By
Collette M. Hopkins and Trevor A. Turner
Role
of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) began life
in the years after the Civil War as private institutions of higher
education established by black and white citizens with the help
of the Freedman’s Bureau and church agencies such as the
American Missionary Association and the Freed Men’s Aid Society
of the Methodist Church. Their mission was to serve the newly
enfranchised African American population through the preparation
of teachers and pastors and the provision of industrial and agricultural
skills. As racial apartheid became the official policy of the
southern states following Reconstruction and educational institutions
became subject to the so-called “separate but equal doctrine,”
states established colleges for “colored” students,
such as Tuskegee University, established in 1881 by the State
of Alabama, and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
(FAMU), established in1887 by the State of Florida; or they converted
private schools into state institutions, such as Lincoln University,
established in1877 by enlisted officers and men of the 62nd and
65th Colored Infantries and taken over in 1879 by the State of
Missouri, and Lincoln Normal School, established privately in
1867 in Macon County, Alabama, which became Alabama State University
in 1887. Today, there are over one hundred HBCUs still serving
primarily the higher education needs of the African American population
but whose doors are increasingly being opened to a student body
of all races and ethnicities.
Environmental
Literacy and Environmental Intelligence in Institutions of Higher
Education
While the main concern of this paper is with the treatment of
the environment in HBCUs, it is well to consider the status of
these studies generally in higher education. There is evidence
that in a few universities environmental studies have been widely
embraced with a strong institutional commitment driving instructional
activities in the field. In others, research and teaching in the
field are sporadic activities undertaken by a few committed individuals
who may happen to have access to funding and facilities to support
their efforts. But in most institutions of higher education the
environment and, more formally, environmental studies have yet
to appear at the table where instructional priorities are being
considered.
Despite
their visibility in the deliberations at the level of national
policy-making and in the political debates in some states, environmental
issues have not generated the burning interest in academia comparable
to concerns over standards and accountability in education or
application of technology in professional studies. Dangers to
the human condition posed by mistreatment of the environment are
enough to occupy the attention of academics in a variety of disciplines
- the physical sciences, engineering, education, sociology, business
administration, and political science. But while threats to the
environment are admitted, their impact does not have the immediacy
to raise the concern of the faculty in these fields to the level
of commitment to action. In some cases, solutions to environmental
problems are seen as the responsibility of agents other than members
of academia, or while teaching about the environment may go some
way towards raising general awareness of the issues, it is not
perceived as a viable solution to environmental problems. The
pressing demands of other priorities such as accreditation issues,
or improving the technological infrastructure of the institution,
or meeting the challenges of newstandards and cries for accountability
make it less likely that the administration and faculty of institutions
of higher education will give extensive consideration and on-going
commitment to the cause of environmentalism.
Occasionally,
a lone individual on a campus may try to give leadership to the
incorporation of environmental studies into the curriculum or
environmental principles into campus buildings or campus purchasing.
However, instead of seeing the necessity to lend support to a
cause requiring inter-disciplinary collaboration, other faculty
may quite simply label the individual as their ‘resident
expert’ in the field and, in the climate in which research
in higher education is conducted, leave the field to the specialist
while ignoring the holistic nature of the discipline.
Differentiating
Characteristics of HBCUs with Respect to Environmental Studies
HBCUs share with other institutions of higher education a general
indifference to environmental studies. But there are some conditions
that characterize HBCUs that should encourage them to take a stronger
interest in the field. The population served by HBCUs is to a
great extent the urban population of African Americans. It has
been shown that this population, compared with other ethnicities,
is more negatively affected by environmental hazards. African
American children in urban areas suffer disproportionately from
asthmatic conditions aggravated by air pollution in the cities.
Older African Americans are similarly disproportionately affected
by hypertension partially caused by living in the stressful social
and physical conditions of inner cities. But it is not only in
the urban centers that HBCUs find their communities negatively
affected by environmental conditions. The quality of life of African
Americans in rural areas is also severely degraded by the placement
of landfills and establishment of industrial estates in or close
to their neighborhoods.
It
would normally be expected that issues such as these would have
high priority in the academic agenda of HBCUs. However, the low
visibility of environmental concerns in these institutions could
be due to the other differentiating factor affecting HBCUs: their
relative lack of resources to go beyond conventional preparation
of students in existing degree and certificate programs. Of the
107 HBCUs currently in operation, only 6 are listed among the
610 colleges and universities surveyed by the National Association
of College and University Business Officers in 2001 with endowments
of over $1,000,000 and only 4, Howard University, Spelman College,
Morehouse College and Hampton University, have endowments of over
$100,000,000. No HBCU appears among the top 100 institutions earning
federal government research and development funds in 1999 and
2000. HBCUs depend heavily on student tuition for operating funds
and have little discretionary funds available to develop new programs
or encourage research in environmental issues.
Even
if the administration of these institutions states a commitment
to the incorporation of environmental studies into the curriculum
of the college, resources to support the commitment are very scarce.
Faculty members with an interest in environmentalism are therefore
left to depend on their own efforts to secure supporting funding.
If they are fortunate enough to obtain funding from a foundation
or government to help in the development and implementation of
a program in environmental studies or to support research activities
in the field, the program or research is likely to die when the
funding runs out or if the faculty members should leave the institution.
Highlights
of Environmental Instruction in HBCUs
Despite the disappointing movement towards environmental studies
in HBCUs, there are a few encouraging signs that progress is being
made and that points of light exist that can with some help expand
into a much brighter picture. A study done of 56 HBCUs shows that
a foundation exists on which further work can be built. Of these
institutions, 15 (27%) offer a major in environmental studies
and of these, 6 offer both a major and a minor in the field. An
additional 3 state that they have an environmental studies program
without offering either a major or minor. Environmental courses
were more popular, with 42 (75%) stating that they offered such
a course. Similarly, undertaking special projects in environmentalism
was also quite popular among these schools with 38 (67%) having
such projects in place. Although only 21 (37%) have established
environmental clubs and organizations for students, there is obviously
some work underway in a few of these HBCUs that can serve as a
model for others.
Enhancing
the Work at HBCUs
It is clear that the work of moving forward environmental studies
in HBCUs cannot be left to chance or to the individual efforts
of well-intentioned faculty. Like the development of all interdisciplinary
programs, establishing environmental studies as a viable program
will demand the attention and efforts of the administration and
faculty across departments. Several factors will have to be considered
in order to ensure effective implementation of such a program.
The following are some of the more critical:
The Crowded Curriculum
A major factor mitigating against the implementation of new programs
is the perception that the curriculum is unduly crowded and there
is no room for additional courses or programs. At the undergraduate
level, colleges are increasingly facing criticism of the length
of time required for completion of programs. Institutions of higher
education are mindful of their mission to educate and to give
a distinct identity to their graduates. This identity may be built
on a particular worldview or on the perception of oneself as an
integral part of a group, community, or ethnicity. To do this,
they develop a general or core curriculum that is mandatory for
all students.
On
the other hand, the professions for which students are being prepared
are also increasingly demanding that students be exposed to a
wider array of information, skills and dispositions that should
make them more effective on the job. Teachers-in-training, for
example, must now know not only the subjects that they are to
teach and the pedagogy related to the particular subject, but
also the legal and ethical issues impacting their work, how to
communicate with parents and the public especially in environments
characterized by ethnic diversity, and the effective application
of computer technology to instruction. Preparations for other
professions similarly require attention to more than the core
aspects of the profession and demand inclusion of legal and ethical
issues, communication with the media and the public, and technological
applications.
Between
the demands of the general core curriculum and the requirements
for professional preparation there is little room left for additional
interests. The more effective approach to this problem taken by
curriculum developers is that of infusion of additional concerns
into the existing curriculum. But infusing environmental studies
into existing curricula will not be as simple as adding more information
to a biology class. It will require the collaborative effort of
faculty across disciplines for development and implementation
of an effective environmental studies program with its interdisciplinary
ramifications.
Promoting
Faculty Collaboration
While faculty members acting individually may incorporate themes,
concepts and information on environmentalism into their courses,
experience has shown that it is almost impossible to get environmental
studies accepted as a program approved by a faculty senate and
offered consistently across departments without the support of
a critical mass of faculty. Mobilizing the faculty means responding
to their needs for career advancement, resource support, and peer
recognition. They will want to know if supporting an infusion
of environmental studies into the curriculum will increase their
workload; provide opportunities for research; bring access to
funding sources; or be an additional demand on already scarce
resources.
These
issues are even more critical for faculty in HBCUs where resources
are distinctly more limited but the pressure to publish in refereed
journals to support applications for tenure and promotion are
no less intense than in other research universities. HBCUs will
have to develop innovative organizational structures for the use
of faculty time and find creative ways of financing these structures
to be able to encourage the collaboration among faculty needed
for successful environmental programs. Funding can be sought for
the establishment of institutes or centers to which faculty can
be attached as research fellows for development of interdisciplinary
programs such as environmental studies.
HBCUs
should also consider the law of comparative advantage in developing
structures and programs for environmentalism and seek to establish
partnerships among themselves for the most efficient use of their
limited resources. Consortia of colleges can teach courses in
different aspects of environmentalism using faculty expertise
that exists among them where a single college acting on its own
could not afford to do so. Current developments in communications
technology facilitate this sharing of expertise through websites
and online instruction.
Definition
of Environmental Studies
One of the difficulties faculty members are likely to face in
any effort to develop a program of environmental studies is the
question of meaning in environmentalism. Curriculum development
consists of a set of choices of content, sequencing of information
and methodology. Limits have to be placed on the amount and type
of information that can be presented at any one level of education.
Interdisciplinary programs present special problems in development
because of the difficulty of placing limits on the information
that can be properly accommodated under their broad ambit. In
the case of environmental studies, disciplines from art to zoology
can appropriately be charged with responsibility to incorporate
environmental principles into their content. Decisions on limits,
balance and emphases in content for environmental studies can
only be made by faculty from different departments acting collaboratively.
For HBCU faculty, such decisions would most likely be affected
by the particular environmental threats to the population that
they serve.
The
definition of environmental studies extends also to the extent
of infusion of such studies into existing curricula. An institution
may ask if there can be an environmental studies program without
it being a discrete, stand-alone set of courses serving as a major
or minor in a degree program. Or can an institution do justice
to the cause of environmentalism by simply adding modules on environmentalism
to existing syllabi or, even less, having the principles taught
only through examples used in instruction and in student assignments
and research papers?
Definitions
of environmental studies must also address the thorny issue of
values. Is a course in earth science that teaches the elements
of the physical environment sufficient as an example of environmental
studies if it does not raise issues of concern over the depletion
of irreplaceable natural resources, destruction of habitat, or
pollution of air and water? And is a course that raises such concerns
sufficient for environmental studies if it shows the problems
that are likely to flow from the mistreatment of the environment
for the mass of humanity but fails to go further and issue a call
to action through service learning, or earth day recognition or
some such educational capstone activity? Given the daily and immediate
environmental threats to the populations that they serve, HBCUs
must accept the concept of value formation through planned activity
as an integral part of any program of environmental studies that
they may develop.
Administrative
Commitment
It is generally admitted that proposed programs need the commitment
and support of administration in higher education for quick approval,
implementation and maintenance. Without commitment, proposals
may be given a sympathetic hearing but may simply be ‘tabled
for future consideration when resources may allow’, which
is usually a euphemistic way of dismissing the idea outright.
True
commitment from the administration for environmentalism must mean
therefore not just speeches from a president or provost in recognition
of Arbor Day or their presence at a conference or function celebrating
the environment. It must, more significantly, be demonstrated
not only through support of instructional programs but also by
way of activities that are directly within its area of responsibility
such as purchasing of supplies and equipment, construction and
maintenance of buildings and waste treatment. In purchasing, for
example, is the Purchasing Department mandated to “buy green”
such as purchasing locally grown produce for dining services,
or biodegradable utensils for use in campus dining events? Is
the copy paper purchased for use by academic departments and the
administration also biodegradable? Are vendors encouraged to use
easily biodegradable packaging materials in supplying equipment
and materials to the campus?
For
construction and maintenance of buildings, all institutions of
higher education need to look closely at buildings such as Oberlin
College’s Adam Joseph Lewis Center or Middlebury’s Bicentennial
Hall, which are the latest examples of sustainable design and
construction. For resource poor HBCUs especially, innovations
such as photovoltaic energy supplies, energy saving thermal walls
and floors, and water recycling, which are all present in the
Oberlin building, can serve as models for future campus construction.
Other examples of environmentally responsible initiatives in campus
waste management, transportation and landscaping abound. Cost
benefit and life-cycle analyses can show that funds can be saved
from these activities over the long-term. For HBCUs, this should
be a strong incentive to increase their commitment to environmental
action.
Developing
Ecological Literacy and Environmental Intelligence In HBCUs
Despite the formidable challenges faced by institutions of higher
education and HBCUs in particular in broadening understanding
of environmentalism on their campuses, the situation with respect
to threats to the environment is too desperate to be ignored.
But, like a journey of a thousand miles that begins with one step,
those who are committed to the work must be prepared to accept
small initial successes while keeping their eyes on the larger
and more distant prize. It might be enough at this stage in the
operation of HBCUs to work in courses and programs towards basic
understandings of the threats to the environment and acceptance
of the need to act at the individual level of the student and
faculty. However, planning must go on among the committed to deal
with those factors that block wider recognition of the need to
act and the lack of institutional commitment as defined here.
To
make the jump from ecological literacy to environmental intelligence,
HBCUs need a vehicle that can provide support while serving also
as a catalyst for change with respect to attitudes and dispositions
towards the field. This mechanism could be a center established
by a consortium of institutions and supported partly by external
funding. This center would serve as a point of data collection
on environmental issues and on the work of the HBCUs in the field.
It would thus serve as a tracking service on the progress being
made in extending the work. The center would also be the motivator
in pushing the work forward by disseminating information on a
constant basis through a website. It could also provide incentives
to keep the work moving forward by offering recognition to those
institutions that were making a serious effort towards environmental
activism and modeling. Innovative methods of presenting environmental
studies could be tested through the center with research on existing
programs providing an on-going evaluation of best practices in
the field.
Dr.
Collette M. Hopkins is Associate Director for Partnerships for
the Research Center for Science and Technology at Clark Atlanta
University. She can be reached at CHopkins@admin2000.cau.edu.
Professor Trevor A. Turner is an associate professor in the department
of Educational Leadership at Clark Atlanta University. He served
as chair of the department for five years and as dean of the School
of Education for nine years, from 1992-2001. Dr. Turner can be
reached at trevorturner@attbi.com.
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