Under this initiative we will expand curriculum offerings to broaden and deepen student understanding of environmental problems and enhance their capability for development of solutions. We will critically review the existing ESM curriculum, identify curricular gaps, and develop a focus strategy for new hires that builds upon existing courses and core competencies in the department. We will hire two new tenure track faculty to strengthen our faculty. We will further develop our Departmental Honors program, incorporate more field experience in existing courses, and expand existing international courses to include graduate students. Existing departmental faculty and resources will be used for curriculum review, development of Departmental Honors, and modification of current courses. New resources will be required for new faculty hires to fill curricular gaps.

We will develop a Professional Science Masters degree that gives our students the professional skills necessary to achieve environmental science and management leadership positions in government, industry and other organizations. Working with our PSM advisory committee, we will identify the additional skill requirements for the PSM degree. We will survey existing PSU and OUS programs to identify potential courses that partially or completely fulfill the additional requirements. For those additional skills that do not have adequate existing PSU or OUS courses, ESM will develop and staff new courses. We will strive to make as many courses as possible available online or as "hybrid" courses with online and classroom components. We will also identify and secure internship opportunities in the private and public sectors for the PSM students to give them practical experience in environmental science and management.

The department will increase the quality of graduate education in ESM by: 1) developing peer mentoring among graduate students, 2) creating a database for internships and practicum opportunities; 3) providing new graduate student orientation; 4) holding an annual research colloquium to showcase student research; 5) providing opportunities for students to interact with faculty at organized events quarterly, 6) providing a research seminar in collaboration with the School of the Environment, 7) offering a research seminar course each quarter, 8) provide TA and RA salaries that are competitive and that provide an adequate level of support for graduate students, 9) increasing the number of TAs and RAs, 10) requiring weekly meetings of TAs and responsible faculty to ensure adequate support of TAs, 11) publicizing scholarships and travel awards, 12) providing international research and education opportunities.

We will increase external funding of research in ESM, including but not limited to sustainability research, by recruiting new hires in areas that are likely to be well-funded in the future, exploit unique opportunities, build on currently funded programs, and where current research capacity is limited. Potential areas include limnology, invasive species, urban agriculture and ecology, and ecosystem services management. Climate change is implicit in all research activities in the department and may be explicit for some new hires. New hires may be partial FTE tenure-track lines. All faculty will maintain a funded research program that includes graduate student or research assistant/associate support, or will write a minimum of two grant proposals each year. We will increase collaboration with SERC, USGS, and STRI. The department will average one peer-reviewed publication per tenured or tenure-track FTE each year. We will also provide mentoring support to tenure-track faculty.

We will increase retention and quality of incoming freshmen Env. Science and Env. Studies majors by increasing access to departmental advisors, maintaining an advising database and requiring regular advising appointments, providing new student orientation/welcome, attracting top quality students by targeting AP Environmental Science high school students statewide, providing opportunities for interaction with faculty and environmental professionals at intellectually stimulating, informal events year round, developing a mentoring program, encouraging membership in the student-run Environmental Club, and publicizing the Croy and Commoner Awards.

We will hire faculty that contribute to reducing university-wide time-to-graduation rates by increasing capacity in our popular lab-based Science in the Liberal Arts courses for non-science majors. The non-science BS students will have more access to science course specifically designed for them. Increased capacity in SLA courses will also reduce the number of non-science students who are inappropriately enrolled in course for science majors, which reduced educational quality for both groups.