University of Waterloo Faculty of Environment
| Faculty of Environment | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1969 |
| Type | Faculty |
| Academic affiliation | University of Waterloo |
| Location | Waterloo, Ontario, Canada |
| Dean | Jean Andrey [1] |
| Website |
uwaterloo |
The Faculty of Environment is one of six faculties at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
The faculty was established in 1969. During its 40th anniversary at the start of the Fall 2008 term, its name was changed from Faculty of Environmental Studies to the current name, Faculty of Environment. The reason for the name change was because the faculty does more than just study the environment, and works towards "Smart, Green, Solutions", and that its professors and students are engaged in hands-on research projects across Canada and internationally. With the name change, the buildings formerly known as ES1 and ES2 have been renamed EV1 and EV2. Recently completed is a third building, appropriately named EV3. EV3 consists largely of the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED) and the School of Planning, as well as a lecture hall.[2] The newly constructed building is targeting LEED Platinum status.[3] In order to obtain this goal there are many green features. From a two-story high living wall to a constructed wetland that deals with wastewater to solar panels and energy efficient technology,[4] Environment 3 was built with sustainability in mind.
There was some student resistance with this name change, which came in the form of disagreements whether there should be a "the" in the new name, and problems with the commonly used 'ES' abbreviation throughout the Faculty. This was rectified by changing the meaning of 'ES' from 'Environmental Studies' to 'Environment Students'. The new abbreviation for the faculty is ENV or EV.
Programs
The faculty has grown significantly since its establishment, having become one of Canada’s largest centres for environmental research and teaching.[5] The Faculty offers undergraduate and graduate programs in:
- Environment and Business
- Environment and Resource Studies
- Geography and Environmental Management
- Geography and Aviation
- Geomatics & Computer Science
- International Development
- Knowledge Integration
- Urban planning
- Local Economic Development
- Tourism Policy and Planning
Currently matriculating 1,100 undergraduate students, 200 graduate students, and 50 faculty members, the Faculty is growing in both undergraduate and graduate enrollment.
Co-op education, whereby students alternate 4 months in school with 4 month paid work terms in jobs relating to their program, is a major feature of the Faculty. Co-op students can graduate with nearly 2 years of paid work experience.
Departments and schools
The Faculty of Environment consists of:
- The Department of Geography and Environmental Management - encompassing the Geography and Environmental Management, Geography and Aviation, and Geomatics programs
- The Department of Knowledge Integration
- The School of Environment, Enterprise and Development encompassing the Environment and Business, International Development, and graduate-level Local Economic Development programs.
- The School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability encompassing the Environment and Resource Studies program.
- The School of Planning
Research
The Faculty's research centres and groups include: Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change (IC3), Adaptation and Impacts Research Group, Ecological Restoration Group, Ecoplan China, Heritage Resources Centre, Parks Research Forum of Ontario (PRFO), Sustainable Energy Research, Transportation Research Group (TRG), Waterloo Laboratory for Earth Observations (WatLEO), and the Water Policy and Governance Group.
Student life
Students in the Faculty of Environment are represented by the Environment Students Society (ESS) which has many roles including event planning, student space improvements, management of a student coffee shop, and representing student interests on various boards within and outside of the Faculty. Additionally, all students pay into the Waterloo Environment Students Endowment Fund (WESEF) which has approved over $500,000 in student-led projects to improve student life.[6]
Each program within the faculty has their own student association that organizes social and academic events for students within the program, with the association presidents answering to ESS. These societies are:
- Environment and Resource Studies Student Association (ERSSA)
- Knowledge Integration Student Society(KISS)
- Waterloo Association of Geography Students (WAGS)
- Waterloo Environment and Business Students (WEBS)
- Planning Student Association (PSA)
- Student Association of International Development (SAID)
Rankings and reputation
SEED's Environment and Business program was ranked the top undergraduate business program in Canada for the third year in a row by Corporate Knights in 2010.[7]
References
- ↑ "Jean Andrey named Dean of Environment". Daily Bulletin. University of Waterloo. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ↑ "ENV3 | Faculty of Environment | University of Waterloo". Environment.uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ↑ "Environment 3 LEED® Platinum Certified | uWaterloo - Faculty of Environment". Uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
- ↑ Archived March 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Universities - forestry, Canada, careers, jobs, forest products, wood, paper, parks, trees, research, logging, sawmills, news, environment, professional associations". Canadian-forests.com. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ↑ "Waterloo Environment Students Endowment Foundation | University of Waterloo". Environment.uwaterloo.ca. 2011-01-14. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ↑ Corporate Knights. "High scores among sustainability leaders leave the majority of business schools in the dust | Corporate Knights". Corporateknights.ca. Retrieved 2011-01-26.