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​Just in time for Earth Day, Jacksonville now has its first “green” college degree.

Jacksonville University has approved one of the few comprehensive Sustainability majors in the Southeast, part of a small but growing number of programs nationwide that encourage students to see how their personal choices can affect larger societal issues to help the environment and economy both thrive.

“We are going to get even busier guiding students to be prepared for the new economy,” said JU President Kerry Romesburg. “Our region has been hit hard by the recession, and novel approaches spurred by this Sustainability program are going to be needed so that businesses continue to grow.”

The new Bachelors of Science, Bachelors of Arts and Bachelors of Business Administration in Sustainability, which will begin this fall, will develop students’ abilities to make decisions that let complex social, economic and environmental systems work together to ensure each will flourish, said JU Sustainability Coordinator Marcel Dulay.

According to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, only about a fifth of all educational training programs in Sustainability offer a full Bachelor’s degree, and of those, only about 40 percent are at small colleges, offering a crucial niche for Jacksonville University.

“It’s preparing students so that they realize how in their daily lives they can behave, interact and work together to see how personal choices affect the greater world,” Dulay said. “Strictly from a business perspective, other countries are eating our lunch on this. How do we stay competitive and think outside the box to produce more efficiently and reduce costs?”

Whether something as simple as using recycled products on production lines to putting in place more complicated sustainable efforts, the Sustainability degree will take students beyond the “nuts and bolts” of traditional degrees and professions, he added. 
“Employers are asking for this and know they can affect their bottom lines in a positive way. The Googles of the world? This is the kind of prepared student they’re looking for,” Dulay said. “They are seeing that we sometimes need to go beyond only the classic degrees in business, science and humanities, and really get into a type of holistic training that brings out the highest critical thinking and flexibility.”

Interdisciplinary courses offered will include various subject areas taught by JU faculty, in sociology, mathematics, statistics, business, philosophy, economics, management, law, ethics and more.

The program will also have a community component focusing on experiential learning, as students work, for example, with JEA on energy conservation, the Navy on water quality issues or local non-profits on topics such as urban agriculture.
“JU is really leading the way on this. Lots of students stay here in the community upon graduation to help make it a better place, and now they will help create an even more prepared workforce to revitalize the city,” Dulay said. “It’s the students who have a different type of training, lots of new ideas and multiple lenses to look at the world who will be making the major decisions.”
 
For more information, contact Jacksonville University Sustainability Coordinator Marcel Dulay at cell: (512) 415-3144, office: (904) 256-7343, or mdulay@ju.edu.
4/20/2012 5:00 PM
  

​Jacksonville University’s Davis College of Business (DCOB) congratulates seniors Chris Garson and Brian Tye on earning the Zimmerman Family Scholarships for International Business. The scholarships are sponsored by Far East Brokers and Consultants of Jacksonville and the Zimmerman Family Foundation.

“We greatly appreciate the Zimmerman Family’s commitment to undergraduate international business education,” said Dr. Donnie Horner, director of the Davis Leadership Center.  “These generous scholarships not only provide great resources for deserving students, but also serve as testimony to the value of international business education in an increasingly global economy.”

Garson is a double major in international business and economics. He also co-founded Hatua International, a successful nonprofit organization feeding hungry kids around the world, with two other JU students.

Tye is also a double major in international business and economics. He is part of the men’s rowing team at JU.

The selection committee evaluated student nominations made by DCOB faculty. The criteria includes  undergraduate rising junior or senior majoring in International Business, 3.50 GPA or above preferred, with United States citizenship.  
 

6/28/2011 5:00 PM
  

​Jacksonville University’s Davis Aviation Center in the Davis College of Business (DCOB) is thrilled to announce that Senior Leah Hetzel and Sarah Morris ’10 have done what no other university team has ever accomplished as they finished first in the 2011 Air Race Classic, the all-women transcontinental national air race.

Hetzel and Morris not only beat out the 11 other participating collegiate teams but they also bested all 50 teams made up of the top female pilots in the nation. Forty-three teams finished the race. Hetzel and Morris discovered they had won at an awards banquet yesterday, June 26 in Mobile, Ala.

“This is pretty incredible,” said Hetzel. “We just kept jumping up and down and screaming when we found out we were number one. And then hearing that we were the first collegiate team to do it was just amazing.”

The win was especially rewarding to the pair who had competed in the Classic only a year ago and finished 14th out of 51 teams.

“We were a lot more comfortable and confident this year,” said Morris. “We applied more of what we learned in class and studied the actions of the previous winners.”
Hetzel and Morris did, however, run into bad weather as half the race was cancelled due to storms. The race, which was supposed to begin in Iowa City, Iowa, was relocated to Alliance, Neb. They finished the race in Mobile, Ala.

Hetzel and Morris say that they hope to see more women aviation majors from JU enter the contest, where they will be ready to pass on all of their secrets and tricks for success.

“I am so proud of these two women,” said Dr. Juan Merkt, director of aviation. “Their professionalism and dedication to learning and excelling in their craft are what make these two true winners. I would also like to thank our sponsors: Aerosim Flight Academy, Michael McKenny, the JU Aviation Advisory Board and our Women in Aviation Chapter who have made this historical accomplishment possible.”

Hetzel will be graduating this summer with her degree in aviation management and flight operations after completing one of the most sought-after internships with Delta Air Lines. She is the former president of JU’s Women in Aviation chapter and the founder of JU’s highly successful “Women in Aviation Speaker Series.” She is also a member of Alpha Omicron Alpha Aeronautical Honor Society, the national organization dedicated to recognizing student leaders and promoting safety among collegiate flight programs. Her career goal is to become an airline pilot.

Morris graduated summa cum laude this year also with a degree in aviation management and flight operations. She was named the 2010-11 top Aviation Management & Flight Operations and DCOB senior and received the President’s Award for Outstanding Leadership for her academic, leadership and service accomplishments. She was co-captain of the JU Flight Team and became the nation’s top scoring female at the 2010 National Intercollegiate Flying Association's (NIFA) Safety and Evaluation Conference (SAFECON).  Morris plans to earn her FAA Airframe and Powerplant license and use her aviator and airplane maintenance skills to become a missionary pilot.

For more information about Air Race Classic, visit www.airraceclassic.org, and to learn more about JU’s Davis Aviation Center visit us at aviation.ju.edu.

6/27/2011 5:00 PM