SAN RAFAEL ? One year after introducing the Green Master of Business Administration program developed from the now-closed New College, Dominican University is adding a Bachelor of Arts in Sustainable Communities beginning this fall.
Part of the Pathways program for adult learners at Dominican, the classes for the bachelor?s degree will be offered on weekends to accommodate the schedules of people already out in the work force.
The Green M.B.A. program began negotiations to move from New College to Dominican in 2004. After one year of study and one year of transition the move was complete in 2006, said John Stayton, instructor in the M.B.A. program who was instrumental in bringing the program to Dominican.
Then, when New College closed its doors early this year after being put on probation by its accrediting agency, Mr. Stayton immediately suggested that Dominican take the B.A. program as well.
?Because the program had a fully developed curriculum, it was important to move the program here quickly in order to maintain the intellectual capital,? he said.
Over the course of the spring semester, they transferred the staff and students.
Carol Venolia will be teaching EcoDwell-ing this fall. An architect and author, Ms. Venolia has spent the last 35 years involved in the eco design movement. ?Thirty-five years ago, I had to make it all up,? she said. ?I have a very different approach to how I look at the green movement,? she said.
?It all seems to be very product driven. If you get the right products, you will be green. How I look at it is how do you get your heat and light from the sun? How do you use your shade?? she said.
After 10 years of the program at New College, former students find themselves working in education, farming and city planning. One student from last year went to city planning in Fort Bragg.
?We are really looking at whole-systems thinking,? Ms. Venolia said.
Miriam Volat, an assistant professor in the program, studied international relations, environmental studies, plant biology and soil science.
?One of the underlying tenets is that it is a basic human right to be able to be nourished and to do so without having a negative effect on the planet,? she said. The program has one major, and students can choose between two concentrations, either EcoDwelling or EcoFood Systems.
Sustainable Communities got a lot of support from Dominican. Harlan Stelmach, director of humanities, and Arthur Scott, who manages the social and cultural studies program, were instrumental.
?This transition fits perfectly with the direction that Dominican is moving toward ? a more sustainable curriculum,? Mr. Stayton said.
?The timing was fortuitous,? he added.
There is now a ?suite of sustainability programs,? as Ms. Venolia puts it. In addition to the M.B.A. and bachelor?s program, there is a certificate program available to students who don?t need or want the more formal degree.
Larry Schwartz, the associate director of Pathways and graduate admissions, said that Dominican is aiming for a goal of 16 students. Pathways follows an adult-degree learning model where the students are required to be out of high school for six years. All they need are high school transcripts and an application. Currently there are roughly 230 Pathways students.
Mr. Stayton has been pleased with the enrollment numbers for the M.B.A. as well.
?It has exceeded both the expectations of Dominican and that of New College,? he said. There are more than 100 students currently in the M.B.A. program.
?There was a tipping point about three years ago,? he said. ?Businesses started to realize they needed to start to adopt green practices. We were well positioned to get people trained and have been growing quickly.?
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