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JMU - Be the Change - Environmental Stewardship

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Be the Change
Environmental Stewardship

Photo: No Drive Day JMU believes in sustainability, but it's not just a slogan. The university is leading a fundamental shift in thinking about our planet through the efforts of students, faculty members and alumni engaged in efforts to secure our environmental future. Spurred by a charge from JMU President Linwood H. Rose to pursue environmental stewardship, their collective efforts reflect Madison's heritage of educating students to become enlightened and engaged citizens, problem solvers, community leaders — to change the world.

The Stories ...

A secure future

JMU's Institute for Stewardship of the Natural World works for a secure future through environmental stewardship … Read More

Designing sustainable solutions

JMU's engineering program focuses on sustainability to address the wide range of engineering challenges of the 21st century… Read More

Madison's first eco-community

Madison's first eco-community The newly created Madison Eco-Community at Hoffman Hall is a unique experience for JMU freshmen with an emphasis on environmental stewardship and sustainability… Read More

Flowing by design

Flowing by design Guided by professor Wayne Teel and supported by the JMU-RMH Collaborative, ISAT majors Nicolas Jaramillo and Bonnie Tang designed a five-acre wooded wetland to filter water… Read More

The People ...

Carole Baldwin ('81)

Marine Biologist

Children and scientists alike dream of discovering new life on our planet. For Carole, dreams have become reality. Traveling far from her Washington, D.C., base in the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural … Read more
Dr. Christie-Joy Brodrick Hartman

Executive Director, JMU Institute for Stewardship of the Natural World

Christie-Joy "C.J." Brodrick Hartman is taking Madison beyond "green fads" with the formation of the university's Institute for Stewardship of the Natural World. As executive director of the program, … Read more
Dr. Dan Downey ('75)

Professor of Chemistry

Dan Downey knew what he wanted when he returned to his alma mater to teach -- the opportunity to champion the value of undergraduate research in the education of students in science and other … Read more
Shirley "Lea" Foley

JMU housekeeper and green advocate

You would be hard-pressed to find a more fervent advocate of the belief that one person truly can make a difference than JMU staff member Shirley "Lea" Foley. She credits her father with her interest … Read more
Dan Irwin ('90)

NASA researcher, community activist

A dedicated NASA researcher, Dan worked on the development of SERVIR, a system that helps scientists and authorities in southern Mexico and Central America identify sudden changes in … Read more
Blake Jones ('04)

Biologist, Hawaiian Endangered Bird Conservation Program

While Hawaii is known as an island paradise, unfortunately, it is also the endangered bird capital of the world with more than half of the native bird population having gone extinct. Blake Jones ('04) decided … Read more
Gordon Leisch ('56, '65M)

Retired Field Biologist

Gordon Leisch first noticed it as a teenager, when one of his favorite fishing spots on the Potomac River suddenly changed color and the fish stopped biting, sometimes for days. He traced the … Read more
Sonja Macys ('97)

Executive Director, Tucson Audubon Society

With more than just mankind's interest at heart, Sonja strives to change the world one natural resource at a time. "It wasn't until I began college at JMU that I developed a passion for natural resource conservation … Read more
Towana Moore

Associate vice president for business and practical environmentalist

How do you change a light bulb? According to JMU's associate vice president for business services, Towana Moore, you buy a curly one. Towana, along with her friend ISAT professor Maria Papadakis, is … Read more
Maria Papadakis

ISAT professor and sustainability educator

Maria Papadakis defines enthusiasm. Talk to her for two minutes and you'll understand that she is passionate about changing anyone and everyone's mind about environmental responsibility, especially with … Read More
Dave Rizzo ('83)

Forest Pathologist and Professor

Dave Rizzo, a forest pathologist and professor at the University of California at Davis, is trying to halt an epidemic that he has helped make a national priority. For almost 20 years, much of the former … Read more
Christian Schwantes ('10)

Changing the conversation about chemistry

Christian Schwantes wants to change the conversation about chemistry. "Science is becoming more interdisciplinary," says the senior who plans to be a research chemist, possibly in education. "Labs hire biologists, … Read more
Dennis Tracz ('78)

Entrepreneur, CEO of Barista on Demand

Dennis Tracz has a taste for coffee -- good coffee, that is. This entrepreneur is CEO and founder of Barista on Demand, a coffee company that only buys beans from growers who use sustainable … Read more