JULY 3, 2014 – Laurentian University’s new School of the Environment, approved by the University Senate earlier this year, is now open, with 13 faculty forming its core and 13 more faculty soon to be cross-appointed from other departments. The School currently houses five existing programs: Environmental Studies, Environmental Science, Études de l’environnement, Science Communication, and Archaeology. It will contribute to environmental programming offered by other departments across campus, and will collaborate with the Vale Living with Lakes Centre and other research centres, including the Centre for Evolutionary Ecology and Ethical Conservation (CEEEC).
The School will help to consolidate and strengthen the University’s expertise and reputation in all studies related to the environment, said the School’s inaugural Director, Dr. Brett Buchanan.
“This truly represents an important step and a natural progression for Laurentian University, and for Greater Sudbury,” said Dr. Buchanan. “We are recognized worldwide for our environmental knowledge in this community, and Laurentian has a constellation of professors and researchers who are leaders in environmental studies and sciences. The School will help to showcase our unique strengths in this field, and to offer enhanced learning opportunities for our students in Sudbury and in Barrie.”
“The School provides an opportunity for synergy and collaboration that will propel us forward as a centre of innovation both in teaching and in research, ” said Dr. Osman Abou-Rabia, Dean of the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Architecture. “It also moves us toward our Strategic Plan objective of further national recognition for our signature strengths.”
“As a society, we are faced with momentous and far-reaching environmental issues. It is appropriate that Laurentian have a School to foster and lead critical awareness in environmental research and action,” said Laurentian University President and Vice-Chancellor Dominic Giroux.
The official launch and celebration of the School of the Environment is scheduled for September 17, 2014