http://www.jmu.edu/stewardship/

James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Madison Magazine - Summer 2009 - Index

DESIGNING
SUSTAINABLE
SOLUTIONS
JMU engineering focuses on sustainability BY BILL GENTRY
A
Another new program. Another rousing success.
JMU engineering enrolled its first class in fall 2008
with 120 students and expects the total number of
students in the program to reach between 300 and
400 in the near future, says Ronald Kander, director
of the School of Engineering.
Rather than splitting into separate departments that
address the subdisciplines of the engineering profession,
Kander says JMU’s single, integrated engineering
degree that focuses on sustainability, design and
systems analysis is educating and training “engineering
versatilists who can address the wide range of everchanging
engineering challenges of the 21st century.”
A German exchange student works on a joint project among
students in JMU’s Alternative Fuel Vehicle lab and rangers
from Shenandoah National Park.
Ron Kander, director
of the School of
Engineering.
Graduates from the
JMU program “will
improve the sustainability
of our world by participating
in projects in which
they analyze problems
and design solutions in
the context of technical,
economic, environmental
and social impacts,”
Kander says. “There is a
global shortage of engineers
that is growing
larger by the year. We need more
engineers, and we need more engineers
trained the way we are doing it
here at JMU if we are going to attack
the big problems of our society.”
Engineering at JMU is packed
with differentiating features that
“will give our graduates a competitive
advantage compared with traditional
engineering curricula,”
Kander says.
“JMU finds itself yet again with
another leading-edge, breakthrough
way of preparing students to handle
the challenges of tomorrow in significant
ways,” he adds. This is
done through hands-on lab experiences,
in-depth engineering design
experience and through an integrated
focus on sustainability and
sustainable design processes to integrated
business courses designed
specifically for engineers.
“We’re embarking on an exciting
and challenging new journey
that will redefine the meaning of an
undergraduate engineering education,”
adds Kander.
M
OTHER JMU
SUSTAINABILITY-
RELATED EDUCATION
PROGRAMS INCLUDE
MAJORS
■ earth science, B.A., a
geology major for future
teachers
■ geology and environmental
science, B.S.
■ biology, B.S., a new concentration
in ecology and
environmental biology
■ economics, B.S., a concentration
in environmental
and natural resource
economics
■ geographic science,
B.S., a concentration in
environmental conservation,
sustainability and
development
■ integrated science and
technology, B.S., concentrations
in environment
and energy systems
MINORS
■ environmental information
systems
■ environmental management
■ environmental science
■ environmental studies
MASTER’S PROGRAMS
■ forestry (B.S. in biology
at JMU and Master of
Forestry at Virginia Tech)
■ sustainable environmental
resources management
(JMU and University
of Malta)
CERTIFICATE
■ College of Business
Sustainable Business
Certificate
■ Stay tuned to www.
jmu.edu/stewardship
for a more in-depth list
of sustainability-related
education programs.
‘We need more engineers, and we need
more engineers trained the way we are
doing it here at JMU if we are going to
attack the big problems of our society.’
RON KANDER, director of the JMU School of Engineering
28 MADISON MAGAZINE
KANDER PHOTOGRAPH BY MIKE MIRIELLO (’09M); STUDENT ENGINEER BY DIANE ELLIOTT (’00)