Center for Environment & Society at Washington College (Chestertown, MD)

General

• Mission:

The Center for Environment & Society (CES) at Washington College promotes interdisciplinary learning, research, and exemplary stewardship of natural and cultural resources. It endeavors to shed light on the reciprocal relationship between humankind and the natural world. Our primary mission is to support the integration of ecological and social values. Washington College is situated in one of the best-preserved communities in the United States, on the scenic Chester River on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

• History:

Established in 1999, the Center for Environment and Society grew out of a strategic plan that called for the College to take advantage of its location and access to the Chesapeake Bay. Under its inaugural director, Dr. Wayne Bell, the Center focused primarily upon issues of sustainable agriculture on Maryland's Eastern Shore, along with educational programs to enhance the College's environmental studies curriculum and to engage teachers in local school systems. In cooperation with archaeologists in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology, critical new data management and analytical technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), were brought to campus. (A fully-equipped GIS Laboratory, operated under the Center, now serves the entire campus and offers both coursework and research support.) Also in cooperation with archaeology, the Center acquired remote sensing equipment such as side-scan sonar, marine magnetometers, acoustic seabed classification systems and hydrographic survey software, giving the Center the ability to expand its focus from the land into the water.

The Center's current director, Dr. John L. Seidel, served as interim director in 2006 and was named director in 2007 after a national search. While the mission of CES has remained the same since its inception, its capabilities have expanded significantly since 2006. Programs have grown from regional agricultural sustainability and environmental education to include estuarine studies and benthic habitat assessment, the latter focus drawing the attention and interest of the National Park Service. Staffing has expanded and solidified, with the Center's modest endowment augmented significantly through the implementation of grant-supported internship and research associate programs.

The Center is also responsible for coordinating the Recycling Program on campus, which it took over in August of 2008. Prior to this, the Recycling Program was conducted purely on a volunteer basis, and serviced primarily the dorms on campus. Since 2008, the Recycling Program has expanded to service all academic and administrative buildings on campus, while continuing and expanding the service to the dorms.

The Center continues to give Washington College students the opportunity to understand fully the relationship between the human and natural environments and provide them with the technical knowledge, practical experience, and aesthetic perspective needed to advance that relationship for the benefit of future generations.

• Year established:1999

Registration

• Organization type:Grantseeker
• Country of registration:United States
• Year established:1999
• Tax Determination Letter:Received Determination Letter
• IRS Section:501(c)(3)
• IRS Subsection:None

Web Listing

• Guidestar listed:Yes
• Charity Navigator listed:Yes