The board of trustees approved a new Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability degree at its meeting Sept. 22. Classes will begin next fall.

The degree will be the first undergraduate degree housed in the Department of Urban and Public Affairs (UPA), which coordinates several master’s degrees including the new Master of Interdisciplinary Studies: Concentration in Sustainability that began enrolling students this fall.

“We have been working for several years to make this bachelor’s degree a reality,” said David Simpson, PhD, chair of UPA and of the university’s 60-member Sustainability Council. “I know that graduates of this degree will make a difference in their own communities and the world.”

UofL is leading the way in programs and education in sustainability, he said, adding that creating the degree “positions graduates to be thought leaders and solution seekers in the many facets of sustainability, from the environment to health, conservation and community quality of life, among many others.”

Simpson noted that UofL is the only university in the state to receive the top sustainability ranking from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher ����ֱ��, earning a gold STARS ranking earlier this year. In addition, The Sierra Club ranked UofL in the Top 50 of its 2016 “” (No. 43).

The new bachelor’s degree program will train students to research, identify, implement and monitor sustainable processes and systems. It is designed to prepare students for future careers in sustainability-related endeavors, including the environment, energy, climate change, public policy, transportation, and urban and regional planning. It will also serve as a well-rounded base to allow students to pursue graduate training in affiliated fields of study. The degree is designed as an interdisciplinary program and will require a minimum of 124 hours to complete.

The degree program proposal was based on models from other university programs, several years of discussion at the university among interested departments, and through the Sustainability Council. The Faculty Senate recommended the creation of the Bachelor of Arts degree in Sustainability during its May meeting, and the Council on Postsecondary ����ֱ�� 45-day review of the preproposal was completed on July 22.

The board approved the Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability program, which will train students to research, identify, implement and monitor sustainable processes and systems. Housed in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Urban and Public Affairs, the interdisciplinary program is designed to prepare students for careers in sustainability-related areas such as the environment, energy, climate change, public policy, transportation and urban and regional planning. It also will give students a solid base from which to pursue graduate training in related fields.

The board also approved the Center for Instructional and Behavioral Research in Schools. Building on existing work in the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development, the center will promote and fund research and community outreach to help prevent student failures in schools. Departments throughout the CEHD and other units across campus will focus on learning and behavioral disorders. Current work that will be absorbed into the center includes the Academic and Behavior Response to Intervention (ABRI) project, which supports thousands of teacher-student classroom observations, analysis from their work and instructional videos used in teacher training. It also includes the State Personnel Development Grant, which trains school personnel from across Kentucky in effective instructional strategies for students who are at risk of failing in reading and mathematics.

In other action, the trustees elected a new slate of officers. They are: Larry Benz, chair; Craig Greenberg, vice chair; Stephen Campbell, treasurer; Bill Summers, secretary.