Academic Culture & Values

Supporting an Academic Culture of Excellence and Success in the Curriculum

The Environment & Sustainability Program (ENSP) actively pursues excellence and success through creating an open academic environment. ENSP teaches an array of courses in each of its three tracks: 1) Environmental Humanities; 2) Environmental Policy; and 3) Environmental Science. ENSP’s core courses–from Introduction to Environment & Sustainability to the capstone course–provide all students with the necessary training to make environmental policy, collect data from and about the natural environment, and understand the ethics and histories surrounding environmental issues. Faculty collaborate across disciplines to provide insight into how sustainability connects not only to science and policy, but also to areas like economics, management and community development, reflecting the broad relevance of environmental expertise. From helping to gather data on water quality to working with environmental policy makers and green business professionals, ENSP students put their holistic understanding of environmental issues to work through a variety of research and internship opportunities.

Supporting the Success of All Students

 The three tracks in ENSP each provide students with the necessary interdisciplinary toolkit to succeed, and many students combine ENSP with complementary studies—such as public health, law, education or business—positioning themselves to advance sustainability whether through science, policy, advocacy, product innovation or organizational leadership. Through this training, ENSP actively seeks to provide pathways from course work to careers in environmental fields. Alumni and other professionals working in environmental fields are brought into classes to share how they put their knowledge gained through ENSP to work. Our faculty incorporate students into their research and provide mentoring and co-authorship opportunities. And many students pursue environmentally oriented mentored internships as part of their ENSP major. Many of these research and internship opportunities have been supported by William & Mary and ENSP specific summer research fellowships.

Putting their ENSP training into practice, our graduates have brought their interdisciplinary environmental know-how to 1) federal and state environmental agencies such as the National Parks Service, Environmental Protection Agency and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, 2) environmental non-profit organizations such as The Climate Reality Project and Green Corps, and 3) the private sector working as sustainability managers, green designers and in sustainable finance.

Supporting the Success of Faculty and Staff

The Environment & Sustainability Program actively supports the success of its faculty and staff. The program director and affiliate faculty work with new faculty to succeed both in the classroom and through their research. This occurs through assisting new faculty with course design and providing them with feedback and assistance on their research. ENSP also encourages and supports faculty led research collaborations and community engagement. Such efforts include working with sustainability groups and gathering environmental data both within and beyond the university. In addition, ENSP supports faculty research through its Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow Program and its shared resources at the Keck Lab.

ENSP highly values new learning and professional development opportunities for staff. The Program provides staff with the time to obtain new skills through the training opportunities the university offers on its diverse array of software programs and packages. The program director actively encourages staff to take advantage of these and other opportunities, such as tuition free courses offered as a benefit to all William & Mary employees.

Faculty in ENSP have won a number of awards from both the university and national organizations for their teaching and research. Former students frequently recognize the program for creating a lasting and meaningful impressions upon their lives through alumni activities and ongoing donations.