SUSTAINABILITY

Two students conduct research in the field.

In the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences sustainability is more than reusing and recycling—it is woven into the entire interdisciplinary curriculum.

CLAS is deeply committed to proposing and implementing sustainability practices. The College provides the resources, structure and inspiration so that individual students, staff and faculty are empowered to make sustainability an integrated component of the College experience.

Courses across departments address issues from climate change to biodiversity, from public policy to environmental history. Specific undergraduate and graduate degree programs are also offered.

Bachelor's of Science

Sustainability Studies Minor

Bachelor's of Arts

Master's degree

Programs in Peace and Justice

Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stewardship

The College's Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stewardship (CBEST) seeks to promote research in biodiversity and ecosystem science with a focus on understanding ongoing changes in ecosystems, their component organisms, and the benefits they provide to society.

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Green Lab Certification

Green Lab certification gives recognition to those who are helping to make their lab area safer for people and the greater environment. Born out of a partnership between Environmental Health and Safety, the Office of Sustainability and Villanova lab representatives, the certification is meant to unite all three efforts to improve lab safety and sustainability, without compromising lab productivity.

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Course Initiative Grants in Sustainability

The College offers course initiative grants for faculty to develop new courses in sustainability—strengthening faculty contributions to the College in ways that will benefit students, scholarship and intellectual life in relevant and responsible ways.

NEWS AND EVENTS

TEACHING ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES

Augustine and Culture Seminar Program Teaching Professor Chara Armon, PhD, has a passion for sustainability and a commitment to novel teaching strategies. Through her classes, she fosters experiential learning opportunities on local farms, encourages students to design solutions to pressing global issues, and incorporates diverse expert perspectives. “Within my discipline of environmental humanities, I'm especially committed to teaching texts and ideas that show that how we treat the natural world and ourselves is our choice,” shares Dr. Armon.

MEASURING AIR POLLUTION

Kabindra Shakya, PhD, associate professor of Geography and the Environment, recently received a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency for the Overbrook Breathe Right Community Air Monitoring Project. In collaboration with Drexel University and the Overbrook Environmental Education Center, Dr. Shakya and his lab aim to measure air pollution in West Philadelphia. Building on prior studies in the region, the project involves undergraduate students and community members to assess the air quality in 15 locations.

STUDYING CLIMATE JUSTICE

Sydney Walsh ’24 CLAS is double majoring in Environmental Science and Geography. Her recent research project, “Analyzing Trends in Heavy Precipitation Events and Vulnerability in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Region from 1940 to 2021,” explores human-environment interactions and climate justice issues in the Philadelphia region. Her findings illustrate Philadelphia’s most vulnerable populations live with a growing amount of built land and precipitation, raising their disaster odds. Analyzing changing precipitation trends, location implications, and impacted populations is important for risk assessment and disaster mitigation.

PURSUING A CAREER IN GREEN CHEMISTRY

Stefanie (Stef) Allen ’24 CLAS, Chemistry, was selected from more than 1,200 students nationwide to receive a 2023 Goldwater Scholarship to further her research in STEM. Stef is pursuing a research career in green chemistry, a passion that stems from her experiences growing up in Vermont. She decided to study chemistry to discover the ways in which science can lead to sustainable innovation. She envisions how green chemistry can transform agriculture, sustainability and food security—and ultimately impact countless lives.