Wharton creates new environmental major

An interdisciplinary Environmental Policy and Management Concentration was unanimously approved by the Wharton School faculty last week. The new concentration, which will be offered for the first time this fall, will include courses in risk analysis and management, environmental law, the role of government in the environment and decision processes. In addition, students are encouraged to take specific legal and environmental courses in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the College of Arts and Sciences. "[Environmental] interests go across?every conceivable discipline," said Paul Kleindorfer, professor of Operations and Information Management and co-coordinator of the new concentration. "Concerning environmental studies proper, there has been a very broad base of support across the Wharton School," he added. "And there's a growing interest in these areas?by people across the campus." The program, according to Wharton Vice Dean Janice Bellace, "may be unique in a business school," and will enable students to analyze environmental risk and determine how firms make decisions regarding environmental issues. The concentration was preceded by the formation of Two Shades of Green, a new Wharton undergraduate environmental club, which appears to have widespread student support. "I'm definitely planning on majoring in it," said Wharton sophomore Jit Sinha, co-founder of the group. "I think it's terrific that Wharton has taken such a big step forward in recognizing how important the environment is in business. Kleindorfer explained that all aspects of business are impacted by the environment -- from accounting to insurance to finance. The introduction of the concentration coincides with a new individualized environmental major in the Wharton graduate program which emphasizes interdisciplinary research, according to Bellace. The undergraduate curriculum for the concentration requires only four courses -- less than a minor in the College of Arts and Sciences. According to Kleindorfer, it will be evaluated by the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee every two years because many believe the lack of connection to a specific department will create organization and planning problems for the concentration. Kleindorfer and Howard Kunreuther, professor of Operations and Information Management, will be coordinating the program to insure that students receive effective advising and have prospects for employment opportunities. "There is a very strong group of faculty involved," Kleindorfer said of the 10 undergraduate faculty members interested in teaching in the concentration. "They each consider this a major part of their research." And students seem to agree with the concentration's importance. "Environment? permeates all areas of business," Sinha said. "The [administration] finally recognizes that there is widespread undergraduate support."