Green Hands USA: America Volunteers

The School of Sustainability at Arizona State University (ASU) continues to enroll students committed to preserving the earth at a rapid rate.

The School was established in 2007 and by fall 2008, 27 students had enrolled. Within just a few years, the total number of students pursuing degrees in sustainability has skyrocketed to 544. Enrollment is growing, as more and more students and employers are interested in sustainability. Students can pursue a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree in sustainability and may integrate their master's degree with Peace Corps service overseas. A minor in sustainability and concentrations in sustainability are also available to undergraduate students across the university.

The School’s mission is to bring together multiple disciplines and leaders to create and share knowledge, train a new generation of scholars and practitioners, and develop practical solutions to some of the most pressing environmental, economic and social challenges of sustainability—especially as they relate to urban areas.

The School takes a multidisciplinary approach in its curriculum and addresses a broad spectrum of global challenges. Among those studied are: energy, materials and technology; water quality and scarcity; international development; ecosystems; social transformations; food and food systems; and policy and governance.

The School is part of ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability. The Institute began in 2004 when Julie Ann Wrigley, a successful businesswoman and philanthropist, made a $15 million contribution to ASU in order to create the Institute. From that Institute grew the world's first School of Sustainability. Since then, the Institute has focused on studying the growth of cities and the related effects on the surrounding ecosystem. The Institute delves into water distribution, construction materials, alternative energy and air pollution.

Ms. Wrigley created the Institute because she cares about the world. She believes sustainability is everyone’s responsibility and that it will take a concerted effort to resolve. “At ASU, research is defined around the real needs of society,” Ms. Wrigley says. “This is one of the rare places in the world where we can solve these problems and do it cohesively. We can create the ideas and provide the solutions on an ever-enlarging scale."