a fine arts presentation, and three speakers from different
disciplines who will address the particular theme.
"This program has a great potential for educating students
about the relationship between scientific research and applied concerns,"
said Susan Clayton, a psychology professor who will lead one of
the four initial project teams. "In addition to providing students
with the opportunity to do hands-on research as part of a group,
this program encourages them to think about the big picture within
which their individual project falls."
The Henry Luce Foundation, Inc. was established in 1936 by Henry
R. Luce, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time, Inc. The work of
the Luce Foundation reflects the interests of four generations of
the Luce family, each of whom as been associated with Wooster. These
include the interdisciplinary exploration of higher education; increased
understanding between Asia and the United States; the study of religion
and theology; scholarship in American art; opportunities for women
in science and engineering; and environmental and public policy
programs.
The College of Wooster is an independent liberal arts college,
nationally recognized for an innovative curriculum that emphasizes
independent learning. Each Wooster senior works one-on-one with
a faculty mentor to create an original research project, written
work, performance or art exhibit. Founded in 1866, the college enrolls
approximately 1,800 students.
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