With sustainability appearing in Fortune and Time Magazines and the market for sustainable products growing rapidly, professors in the writing program are challenged to prepare their students for a green economy. Professor LeeAnne Kryder is taking on this task with a team of ten other faculty who will incorporate sustainability into their writing courses this coming year.
In order to support the faculty who will adapt their courses and encourage students to participate, Dr. Kryder has created a contest for the best Sustainable Business Plan, Promotional Materials and Project Proposal. All three categories have associated cash prizes for students, who can win up to $1,500. The deadline for submission will be in early April and the contest will be held in mid-May.
For many faculty, it can be challenging to redesign a course or introduce a new element such as sustainability without financial support. The funding, granted by The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF), enables faculty who were unsure about their participation to try it out. In fact, there has been so much interest that Dr. Kryder has expanded the courses that will be affected to include the Science and Technology, Accounting, Health Professions, Environmental Studies and Business writing courses.
Dr. Kryder believes sustainable business plans are essential in crafting the future business world and that we must engage students outside of the traditional environmental disciplines. Kryder said that although students are exposed to environmental problems in grade school, students often stop learning about the environment during later schooling years.
"People often see a dichotomy of making profits and preserving the environment. I try to create a harmony between the two," Kryder said. Even the business-oriented students become actively involved in the contest. "When students craft their own business and see what they can do with a little bit of thinking, the environmental problems we are facing become more hopeful," said Kryder.
Through this pilot program, Dr. Kryder has inspired several other writing program Professors to design sustainability programs and apply for The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) in the future. This ripple affect is expected to continue throughout the year and potentially result in new projects not only for faculty but for business and writing students themselves.
Although the traditional businesses economics students may not be fully aware of the environmental problems the world is facing, Dr. Kryder believes explaining the need for sustainability inspires even the most business-minded students to think of issues other than profit. "Sustainability enlarges from the environment and recognizes that people are a part of this environment. We can be successful and not be anti-environment. When we got the TGIF grant, there was an incentive for my colleagues to try this project out," Dr Kryder said.