Spring 2001 -- Vol. 18, No. 1

Recently Established Environmental Consortium Sets Goals for
Research, Education, and Outreach

Big challenges and big questions require even bigger solutions, and Penn State believes it has just that with the creation of the Environmental Consortium.

Although less than a year old, the consortium has already made important steps toward its ambitious goals as it plans to impact the environment for the better through research, education, and outreach.

Designed as an umbrella organization, the consortium works to bring together environmental researchers and educators from all over Penn State.  From different departments to different campuses, the consortium hopes to create an awareness among faculty members and researchers about the efforts of their colleagues.  In addition, with anticipated support from the University reaching $2 million a year after five years, the consortium plans to help hire a total of 25 faculty members and create and implement an undergraduate education initiative that makes an environmental science minor available to students majoring in almost any subject area.

"The consortium represents a significant commitment on the part of the University, and the efforts of those involved have been just as significant," said Archie McDonnell, professor of civil engineering, director of the Environmental Consortium, and director of the Environmental Resources Research Institute.  "Penn State was ahead of the curve 35 years ago with the creation of interdisciplinary research programs and the consortium represents another step in the commitment to that type of work--as well as an important commitment to the environment."

Resources, specifically resources already at Penn State, provide a key component in the consortium's potential for success.  Participating colleges, including the Eberly College of Science, have combined to create the consortium and each should grow as a result.  For example, those 25 faculty hires include five senior and 20 junior faculty members to be added to individual colleges based on proposals submitted to the consortium.  Approved proposals earn funding on a 50-50 basis from the consortium and the colleges that add the faculty members.  According to McDonnell, the proposal format creates some positive competition within the broader framework of collaboration and communication.

In order to bring representatives from the numerous colleges together--many of whom already conduct successful environmental education, outreach, and research programs--communication holds the key.  As director of the consortium, McDonnell believes existing research efforts and programs should maintain their autonomy and can benefit from opportunities that arise from the consortium.

Likewise, faculty members anticipate the development and growth of the consortium as a boost for: educational programs, both undergraduate and graduate; research, combining the breadth and depth of Penn State researchers in many disciplines; and outreach, through efforts with Penn State's public radio and television stations as well as the University's cooperative extension offices throughout the state of Pennsylvania.

"Very few universities have the expertise for an effort such as this, and even fewer have the mechanisms to mobilize it in a concerted effort," said Andy Stephenson, professor of biology.  "It's a very attractive, exciting opportunity.  So many people want to be involved, not only because they want to be able to address intellectually challenging issues but also because they'll have access to expertise they never had dreamed possible as people collaborate.  One field of expertise hardly ever solves a problem, especially in ecology where there are so many interactions.  With a commitment to the consortium and interdisciplinary work, it allows us to better address things that really matter in a meaningful way."

Already 10 broad themes for the consortium's work have been established.  They are:

• Air Quality
• Biodiversity and Ecosystems
• Coastal and Marine Environments
• Global Change
• Health and the Environment
• Industrial Ecology and Green Engineering
• Natural Disaster Impact Reduction
• Resource Use and Management
• Toxic Substances / Hazardous and Solid Wastes
• Water Resources

Those themes were selected after careful consideration by the consortium's steering and executive committees.  They represent areas funding agencies have designated as worthy of support.  In addition, members of the consortium have started surveys of departments and faculty members to determine which themes could benefit most from a few strategically hired faculty members.

Penn State's experience with interdisciplinary work, and its willingness to undertake such efforts, also sets the stage for the consortium's success.  Administrators and faculty members alike agree that such combined efforts provide the only way to really address environmental issues--everything from amphibian disease as the result of human development to pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.

"All the administrators who work with the consortium, and all the faculty members who provide input, value the benefits of interdisciplinary work," McDonnell said.  "Combining their energy and enthusiasm in the consortium can only mean good things."

-- By Steve Sampsell

Back to Science Journal Spring 2001 Index

Penn State Home Page | Eberly College of Science | Find a Person | Locate a Building | Search | Site Index

Students | Alumni | Visitors | Researchers | Faculty and Staff | Postdoctoral Fellows | Corporate Interests
Academic Programs | Research | Dean"s Office | Development and Alumni Relations | News and Events | Directory

This page was last updated on 12 March 2001

If you would like to communicate with the keepers of the Eberly College of Science Web server, send electronic mail to: science-web@thunder.science.psu.edu
Technology Webmaster: Joseph K. Carlson < jkc3@psu.edu >
Content Webmaster: Barbara Kennedy < science@psu.edu >