Please find attached
the final report from the faculty committee for Ecology and Environment Program
in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This document describes the
desires of the members of the faculty committee, each of whom consulted with
their respective departments. Other departments in the College may have
interests in Ecology and Environment, but were not formally included in our
discussions.
Our rationale is
described on the first page of the document, and then the plan outlines the
following 6 steps with timelines:
1. Develop an
inclusive division or school within the college concerned specifically with
Ecology and Environment. Timeline: Begin
early spring 2003.
2. Add
an environmental literacy requirement to liberal arts education at UF. Fall 2003 - Spring 2004.
3. Convert the existing undergraduate interdisciplinary concentration in Environmental Studies into a curriculum in Ecology and Environment leading to a B.S. or B.A. degree. Fall 2003 - Spring 2004.
4.
Work with the College of Agriculture and Life Science and College of
Engineering to develop a UF-wide graduate degree program in Environmental
Sciences. Spring 2003.
5. Lead the development of a
university-wide Institute of Ecology and Environment (IEE). Begin late Spring 2003.
6. Target new CLAS faculty
appointments to Ecology & Environment topics. A suggested list of hires
over the next three years is given. Searches
authorized and begin Fall 2003.
1. The
domains of Ecology and Environment, which have physical, biological, and human
dimensions, are more diverse and comprehensive than the missions of any single
administrative unit at the University of Florida.
2. CLAS
faculty education and research activities span a broad spectrum of Ecology and
Environment activities, including but not limited to:
a. education
and research on natural and human systems with long-term and historical and
cultural perspectives over local, regional, and global extents;
b. education
and research on both renewable and non-renewable natural resources;
c. education
and research on the enormous realms of nature and culture that have no apparent
natural resources implications.
3. Much
of the education and research activities of CLAS faculty are materially and
intellectually different from activities in the renewable natural resource or
technological problem-solving colleges, and are complementary with them.
4. At
the faculty level, education and research in ecology and environment at the
University of Florida already extend across administrative units. There are
many research projects, graduate student thesis and dissertation committees,
and graduate and undergraduate classes that are conducted by faculty members
from several colleges.
5. CLAS
is in a unique position at UF to integrate social sciences and humanities with
physical and biological sciences. Physical and biological studies of ecology
and the environment are traditionally carried out without explicit reference to
human behavior, but such studies clearly can have major implications for human
behavior and society, and reciprocally, human activity can shape and constrain
natural processes. Knowledge generated by the social sciences and humanities is
fundamentally necessary for understanding how we as humans interact with our
environment.
6. Because the interdisciplinary and inherently international nature of Ecology and Environment requires an academic structure that accommodates the diversity of the topic, the CLAS faculty desires the creation of a school to coordinate education and research collaborations within CLAS, as well as with education and research units in agricultural, engineering, design, law, education, and other disciplines.
Strategic Plan for an
Ecology and Environment program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences;
Part II. Plan
CLAS proposes an Ecology and
Environment (E&E) program of education and research, founded on the basic
scientific principles that govern the coupled natural-human system, by taking
the following steps.
1. Develop a division or school within the college that would include all participating departments within CLAS, to form a “home” for undergraduate majors, administer undergraduate curriculum, administer a graduate-level certificate program in E & E, coordinate research programs in E & E as part of the graduate education function of the college, and administer other programs such as secondary-school teacher training in E & E in collaboration with the College of Education.
Actions:
A. Appoint a board of directors consisting of faculty in CLAS with self-identified interests in Ecology and Environment.
TIMELINE: Early Spring Semester 2003.
B. Appoint a full-time director at the associate dean level, and hire three staff people to help administer the CLAS Ecology and Environment program. One of the staff people should have strong Internet skills and will manage the Web site for the program.
TIMELINE: Spring Semester/Summer 2003. Director should be in office by beginning of Fall Semester 2003.
C. Establish a CLAS E&E affiliation for any faculty in CLAS who designates her- or himself to be interested.
TIMELINE: Early Spring Semester 2003. The board of directors will be appointed from this group of interested faculty.
2. Add an environmental literacy
requirement to liberal arts education at UF.
Actions:
The E&E Division Director, in consultation with CLAS departments and the E&E Board of Directors, will define environmental literacy for BS/BA graduates, most appropriately as a requirement of two courses, one at the advanced level (3000 and above), concerned with Ecology and Environment. The E&E Division Director will be responsible for determining coursework that comprises environmental literacy, compiling a list of existing classes that will fulfill this requirement, advising and consulting with departments about potential new courses, developing and advocating proposals for submission to the CLAS and University Curriculum Committees, and supervising compliance.
TIMELINE: Proposal development Fall 2003, approval sought Spring 2004.
3. Convert the existing undergraduate interdisciplinary concentration in Environmental Studies into a curriculum in Ecology and Environment leading to a B.S. or B.A. degree.
Actions:
The E&E Division Director will write proposals
and seek approval to convert the established Interdisciplinary Studies
concentration in Environmental Studies to a full BS/BA degree in Ecology and
Environment with departmental minors.
TIMELINE: Proposal development Fall 2003, approval
sought Spring 2004.
4.
Work with the College of Agriculture and Life Science and College of
Engineering to develop a UF-wide graduate degree program in Environmental
Sciences.
Actions:
5. Lead the development of a university-wide Institute of Ecology and
Environment (IEE).
Actions:
A. The E&E Division Director will lead a collaboration with other colleges, especially the College of Agriculture and Life Science, the College of Engineering, the College of Design, Construction, and Planning, and the College of Law, all of whom have faculty working in E&E, to establish an Institute of Ecology and Environment (IEE). This Institute will be campus-wide, and will also encompass ecological and environmental research and education within other units of the University with missions that are distinctly different from CLAS.
TIMELINE: Work by CLAS E&E board of directors collaborating with other colleges begins Spring 2003.
B. As an example activity, the IEE would seek funds to establish a university-wide E&E post-doctoral program housed in a central location on campus. Post-docs would be co-sponsored by faculty in different units. The Center would provide an intellectual focus for faculty and students across campus by providing an explicit setting and reward for cross-unit collaboration and interaction. It would also facilitate the development of new, interdepartmental funding, and would attract considerable national and international attention (each year a call for ~6 post-docs in E&E would go forward).
6. Target new CLAS faculty appointments to E&E topics. A suggested list of hires over the next three years, in annual priority order, follows:
The topics listed here are gaps in all programs at UF, and are complementary with all programs on campus. Appointments at senior levels are desirable for rapid achievement of excellence. Position descriptions within each year are listed in alphabetical order.
Year 1: Aquatic Ecology (Zoology)
Coastal Environments (Geological Sciences)
Environmental Politics - Domestic Regulation/Policy (Political Science)
Environmental Sociology - Land-Use/Land-Cover Change (Sociology)
General Climatology (Geography)
Historical Ecologist - Archaeobotany (Anthropology)
Plant Population Ecology (Botany)
Year 2: Community Ecology (Zoology)
Cultural Ecologist - Applied Ecological Problem Solving (Anthropology)
Ecological Economic Geography (Geography)
Environmental Politics - Regional/Global Policy (Political Science)
Environmental Sociology - Epidemiology/Environmental Health (Sociology)
Surficial Processes (Geological Sciences)
Theoretical Plant Ecology (Botany)
Year 3: Chemical Ecologist (Botany)
Cultural/Political Ecologist - Africa (Anthropology)
Environmental History (Geological Sciences)
Environmental Justice (Political Science/Religion)
Environmental Sociology - Urban Ecology (Sociology)
Land-Use/Land-Cover Change (Geography)
Life-History Evolution (Zoology)