Course Descriptions

Building Sustainable Organizations course - Field Trip to Bensonwood Construction

Building Sustainable Organizations course -
Field trip to Bensonwood Construction

Fall I

Leadership for Change (3 credits)
The goal of this course is for the student to gain an understanding of the practices of adaptive leadership. It is designed for those who have had leadership experience and for those who have not. The intensions of adaptive leadership are to help communities face their problematic realities and support them in doing the transformative work that is required to develop a sustainable approach to their future.

Case studies include energy, climate change, water resources, and others that focus on the role of adaptive leadership in environmental pollution prevention and abatement. It will cover 1) principles of group dynamics and self awareness, 2) leadership, power, and authority, 3) leadership vs. management, 4) the role of listening, 5) working in partnership and with groups, 6) understanding and working with conflict, 7) dealing with obstructionists and antagonists, 8) education, inspiration, and persuasion, 9) facilitating change, and 10) leadership and creativity.

Building Sustainable Organizations (3 credits)
BSO surveys the landscape of sustainability theory and literature by considering organizational purpose, design, and behavior through the lenses of ecology, management, economics, and social justice. This course prepares students to analyze organizations from the perspective of sustainable practices, and to develop an understanding of the importance of self-knowledge and personal sustainability. BSO is designed to serve as a gateway for further study. The course relies on heavily active participation by all class members, drawing from each participant's previous organizational and managerial experiences.

Climate Change Resilience, Adaptation, and Mitigation (3 credits)
The course is based on the premise that projected anthropogenic caused climate changes have already occurred, and the rate and extent of changes will continue to manifest themselves through this and subsequent centuries.

The course is grounded in theories of resilience and stability in ecosystems and address how to evaluate the robustness of social-ecological systems and the ramifications this has on the management of resources on the landscape into the future. Skill development in evaluating potential adaptation strategies, at different scales, will be introduced. The course addresses the issues of uncertainty and risk identification, assessment, and decision analysis. Students are introduced to components of a risk communication and the psychological foundations of effectively communicating climate change to decision-makers.

Spring I

Energy and Materials Sustainability (3 credits)
Individuals, either as consumer, employees, or those who live on the landscape, are learning to become more environmentally responsible and realize true savings through adopting sustainability driven policies and practices. In this course we examine how the emerging field of materials and energy sustainability can help individuals and organizations to become more effective at reducing their ecological footprint. This course is based on the premise that the material and energy flow throughout one's home or business is part of a greater life cycle which stretches from raw material extraction through the manufacturing stages and onto consumer and post-consumer stages. We discuss concepts in the areas of waste reduction, pollution prevention, energy efficiency, environmental management, and life cycle analysis to equip participants with the tools they need to understand and potentially reduce environmental impact within the different domain of their lives.

Financial Administration (3 credits)
The overall goal of the course is to introduce the student to the principles of financial administration as applied to the management of organizations. The course has the objectives for the student to: become familiar with the language of finance, essential for those who will play a role in managing the financial resources of an organization; understand the basics of the financial system and its components; learn the principles of preparing an annual and capital budget; gain experience in setting up and using spreadsheets; develop skills in the analysis, interpretation, and use of financial information; become familiar with the principles of time value of money; review the principles of investment and retirement accounts; and become familiar with the key components of an annual financial audit and systems of internal control.

Political Economy of Sustainability (3 credits)
This course helps students develop an understanding of the creation and implementation of environmental law and public policy, as well as the application of these policy approaches within the context of ecological economics to real world situations. We begin in the first half of the course with an exploration of how our government and legal systems are organized and function, the elements of a policy cycle in the promotion of systemic social change, and the evolving field of ecological economics. Students are introduced to the following concepts:

Separation of powers and constitutional law
Legal analysis and the creation of law
The environmental public policy cycle
Building authority for the promotion of systemic social change
Neoclassical economics and environmental economics
Role of ecological economic in public policy

In the second half of the course we apply these concepts to actual case studies that interweave environmental law, policy, and economics. Case materials include background information, Supreme Court legal opinions, and economic information. Students are asked to draw from their exposure in the first half of the class to analyze, understand, and interpret these case studies.

Summer I

Proposal Writing and Project Management (3 credits)
This course is designed for the students to become familiar with the basic components of project management including planning, setting goals/objectives, developing implementation methods, setting up systems of evaluation, and budgeting. This is achieved through case studies and through the process of developing and writing a project proposal including networking and building coalitions and researching potential private and public funders.

The students utilize to software for developing timelines, benchmarks, and mark project progress. In additional, web-base tools to communicate effectively with team members over both time and distance are introduced. Finally approaches to delegation of tasks based on individual strengths, resolving team disputes and effectively developing a final edited written product, written in a single "voice" for a targeted audience, are addressed.

Quantitative and Qualitative Research Techniques (3 credits)
The purpose of this course is to gain a basic understanding of quantitative and qualitative research approaches so that students, in their professional life, can assess research reports that must be evaluated in order to develop policy and/or to inform implementation. The material presented is done at a depth and breadth to provide a basic understanding of how research is done and why specific techniques and approaches are used for answering specific questions. Students try out different methodological approaches that include basic statistical analysis and design, field techniques, and computer models. Through the development of a research proposal, students ground discussions of theory in the practical concerns of research: framing research questions; designing a small study; collecting and analyzing data; dealing with validity, reliability, and ethical issues; and writing a research report.

Fall II

Capstone Project (3 credits)
This capstone project is completed the final term of the program. However, students meet the latter half of the Spring term in preparation for intensive work in the summer. This is a team-based, applied research project done for an external client. More about the Capstone Project

Supervised Independent Study (3 credits)
In consultation with, and approval of, their advisor, each student develops a supervised independent study tailored to their particular professional path. This necessarily has a theoretical research component, but can also include an applied research component.

Last Updated: 3/16/12