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06/09/09 Building upon its environmental mission, Chatham University forms the School of Sustainability and the Environment First degree program offered will be Master of Arts in Food Studies By Paul Kovach, Vice President for Public and Community Relations Eden Hall Campus of Chatham University Pittsburgh, PA - (June 9, 2009) … Chatham University announced the creation of the School of Sustainability and the Environment (SSE), further expanding the potential of its new Eden Hall Farm Campus in Richland Township, Pa. and honoring the legacy of alumna and environmentalist Rachel Carson. The new School will provide innovative, interdisciplinary education and research opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and professional students to better prepare them to identify and solve challenges related to the environment and sustainability. As proposed and approved by Chatham’s Board of Trustees, the School of Sustainability and the Environment will have at its core a focus on research and problem-solving. The University will draw upon its diverse undergraduate and graduate faculty as well as its outreach centers – the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship, the Pennsylvania Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy, and the Rachel Carson Institute – to develop academic and co-curricular programming. The School will interact with each of the University’s three Colleges, allowing undergraduates from its historic Chatham College for Women and women and men from the newer College for Graduate Studies and College for Continuing and Professional Studies to enroll in its programs. It will provide opportunities for the University’s nearly 2,200 current students to earn certificates and degrees through the master’s level. The University will engage in a search for a founding Dean to lead the School and will house the School’s operations at Eden Hall Farm Campus. The administration anticipates that the programs offered through the School will both attract new students and drive the Eden Hall Farm Campus’ master plan. The first program offered through SSE will be the University’s newest graduate program, the Master of Arts in Food Studies. “Chatham University’s commitment to the environment and environmental education, coupled with growth opportunities at Eden Hall Farm Campus, combine to create a unique and exciting opportunity to establish a nationally and internationally renowned program,” noted Esther L. Barazzone, Ph.D., Chatham’s president. “As environmental and sustainability issues continue to influence so much of daily life, it’s important that we prepare new leaders who will help to sustain the well-being of its human, animal and plant life for both current and future generations.” Master of Arts in Food Studies The Master of Arts in Food Studies is designed to provide students with a deep understanding of the issues surrounding food such as the environmental costs of food production and distribution, cultural issues, sustainability of communities, and safety of the food supply. “With the growing interest in sustainable food practices, our goal is to help students learn to anticipate changes in new food culture and develop solutions that are economically feasible, culturally and environmentally sensitive, and sustainable,” explained Laura S. Armesto, Ph.D., vice president for academic affairs. Classes will begin in spring 2010 at the Eden Hall Farm Campus and Shadyside Campus, and will include courses in Studies - with courses such as Agricultural Production Systems; Food Processing, Industrialization and Waste; Food, Sustainability and Health; Food and Culture; and a Capstone Project. Chatham and the Environment Chatham University emphasizes environmental awareness as part of its curriculum, including: • As a Charter Signatory of the Presidents Climate Commitment, Chatham has conducted an inventory of its carbon footprint and is developing ways to reduce its environmental impact. The Presidents Climate Commitment is a high-visibility effort to address global warming by garnering institutional commitments to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions, and to accelerate the research and educational efforts of higher education to equip society to re-stabilize the earth’s climate. • The University’s new Eden Hall Farm Campus in Richland Township will serve as a living laboratory where students will engage in a broad range of studies including programs aimed at improving the lives of women and addressing issues of environmental sustainability. Given by Eden Hall Foundation, the 388-acre Eden Hall Farm Campus establishes Chatham as the largest university campus with respect to acreage in southwestern Pennsylvania. • Sustainability is a part of the University’s curriculum and informs many of its academic programs including botany, environmental science, environmental studies, interior architecture, and landscape architecture. • Thirty-two acres of the University’s Shadyside Campus were designated an arboretum by the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta (AABGA, now known as the American Public Garden Association (APGA), in 1998). The arboretum maintains elements of Andrew Mellon’s estate designed by the renowned Olmsted Brothers and includes 117 different species of trees. • Chatham purchased the first hybrid police car in the City of Pittsburgh in 2008. The Toyota Prius patrols the Shadyside Campus. • Old cell phones are recycled through HopeLine, Verizon’s nationally-recognized domestic violence prevention initiative which provides unused wireless phones to organizations assisting victims of domestic violence. Obsolete computers are recycled through Senior Computer Associates of Latrobe, Pa. which refurbishes the computers and provides them to senior citizens and local school children in the greater Latrobe area. • To commemorate the 40th anniversary publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 2004, Chatham eliminated the use of chemical-based herbicides and pesticides on campus, and switched to toxic-free cleaning products. It also began purchasing ten percent of its power from alternative sources, and today purchases 15 percent from wind-generated energy. • Food waste from the University’s dining hall is composted by AgRecycle Inc. and cooking oil is recycled as biofuel. In 2009 Chatham recycled more food service organics than any other participating school in the national Recyclemania competition. About Chatham University Chatham University prepares students from around the world to develop solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. Every Chatham student – women in Chatham’s historic women’s residential college, and men and women in Chatham’s graduate programs – receives a highly individualized, experiential educational experience that is informed by Chatham’s strong commitment to globalism, the environment and citizen leadership. Founded in 1869, Chatham University includes the Shadyside Campus (the historic 39-acre campus and arboretum on Woodland Road and the nearby Chatham Eastside building) and the 388-acre Eden Hall Farm Campus north of Pittsburgh. For more information call 800-837-1290 or visit www.chatham.edu. ###

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