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Northland College reinvents its environmental curriculum

March 12, 2009

In response to a growing demand for college graduates with expertise in environmentally-related fields, Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, has completely redesigned its academic program. With the increasing availability of green careers, the College is building on its long-standing environmental mission, preparing students for a world where sustainability and environmental awareness are considered good business practice, as well as the right thing to do. The new curriculum features a nationally distinctive mix of educational experiences that will challenge students to look at issues from many perspectives, not just the narrow perspective of a single academic discipline. Set to launch in the fall of 2009, the redesigned curriculum offers students the choice of four new liberal arts programs and a full set of new or redesigned majors, all of which feature a focus on environmental issues.

Thirty-five years ago, the small, private liberal arts college of some 700 students adopted an environmental mission and has been a leader in environmental education ever since. Located in northern Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Superior and surrounded by more than 800,000 acres of national forest, Northland College actively uses its location as the world’s largest “living laboratory.” Northland’s unique north woods location provides ample opportunities for hands-on learning to complement a wide variety of classrooms and labs. “We have created an academic program dedicated to the importance of integration, of making connections,” said Rick Fairbanks, Provost of Northland College. “This kind of education is just what the workforce of the 21st century needs, especially as environmental fields grow in scope and prominence. The liberal arts have always been about making connections and we believe liberal education is more relevant than ever. Experts are telling us that the workers of the 21st century will have to move through several jobs, work with people from many fields, and adapt to issues we haven’t even imagined.”

First year students at Northland will begin making connections in the College’s new four course blocks and will carry the idea of making connections into their individual majors. All of the college’s new majors, Humanity and Nature Studies, Sociology and Social Justice, History of Ideas (combining History, Philosophy, Religion, Music, and Literature), Sustainable Community Development, and the Environmental Sciences are built on a foundation of making connections, as have its most successful continuing majors such as Natural Resources, Outdoor Education, and a redesigned Business Program. Every Northland graduate who completes the College’s Natural Connections liberal arts program will have the option of receiving a minor in Environmental Studies.