VERMILLION — At its meeting in early December, the South Dakota Board of Regents approved the formation of the Department of Sustainability and Environment at the University of South Dakota.
The new departmental designation focuses USD’s efforts to support undergraduate and graduate education in sustainability and strengthens the ability for faculty members to obtain programmatic grants to fund research and teaching activities. Broadly defined, sustainability is improving human well-being for current and future generations while enhancing the environment.  
Located in the USD College of Arts & Sciences, the Department of Sustainability and Environment currently offers bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees and a minor in sustainability as well as a minor in earth sciences. Pending Board of Regents approval in spring 2018, the department will also offer master’s and doctoral degrees.
“We’re excited about the new opportunities for USD students in this department,” said Meghann Jarchow, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biology who serves as program coordinator for the sustainability program.

Together with Jarchow, other full-time faculty in the department include associate professors Mark Sweeney, Ph.D., and Brennan Jordan, Ph.D., and instructors Jennifer Fierro, M.S., and Jeanne Fromm, M.S., all faculty members with the earth sciences program. Faculty from across the university will continue to be affiliated with the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Jarchow said.
Designation as a department gives sustainability studies greater clout when faculty members apply for grants to support research and programs related to teaching and outreach, Jarchow said. Formerly the only faculty member administering the sustainability program, she added that the new department faculty members will enhance the advising and guidance given to undergraduates studying sustainability.
Jarchow said she sees a bright future for the department. “I came here in the fall of 2012 to start the brand new undergraduate major in sustainability,” she said. “It’s really exciting that now, less than six years later, we have a thriving undergraduate program and we’re going to start a master’s and Ph.D. program. It’s fun to look back and see how far we’ve come.”

Photo:

Two USD students paddle a canoe in the Missouri River last summer as part of a sustainability study conducted by the school. On Tuesday, USD announced that it will form a new Sustainability and Environment department at the school to assist in the support of undergraduate education and to make it easier for faculty to obtain funding for research and teaching activities.

Photo courtesy of the University of South Dakota