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Division of Environmental Science 134 Baker Hall

Annual Report

Academic Year 2010 - 2011

Russell D. Briggs Director, Division of Environmental Science

SUNY ESF 1 Forestry Drive

Syracuse, NY 13210 Email: rdbriggs@esf.edu; ph. (315) 470-6989

22 July 2011

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Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................... 3

Governance Structure ................................................................................................... 4

Teaching ........................................................................................................................ 7

Courses Specific to Environmental Science ................................................................ 7

Course Consumption ................................................................................................. 10

Student Learning Outcomes Assessment ................................................................ 15

Progress on Objectives for 2010-2011 ...................................................................... 19

Office Renovations .................................................................................................... 19

Proposed BS in Public Health .................................................................................... 19

Updating of Environmental Science Advising Manual and GPES Handbooks ........... 19

Official Recognition for Option Areas ......................................................................... 19

Improve the Senior Synthesis .................................................................................... 19

Appendix ...................................................................................................................... 20

Budget ....................................................................................................................... 20

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Introduction The Division of Environmental Science provides an administrative structure that facilitates delivery of a multidisciplinary academic program with strong relevance to contemporary society by addressing emerging issues that cross departmental boundaries. The undergraduate program, with a Fall 2011 enrollment of 181 students (52 Freshman, 44 Sophomore, 49 Junior, 36 Senior), leads to a B.S. in Environmental Science. The Graduate Program in Environmental Science (GPES) awards MPS, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees; as of July 22, 2011, 88 students are enrolled for Fall 2011.

Courses taken by students in Environmental Science are housed in nine units (eight of which are Departments): Chemistry, Environmental and Forest Biology, Environmental Resources Engineering, Environmental Studies, Forest and Natural Resources Management, Landscape Architecture, Library, Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, and Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering. Participating faculty (those that advise students and contribute to curriculum development and oversight) in the Division of Environmental Science have primary responsibilities in their home departments and report directly to their respective department chairs. Consequently, structure and detailed content of the Environmental Science annual report are not identical to those of the other departments. Teaching, research and service components associated with individual participating faculty members are documented in their home department reports and are not included herein. This report primarily focuses on accomplishments of the past academic year: (i) implementation of the Division structure, (ii) formal appointment of participating faculty to undergraduate Option Area(s) and to graduate Area(s) of Study, (iii) revision and updating of curricula for the Option Areas and the Areas of Study, and (iv) approval from the Committee on Instruction (COI) of the proposed B.S. in Environmental Health. In order to efficiently convey this information, the order of presentation of topics has been altered from the standard template; this report begins with Governance Structure. All of the accomplishments detailed in the following pages would not have been possible without the able assistance of Tim Knight, Senior Staff Assistant, and the day-to-day activities of Patti Gibeault, Secretary.

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Governance Structure The Director of the Division of Environmental Science, Dr. Russ Briggs, supported by a full- time Secretary (Patti Gibeault), oversees the activities of the Division. Similar to the Departments, Division undergraduate and graduate programs are each managed with the assistance of a Coordinator (Figure 1). The Undergraduate Coordinator role is currently filled by the Division Director (Briggs) who is assisted by Mr. Tim Knight (Senior Staff Assistant). Tim serves as advisor for all lower division students and provides support (reflected by the campus title of Assistant Program Administrator) as needed for the Undergraduate Coordinator. The Undergraduate Coordinator oversees review and development of curricula for the undergraduate Option Areas, providing the administrative pathway for curriculum development and interaction with the COI. Dr. Ruth Yanai serves as Coordinator for the Graduate Program in Environmental Science (GPES), working closely with the faculty leaders for each graduate Area of Study (AOS) to manage the GPES program. The primary responsibilities of the Graduate Coordinator are to: (i) insure timely review of graduate applications, (ii) oversee the awarding of graduate assistantships, and (iii) coordinate interaction among the GPES AOS’s. Each of the six undergraduate Option Areas and the six GPES AOS’s are comprised of participating faculty formally appointed by letter from the President with a copy to the home department chair. This structure combined with formal appointment insure that participating faculty receive appropriate home department recognition for their academic and advising contributions, without which the Division of Environmental Science could not function effectively.

Each Option Area and AOS has a faculty leader (formally appointed by the President) serving as the focal point (Table 1). Curricular issues and course administrative management actions (e.g., initiation, alteration, deletion) are forwarded from the leaders to the Coordinators and ultimately to the Division Director for submission to the College Faculty via the COI.

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Undergraduate Coordinator

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Graduate Coordinator

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Assistant Program Administrator

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Figure 1. Organizational structure for the Division of Environmental Science. Leaders for the each of the six undergraduate Option Areas and six GPES Areas of Study are identified.

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Table 1. Student enrollment by undergraduate Option Area and GPES Area of Study (AOS) as of July 2011 in the Division Environmental Science. Group No.a Leader; participating faculty Undergraduate Option Area Earth and Atmospheric Systems Science

19 Dave Kieber; Ted Dibble, Kelly Donaghy, Huiting Mao, Mark Teece

Environmental Analysis 7 TBDb; Ted Dibble, Kelly Donaghy, Dave Kieber, Huiting

Mao, Mark Teece

Environmental and Information Mapping

8 Eddie Bevilacqua; Collin Beir, Myrna Hall, Lindi Quackenbush

Health and the Environment 14 John Castello (interim); James Nakas, Lee Newman,

Tsutomo Nakatsugawa, Christopher Whipps

Renewable Energy 28 Tim Volk; Neal Abrams, Siddharth Chatterjee, Ray

Francis, Charlie Hall, Mike Kelleher

Watershed Science

23 John Stella; Stewart Diemont, Ted Endreny, Don Leopold, Karin Limburg, Myron Mitchell, Kim Schulz, Theresa Selfa, Philippe Vidon

GPES Area of Study

Environmental and Community Land Planning

15 Margaret Bryant; Colin Beier, Emanuel Carter, Doug Daley, Stewart Diemont, Klaus Doelle, Myrna Hall, Richard Hawks, Sharon Moran, Matt Potteiger, Theresa Selfa, Tim Toland

Environmental Communication and Participatory Processes

7 Mark Meisner; Elizabeth Folta, Diane Kuehn, Sharon Moran, Theresa Selfa

Environmental and Natural Resource Policy

15 Sharon Moran; Colin Beier, Valerie Luzadis, Bob Malmsheimer, Jack Manno, David Newman, Brenda Nordenstam, Theresa Selfa, Rick Smardon, David Sonnenfeld, John Wagner

Environmental Policy and Democratic Processes

8 Sharon Moran; Valerie Luzadis, Jack Manno, Mark Meisner, Brenda Nordenstam, Theresa Selfa, Rick Smardon, David Sonnenfeld

Environmental Systems and Risk Management

22 Christopher Nomura; Colin Beier, Doug Daley, Stewart Diemont, Klaus Doelle, Ted Endreny, Myrna Hall, Chuck Kroll, Karin Limburg, Valerie Luzadis, Huiting Mao, Sharon Moran, Rafaat Morsi-Hussein, Tsutomu Nakatsugawa, Brenda Nordenstam, Mark Teece, Wendong Tao, Philippe Vidon, Tim Volk, Ruth Yanai

Water and Wetland Resources Studies

21 Rick Smardon; Greg Boyer, Doug Daley, Klaus Doelle, Ted Endreny, Chuck Kroll, Don Leopold, Karin Limburg, Jack Manno, Myron Mitchell, Sharon Moran, Theresa Selfa, John Stella, Wendong Tao, Philippe Vidon

a Number of students as of July 2011 (3 currently in Environmental Engineering Science, undeclared, and lower division students are not shown). b Position vacated by retirement of Dave Johnson. The current proposal is to combine Environmental Analysis with Earth and Atmospheric Systems Science. c Position vacated by J. Scott Turner.

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Teaching The interdisciplinary Environmental Science program relies on the cooperation of eight individual departments to provide the vast array of required and elective courses taken by students in the Division and for advising. Statistics associated with advising and individual courses are provided in each of the home Departments’ annual reports and will not be repeated here. During the past 10 years, courses offered have changed in content as well as in name; some have been discontinued or revised while new courses have been initiated. The updated list of required and recommended courses in each of the Option Areas has been updated following discussion with participating faculty (Table 2). Due to the similarity of the two option areas (Environmental Analysis; Earth and Atmospheric Systems Science), we plan to combine them together and change the name to Oceanic and Atmospheric Systems Science.

Courses Specific to Environmental Science Undergraduate courses specific to Environmental Science are few in number; those associated with the Renewable Energy option area (Table 3) likely will be changed to the ‘FOR’ prefix as a result of the recently proposed energy minor (which has a strong focus on management rather than science) housed in the FNRM Department. Each student in the B.S. in Environmental Science program is required to complete a senior synthesis project (five credit hours) with mentoring from participating faculty. In order to better serve students and to maximize faculty effectiveness, we initiated a new one-credit hour course, Environmental Science Capstone Seminar (ESC 494), to formally provide instruction in identification of a project and to insure development of a realistic time line for project execution and reporting. This course, approved by COI in their last meeting, is modeled after the corresponding course currently offered in the Renewable Energy Option Area The remaining 4 credit hour course, allocated to project execution (data collection and analysis), is Research Problems in Environmental Science (ESC498) which was approved by COI at the last meeting. These credits are supervised by participating faculty; each faculty member has an individual section. Currently there are only two traditional (not seminar or special topic) courses specific to GPES: ENS601 Wetland Resources Management, and ENS607 Wetland Practicum. Both are normally taught by adjuncts recruited each year. Up until this point in time, the Dept. of Environmental Studies has been responsible for staffing those two courses with resources provided directly from the Provost. Staffing responsibility was transferred to Environmental Science by mutual agreement. Enrollment in each course was 10 students for the most recent offering (Fall 2010).

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Table 2. Upper division courses required/recommended for each of the six Option Areas within Environmental Science. Option area Courses Earth and Atmospheric Systems Science

EFB 415 Ecological Biogeochemistry (3), EFB524 Limnology OR FCH519 Environmental Chemistry I (3), FOR338 Meteorology (3), FCH399 Introduction to Atmospheric Sciences (3), FCH496 Special Topics: Oceanography (3)

Environmental Analysis EFB303 Introductory Environmental Microbiology (4), FCH380 Analytical Chemistry I: Gravimetric, Titrimetric and Potentiometric Analysis (3), FCH381 Analytical Chemistry II: Spectroscopic, Chromatographic and Electroanalysis Techniques (3), FOR338 Meteorology (3) OR FOR340 Watershed Hydrology (3) OR FOR345 Introduction to Soils (3), GEO388 Geographic Information and Society OR ERE365 Principles of Remote Sensing (3)

Environmental Information and Mapping

ERE371 Surveying for Engineers (4), ERE365 Principles of Remote Sensing (4), GEO381 Cartographic Design (4), ERE551 GIS For Engineers OR ENS519 Spatial Ecology (3)

Health and the Environment

EFB303 Introductory Environmental Microbiology (4), EFB307/308 Principles of Genetics & Lab (4), EFB325 Cell Physiology (3), EFB400 Toxic Health Hazards (3), EFB 385 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy OR EFB462 Animal Physiology: Environmental and Ecological (3)

Renewable Energy BPE441 Biomass Energy (3), ESC325 Energy Systems (3), ESC335 Renewable Energy Systems (3), ESC422 Energy Markets and Regulations (3), ESC450 Capstone Planning (1), EFB516 Ecosystems OR EFB518 Systems Ecology OR ERE351 Basic Engineering Thermodynamics OR ERE519 Green Entrepreneurship OR FCH360 Physical Chemistry OR FOR415 Forest Consulting and Wood Procurement OR PSE361 Engineering Thermodynamics OR PSE370 Principles of Mass and Energy Balance (3) OR EST427 Environment and Energy Auditing OR CME305 Sustainable Energy Systems for Buildings

Watershed Science EFB 415 Ecological Biogeochemistry (3), FOR340 Watershed

Hydrology (3), FOR345 Introduction to Soils (3), FOR441

Watershed Ecology and Management (3), EFB423 Marine Ecology

OR EFB424 Limnology OR EFB 486 Ichthyology OR EFB487

Fisheries Science and Management OR ERE440 Water Pollution

Engineering OR FOR338 Meteorology OR GEO316 River

Environments (3)

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Table 3. Summary of enrollment for undergraduate courses specific to the Division of Environmental Science, 2010 – 2011 academic year.

Instructor Course Numberb

Course Name Enrollment (semester)

Bevilacquaa ESF300 Intro geospatial information technology 139 (S11)

Briggs (and Knight)

132 Orientation seminar 55 (F10)

Eichorn 296 Climate Change Science & Sustainability 8 (F10,S11)

Eichorn 496 Climate Change & Meteorology 5 (S11)

Hall, M. ESF300 Intro geospatial information technology 88 (F10)

Kelleher 335/535 Renewable energy 38 (S11)

Kelleher 422/622 Energy markets and regulation 17 (F10)

Volk (and Hall, C.) 325/525 Energy systems 28 (F10)

Volk 450 Renewable capstone planning 9 (F10)

Volk 460 Renewable capstone 1 (S11)

Briggs and Knight 494 Environmental Science Capstone New for S 12 a Spring 2011 b All courses ESC prefix, except for ESF 300 as noted.

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Course Consumption Undergraduate It is more instructive to document Environmental Science course consumption because participating faculty teaching and advising loads are reported by home Department. Undergraduate students in the Environmental Science Division consumed 4017 credit hours of ESF courses (half of those from FNRM and EFB) (Table 4) and 300 credit hours of SU courses (Table 5). Approximately 7% of the total undergraduate credit hours for the past academic year were accessory instruction; Physics accounted for more than half. Although ESF has a popular Physics course offered in EFB (Physics of Life), the absence of a lab and the second semester do not fulfill the requirements for Environmental Science students. Adding two semesters of calculus-based Physics would have a favorable impact on accessory instruction costs.

Graduate GPES students in the Environmental Science Division consumed 742 credit hours of ESF courses (more than half of those from ES) (Table 6) and 102 SU credit hours (Table 7). The relative consumption of accessory instruction credits is greater for GPES than for the undergraduate program. Approximately 12% of the total graduate credit hours (compared to 7% for undergraduates) for the past academic year were accessory instruction, more than half of GPES accessory instruction credits were taken in the Maxwell School.

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Table 4. Distribution of ESF course credit hour consumption for Environmental Science undergraduates for the 2010 -2011 academic year (data provided by Office of the Registrar).

Dept. Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior Total

EFB 241 261 365 342 1209

ERE 6 54 75 53 188

ES 142 206 141 108 597

FCH 200 100 73 59 432

FNRM 280 404 319 195 1198

LA 9 33 27 12 81

LIB 2 21 22 2 47

OTH 0 30 57 30 117

PBE 3 27 39 41 110

SCME 0 4 25 9 38

Total 883 1140 1143 851 4017

Department abbreviations are CHE = Chemistry, EFB = Environmental and Forest Biology, ERE = Environmental Resources Engineering, ES = Environmental Studies, FNRM = Forest and Natural Resources Management, LA = Landscape Architecture, LIB = library, GNE = general engineering, PBE = Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, and SCME = Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering

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Table 5. Distribution of accessory instruction courses for Environmental Science undergraduates for the 2010-2011 academic year (data provided by OIGS).

Dept. Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior Total

ANT 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 3.0

BIO 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 3.0

CFE 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 3.0

CRS 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 3.0

EAR 0.0 0.0 12.0 18.0 30.0

EEE 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.0 6.0

ENI 0.0 2.0 0.0 0.0 2.0

FIN 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 3.0

GEO 0.0 3.0 15.0 12.0 30.0

GTR 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.0

HST 0.0 0.0 3.0 0.0 3.0

HUM 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

MAT 0.0 4.0 7.0 0.0 11.0

MES 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 3.0

PED 0.0 1.0 1.0 5.0 7.0

PHY 1.0 96.0 69.0 14.0 180.0

PSC 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.0 6.0

PSY 0.0 0.0 3.0 0.0 3.0

Total 4.0 106.0 110.0 80.0 300

Department abbreviations are: ANT = Anthropology, BIO = Biology, CFE = Cultural Foundations/Education, CHE = Chemistry, CRS = Communication and Rhetorical Studies, EAR = Earth Sciences, EEE = Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises , EFB = Environmental and Forest Biology, ENI = Instrumental Ensembles, ERE = Environmental Resources Engineering, ES = Environmental Studies, FIN = Finance, FNRM = Forest and Natural Resources Management, GEO = Geography, GTR = Guitar Instruction, HST = Human Services and Health, LA = Landscape Architecture, LIB = library, MAT = Mathematics, MES = Middle Eastern Studies, OTH = general engineering, PBE = Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, PED = Physical Education, PHY = Physics, PSC = Political Science, PSY = Psychology, and SCME = Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering.

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Table 6. Distribution of ESF course credit hour consumption by GPES Area of Study (AOS) for the 2010-2011 academic year (data provided by Office of the Registrar).

AOS Departmenta Credit hours

Environmental Communication and Participatory Processes ES 51

FNRM 6

LIB 1

Total 58

Environmental and Natural Resource Policy

EFB 10

ES 101

FNRM 23

LIB 2

Total 136

Environmental and Community Land Planning

EFB 3

ES 73

FNRM 12

LA 20

Total 108

Environmental and Natural Resource Policy

EFB 2

ES 32

FNRM 9

Total 43

Environmental Systems and Risk Management

EFB 24

ERE 9

ES 107

CHE 4

FNRM 19

LIB 1

PBE 3

Total 167

Water and Wetland Resources Studies EFB 32

ERE 46

ES 78

CHE 3

FNRM 67

SCME 4

Total 230

GPES TOTAL 742

a Department abbreviations are CHE = Chemistry, EFB = Environmental and Forest Biology, ERE = Environmental Resources Engineering, ES = Environmental Studies, FNRM = Forest and Natural Resources Management, LA = Landscape Architecture, PBE = Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, and SCME = Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering

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Table 7. Distribution of accessory instruction courses for GPES Areas of Study (AOS) for the 2009-2010 academic year (data provided by OIGS).

AOS SU Dept.

Beg. Grad

Adv. Grad

Total

Environmental Communication and Participatory Processes

COM 3.0 0.0 3.0

IRP 0.0 3.0 3.0

PHO 3.0 0.0 3.0

PPA 0.0 3.0 3.0

SOC 0.0 3.0 3.0

Total 6.0 9.0 15.0

Environmental and Natural Resource Policy

ANT 0.0 3.0 3.0

GEO 0.0 3.0 3.0

PPA 0.0 33.0 33.0

Total 0.0 39.0 39.0

Environmental and Community Land Planning PPA 3.0 0.0 3.0

Total 3.0 0.0 3.0

Environmental Policy and Democratic Processes TRF 0.0 11.0 11.0

Total 0.0 11.0 11.0

Environmental Systems and Risk Management

ANT 0.0 3.0 3.0

CHE 0.0 3.0 3.0

EAR 0.0 3.0 3.0

PSC 0.0 3.0 3.0

UGS 4.0 0.0 4.0

Total 4.0 12.0 16.0

Water and Wetland Resources Studies EAR 0.0 6.0 6.0

PPA 0.0 12.0 12.0

Total 0.0 18.0 18.0

TOTAL GPES Total 13.0 89.0 102.0

Department abbreviations are: ANT = Anthropology, CHE = Chemistry, COM = Communications, EAR = Earth Sciences, GEO = Geography, IRP = International Relations, PHO = Photography, PPA = Public Administration, PSC = Political Science, SOC = Sociology, TRF = Television, Radio, and Film, UGS =

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Student Learning Outcomes Assessment

Program assessment has been informal and anecdotal to date. When faculty perceive problems, they have contacted the Director and problems have been addressed on an ad hoc basis. A slightly more formal process was initiated in 2010 to update the curriculum. Many of the required courses had changed or been discontinued. The Assistant Program Administrator and Director organized meetings of the faculty from each Option Area to review course requirements. In an effort to gain student input on the process, graduating seniors in the new capstone course were offered extra credit for providing an open-ended review of the program. The responses received were collated and will be used to advise future changes to the program. During the Spring 2011 semester, we developed a plan for assessment of the undergraduate program by identifying learning outcomes and which courses addressed those outcomes. Based on the courses, we decided what data could be collected to quantify attainment of those outcomes (Table 8). Consequently, no data have yet been collected; implementation is planned for the coming academic year.

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Table 8. Proposed assessment for learning outcomes in the Division of Environmental Science. Note that these are provisional pending approval.

Learning Outcome (what

students should be able to do) Where Addressed in the Program

How Assessed

1 Assessment Results (see following narrative)

Response to Results (see following narrative)

1. Demonstrate knowledge of fundamental concepts in Chemistry, Biology, and Physics. Chemistry concepts should include nomenclature, stoichiometry and reaction dynamics, acid-base reactions, and redox. Biology concepts should focus on organismal biology, evolution, and ecology. Physics concepts should focus on Newtonian mechanics.

EFB 101, 102, 103, 104, 320 FCH 150, 151, 152, 153 PHY 211, 221, 212, 222

A. Distribution of mean performance of Env Sci students in three required courses, EFB 101 and PHY 211, as measured by final grades as well as mean scores on the American Chemical Society General Chemistry Full Year Exam. B. Performance on components of comprehensive exam (administered in ESC 494, Environmental Science Senior Synthesis Seminar) that relate to courses. C. Demonstration of understanding of fundamental science concepts in Senior Synthesis project.

These assessment methods will be applied to students for the first time in the Fall of 2012.

Revised performance tracking in relevant courses and introduction of new course, ESC 494, Environmental Science Senior Synthesis Seminar. A pilot version of this course was taught spring 2011 and will be revised and taught again each semester.

2. Demonstrate knowledge and application of basic and applied mathematical concepts necessary for the description of scientific concepts, specifically integral and derivative calculus, descriptive statistics, and the basics of performing and reporting statistical tests

APM 105, 106, 391 A. Distribution of mean performance of env Sci students in two required courses, APM 106 and APM 391, as measured by final grades B. Performance on components of comprehensive exam (administered in ESC 494, Environmental Science Senior Synthesis Seminar) related to calculus and statistics. C. Demonstration of statistical competency in the analysis of data in Senior Synthesis project.

As in 1 As in 1

3. Effectively communicate scientific concepts, observations, and experimental results orally and in writing.

EWP 190, 290, 405, ESC 494

A. Distribution of mean performance of Env Sci students in required EWP (190, 290, 405) as measured by final grades. B. Performance of students on final paper (project proposal) in EWP 405 (evaluated for style and effectiveness of communication) C. Performance of students on final written and presentation requirements for senior synthesis project in ESC 494 course.

As in 1 As in 1

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4. Demonstrate ability to plan and execute research relevant to the student’s option area with faculty guidance.

EWP 405 ESC 496

A. Distribution of mean performance of Env Sci students in EWP 405 as measured by final grades. B. Performance of students on final paper (project proposal) in EWP 405. C.

As in 1

As in 1

Option area specific outcomes:

Environmental Information and Mapping: Demonstrate ability to collect, analyze, display, and interpret spatial data obtained via historical maps, surveying, and remote sensing techniques,

ERE 371, 365,551, ENS 519, ESF 300, GEO 381,

A. Distribution of mean performance of students in ESF 300, ERE 365, and 371 as measured by final grades. B. Performance of students on final written and performance requirements for senior synthesis project in ESC 494 course, evaluated for demonstration of content mastery.

As in 1 As in 1

Health and the Environment: Demonstrate mastery and application of fundamental concepts in microbiology, genetics, anatomy, and physiology and their role in ecosystem function and animal (including human) health..

EFB 103, 104, 303, 307, 308, 385. 462

A. Distribution of mean performance of students in EFB 303, 307, and 462 as measured by final grades. B. Performance of students on final written and performance requirements for senior synthesis project in ESC 494 course, evaluated for demonstration of content mastery.

As in 1 As in 1

Earth and Atmospheric Science: Demonstrate mastery of major concepts in Meteorology, Oceanography, and climate science.

EFB 415, 524 FCH 399, 496 FOR 338

A. Distribution of mean performance of students in EFB 415, FOR 338, and FCH 496 as measured by final grades. B. Performance of students on final written and performance requirements for senior synthesis project in ESC 494 course, evaluated for demonstration of content mastery.

As in 1 As in 1

Watershed Science: Demonstrate knowledge of hydrologic processes on both local and global scales as well as the impacts of human activities on these processes.

EFB 415, FOR 340, 345, 441

A. Distribution of mean performance of students in EFB 415, FOR 340, and 441 as measured by final grades. B. Performance of students on final written and performance requirements for senior synthesis project in ESC 494 course, evaluated for demonstration of content mastery.

As in 1 As in 1

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1Performance standards are based on the average grade of Env Sci students in the indicated outcome-focused embedded project or exercise, or

the final course grade (if the entire course focuses on the learning outcome). They are scaled as follows: F does not meet the standard; D, C- are approaching the standard; C, C+, B-, B meet the standard; B+, A-, A exceed the standard.

Renewable Energy: Demonstrate knowledge of methods of renewable energy generation and ways of increasing efficiency of energy use as well as an understanding of energy markets especially in relation to renewable energy.

ESC 325, 335, 422 BPE 441

A Distribution of mean performance of students in ESC 325, 335, and 422 as measured by final grades. B. Performance of students on final written and performance requirements for senior synthesis project in ESC 494 course, evaluated for demonstration of content mastery.

As in 1

As in 1

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Progress on Objectives for 2010-2011

Office Renovations Mailboxes for GPES students and shelf units for display of student projects, theses, and dissertations fabricated by Physical Plant were installed at the end of the Spring 2011 semester.

Proposed BS in Public Health Dr. John Castello, EFB, chaired a committee to develop a B.S. in Public Health, designed for accreditation by National Environmental Health Science & Protection Accreditation Council (EHAC). The two-year process was completed and the resulting proposal was approved by the COI in its last meeting. The B.S. in Public Health trains students interested in the intersection of human health and the physical environment. More specifically, this program focuses on analysis, prevention and mitigation of potential environmental hazards (biological, chemical, physical). This program prepares students for (a) employment in private industry, government agencies, and non-governmental agencies concerned with pollution abatement, protection of public health, and research in health science or (b) advanced study in the science of environmental health or the allied health professions. It takes advantage of the depth and diversity of expertise in environmental science at ESF.

Updating of Environmental Science Advising Manual and GPES Handbooks Revisions to undergraduate advising manual and to the GPES handbooks (MPS, MS, PhD, ENRP) were completed in July 2011. New manuals and handbooks will be printed in August for distribution at the beginning of Fall 2011.

Official Recognition for Option Areas Each of the Option Areas convened during Spring 2011 to update recommended and required courses. That information was incorporated into the updated advising manual and into the college catalog, and serves to initiate our move to officially recognize these on the transcripts. In addition, plan sheets are being simplified to reduce advising difficulties.

Improve the Senior Synthesis Two new courses, which will be required for all students, were approved by the COI at the end of Spring 2011 semester: Capstone Seminar (ESC 494) and Environmental Science Capstone (ESC 498). The former, planned for Spring 2012, will formally assist students with identification of a senior project and insure development of a realistic time line for completion. The latter, delivered experimentally in Spring 2011, focuses on analysis and summary of data in addition to preparation and presentation of the final report. Both courses are modeled after corresponding courses currently offered in the Renewable Energy option area. This pair of courses is intended to reduce workload of cooperating faculty advising students carrying out their senior synthesis projects and to provide a greater degree of quality control over the projects.

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Appendix

Budget The Division budget of $6,000 provides for copying, a graduate and an undergraduate reception each semester, graduating student and guest reception, and partial support for attendance and participation in the annual meeting for Environmental Science programs. Initial new office start-up costs (furniture, computers, photocopy and fax machine, printers, etc.), covered by the office of the Provost, are NOT included in this figure. As we close on the fiscal year, it appears that the entire sum will be spent. I request an increase of 10% for a total of $6,600. Given the recent call to show where the budget can be pared by 10%, the reduction would leave Environmental Science at $6,000. There is a second component of the budget detailed in the new request below. I am requesting additional funding ($10,000) to support undergraduate research. One of the signature components of the program is the senior synthesis requirement. Often this involves the proposal, design, execution, and reporting of the results of a research project in cooperation with a faculty mentor. While individual faculty members have been generous with their time and lab support, this has placed an unfair burden on participating faculty. Lab supplies and analytical costs incurred are borne by the faculty at the expense of their funded research projects. These costs begin to add up and serve as a deterrent tp participation in Environmental Science, especially for faculty members with multiple students. A pool of funds to support undergraduate research would solve the problem. Students would be required to submit a proposal complete with a budget to apply for support. This would remove the disincentive for active faculty to participate in Environmental Science, themselves constrained by reduced budgets. The $10,000 request is based on an estimate that the average senior would consume $200 of lab analytical and hardware costs. The incoming freshman class is 52 students. As they proceed towards their endpoint, 50 seniors should emerge in 4 years.