Institute for Sustainable Practice

G. Dodd Galbreath, Founding Director and Assistant Professor
Emily Stutzman Jones, Academic Director and Assistant Professor

The mission of the Institute for Sustainable Practice is to develop and advance sustainability science through education, research, professional training, and service to the community and the world. The founding principles of sustainable practice can translate to all professions, cultures, organizations, economic markets and natural environments. Sustainability refers to a holistic approach in the stewardship of people, the planet, prosperity and providence.

Environmental and Sustainability Science majors study of the relationships among modern sustainability’s core principles: people and society, economic prosperity with social purpose and responsible oversight of human activities, and the genuine caretaking of the planet. Students encounter these concepts in classroom, laboratory and field experiences in nature, through service and internship opportunities in business offices, retail stores, area farms and food systems, manufacturing environments and in other agencies and regional opportunities. All students in the environmental and sustainability science major not only study theoretical and applied methods and core knowledge, they also undertake an applied independent study project where they become engaged in doing the activities they have learned.

Environmental and Sustainability Science Major (ESS)

The Environmental and Sustainability Science (ESS) major has a 61-63 hours total, depending on the emphasis selected. ese are broken down into a 49-hour core of required courses. Students select one of the two emphases: Social science, Communication, and Policy, (12 hours) and Biology (12-14 hours). Students completing the biology emphasis will have an earned biology minor.

By the very nature of our trans-disciplinary field, we expect our students to include a diverse range of interests. Our curriculum has been deliberately designed to give each student a strong core knowledge base as well as accommodate a number of courses to be taken in the student’s area of interest in order to build a rigorous but personalized course of study.

One of the defining characteristics of our program is the requirement that all students perform and publically present the results of an applied independent study at a departmental seminar or Lipscomb University’s Student Scholars Symposium in the spring. Independent research may take the form of hypothesis-driven ecologically based scientic research,research question-driven projects using existing data, development of a solution to a specic problem in an applied field, or a business plan.

Sustainability Degrees in other Departments

A B.B.A. degree in management with a concentration in sustainability offers students careers in business managerial positions with environmental responsibility. Refer to the Department of Management section for more information.

Program of Study Requirements

Major

Minor

Sustainable Practice Minor