ECO-EVOLUTION
University launches world's first School of Sustainability
AASU’s focus on encouraging sustainable development reached another milestone in October, when the university announced that it would establish a School of Sustainability, the first such school in the world.

The school is one outgrowth of ASU’s sustainability initiative, referred to as the Global Institute of Sustainability, which was initiated just two years ago with help from a $15 million planning investment from philanthropist Julie A. Wrigley.

The new school, which has already begun enrolling students, will offer bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in sustainability. Within five years, the school expects to have 450 undergraduate students and 50 students each in its master’s and doctoral degree programs. The ground-breaking curriculum for the school builds upon an existing base at ASU that includes 300 courses, 80 degree programs and 170 research projects that involve sustainability.

The school will tackle environmental, urban planning, public policy and other related questions from a variety of angles. Among the areas slated for research are investigations into water use and conservation, sustainable construction techniques and materials, the impact of rapid urbanization on undeveloped areas, transportation systems and alternative fuels, environmental health issues and the politics of ecology.
Many of the environmental challenges that Phoenix, located in one of the most complex natural environments in the world, faces today are ones that other cities in America and the rest of the world will confront in the next decade. Phoenix has doubled its population in the last 20 years to become the fifth-largest city in the United States. The population – and the area’s urban infrastructure – is expected to double again in the next 20 years.

ASU President Michael Crow, one of the driving forces behind the university’s sustainability efforts, asserts that the location of the university has been a catalyst for spearheading research in this area.

“Because this is the region doing so much building, we are the ones who have to figure out how to do it properly, and ASU has committed itself to being at the forefront of that effort,” Crow said.