Environmental Science and Management Master’s: A Pioneering Program for 20 Years
On Thursday, May 3, faculty, staff and students and the Center for Research and Education (CERE) Advisory Board will celebrate spring graduation. This year, besides providing an opportunity to look forward, the event offers a chance to reflect as the Master of Science in Environmental Science and Management (ESM) approaches its 20th year.
Matriculating its first students in August 1992, this specialty master’s program in the Bayer School has since graduated more than 400 environmental professionals.
Duquesne was one of the first colleges in the country to offer an environmental master’s program that focused on training professionals in the management of environmental issues, based upon a demand for those who could manage key issues and policies, said Dr. John Stolz, director of CERE, which houses the program.
“We continually change the program to address new issues that emerge in the field, most recently, in regard to sustainability broadly and specifically to conservation biology,” said Dr. Stanley Kabala, associate director of CERE. “One of the key elements of this program is high exposure to various professions that are represented by our adjunct professors; they have immensely contributed to the program because their expertise keeps it current.”
After graduation, most students pursue careers in environmental management, consulting and government at jobs, positions that, when the ESM program started, didn’t even exist. “No one was thinking about coordinating sustainability in 1992,” Stolz said.
The program has teamed with other schools and, with federal funding, operated international programs dealing with energy extraction, water supplies and renewable energy management as well as launching Duquesne’s first multidisciplinary undergraduate course in sustainability with the University Academics Sustainability Committee.
Looking forward, Stolz said that the program intends to keep ahead of the curve.
“Keeping our curriculum current and providing opportunities for our students will always be the highest priority,” Stolz said. “We will continue to serve as a regional resource on issues of energy and the environment and look forward to expanding our international presence building on our existing collaborations with China, Germany, Mexico and Ghana.”
Upcoming anniversary celebrations will be announced on the center’s website.