Collaborative for the Earth’s 2nd Town Hall Explores Academic Programs

Edmund Chang, professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS), is a faculty director of the new Climate Sciences major program at SoMAS, which aims to train students to understand aspects of climate change, atmospheric sciences, and the impacts on human populations and ecological systems. Photos by J.D. Allen.

Stony Brook University is ramping up its efforts to develop climate-focused academic programs and initiatives to prepare students for the workforce demands of a warming planet.

Faculty, staff and university leaders gathered at the Collaborative for the Earth's second town hall meeting on November 4 to discuss new program offerings and brainstorm additional opportunities for students, including engaging faculty mentors, creating interdisciplinary degree programs, and collaborating with climate-focused organizations. The event emphasized using faculty expertise and student engagement to develop new programs and initiatives.

A major focus of some recently approved programs is to prepare students for changes in their jobs caused by climate change.

"All of these companies have to think about the sustainability of their own businesses or what impact climate change might happen on their business. So, we are preparing students for real jobs, and we want to train students to have those skills," said Heather Lynch, director of the Collaborative for the Earth and endowed chair for ecology and evolution in the Institute for Advanced Computational Sciences.

Heather Lynch is director of Stony Brook's Collaborative for the Earth and endowed chair for ecology and evolution in the Institute for Advanced Computational Sciences.

Since 2022, new climate-focused academic program offerings include:

• BS/MPH in Climate Change and Human Health, an accelerated program at Stony Brook Medicine that aims to prepare students to tackle public health challenges arising from climate impacts, such as extreme weather and pollution.
• BS in Climate Sciences in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) that aims to train students to understand aspects of climate change, atmospheric sciences, and the impacts on human populations and ecological systems. In addition, SoMAS's Climate Solutionsminor offers a broad understanding of how climate change intersects with engineering, economics, business, social sciences, and human health.
• MS in Science Communicationin the School of Communication and Journalism (SoCJ) offers a climate communication concentration to prepare students to convey planetary and human impacts associated with climate change, with course offerings in Marine Conservation and Policy Program in SoMAS.

Lynch said there are opportunities to explore new academic paths to prepare students for careers in green finance and sustainable business practices.

Catherine Sherman, the assistant dean for University Honors Programs in the Division of Undergraduate Education, wants faculty to mentor honors students in climate-focused capstone projects.

Kevin Reed, Stony Brook's associate provost for climate sustainability and chief climate scientist at The New York Climate Exchange, said the university should aspire to cross-reference student interest and potential employment data to see how academic programs align with the experience and skills necessary for climate-focused jobs. "Sometimes that requires new programs, or not reimagining, but updating existing programs," he said.

"We need to get our act together in terms of engaging all our partners on campus," echoed SoMAS Dean Paul Shepson.

For example, Shepson said SoMAS is exploring whether to build from the BS in biology, which offers a specialization that focuses on how human and natural processes affect the planet's climate and how it responds to change, to offer a BS in environmental biology.

Catherine Sherman, assistant dean of the University Honors Programs, said there are also opportunities to revamp the Honors College curriculum to attract faculty mentors who can guide students on capstone projects related to environmental and social analysis.

Erin Kluge is a newcomer to Stony Brook, but in her role as the university's sustainability coordinator, she wants to help students connect to environmental activities across campus.

"Faculty will be working with students to maybe test driving different types of courses," Sherman said, adding that the mentor program has "intensive value" to both faculty and students.

Lynch said developing climate-focused academic programs will require cross-departmental collaboration. "We're going to have to pull together departments across campus to build these really interdisciplinary degree programs that meet the needs of the future workforce," Lynch said. Some ideas already in the works included creating a one-credit pop-up course, "Climate Change and You" available in spring of 2025, as well as more experiential learning and internship opportunities on- and off-campus.

In collaboration with the university, partnerships are forming to support students' professional growth.

The New York Climate Exchange, which Stony Brook was named an anchor institution in April 2023, is growing its staff and has offered internship opportunities to students to gain hands-on experience in climate research, Reed said. The nonprofit organization's expansion includes a new facility on Governors Island, currently expected to open in 2028, which will serve as a hub for collaboration between academic, corporate, and community organizations.

Lynch said she hopes that Stony Brook's climate-related academic programming exemplifies a forward-thinking approach that aligns with the urgent global need for climate action. As the university continues to integrate climate science into its broader academic offerings, she said it can inspire the next generation of leaders to be ready to tackle complex environmental issues.

"Addressing climate change is going to take a collaborative effort from all corners of Stony Brook," she said.

- Alexander Noll and J.D. Allen

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