There is increasing public awareness of the need to consider the environment when we think about our lives as citizens and as human beings.
What is our relation to the natural world? What should it be? These questions have no easy answers, yet exploring the issues raised can bring a richer understanding, one that may help us make wise decisions for our future.
To enable such exploration, Transylvania faculty from various academic divisions teach courses that allow students to fulfill a multidisciplinary environmental studies minor. Our relation to the natural world has many dimensions; to examine them more fully, we need to draw on work done in the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities.
This multidisciplinary minor is a natural complement to a number of majors. Focusing on environmental issues within a liberal arts context, it prepares students for a life of critical and informed reflection on the scientific, cultural, economic, and social issues related to environmental concerns.
Transylvania has a number of active student organizations and campus initiatives that promote a more complete understanding of the interrelationship between humans and our natural environment.
Transylvania's sustainability office strives to affirm sustainability as a core value of the university and integrate it into the intellectual and social life of students, faculty, and staff by encouraging participation in sustainable practices on campus and in the community.
The Transylvania community garden provides an immediate connection to the earth where students, faculty, and staff can get their hands dirty and experience growing their own food. The garden also encourages discussion of contemporary issues related to food politics, agribusiness, obesity, and public health.
The Transylvania Environmental Action League (TEAL) is a student-run organization dedicated to solving environmental issues in engaging, hands-on, and proactive ways; improving sustainability efforts; and educating the campus community about issues such as climate change, coal consumption, and environmental justice.
Transylvania University admits students regardless of age, race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, national origin, or any other classification protected by federal or state law or local ordinance.