The College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology will be introducing a sustainability minor this fall, featuring courses from many different colleges in order to increase student interest in the program.

Darwin Boyd, assistant professor in the College of Technology, hopes that this will entice students from numerous colleges.

“Students from outside of our college can learn about sustainability and how it applies to their field of study,” Boyd said.

The interpretation of sustainability varies with each focus it is applied in, but Boyd has his own view.

“Sustainable development is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” Boyd said.

Courses from more than six different colleges will be offered in the minor. Some of the courses in the 19-credit minor include Introduction to Entrepreneurship, Principles of Microeconomics and Sustainability of Fashion.

“You would not think sustainability has to do with fashion, but it does,” said Roberto Uribe, director of the minor and professor in the College of Technology. “Sustainability relates to most things.”

There are two courses required from the College of Technology, but students can pick the remaining 15 credit hours from a diverse collection. Many of these classes also fulfill Kent Core requirements.

“I am a managerial marketing major, and I am supposed to know about many things,” sophomore Keith Hart said. “The minor seems so broad that I could learn plenty.”

Hart is not the only one that recognizes the program’s potential. The Industry Advisory Board within the college said they wanted to see sustainability from students because it has a need for businesses.

Sustainability Director Melanie Knowles feels that students in the minor will be able to create stronger relationships with future customers by incorporating social justice and environmental health.

“We can get students to look at the relationships between things because we can benefit more broadly from that,” Knowles said.

The minor’s course requirements are available on the Kent State website.

Contact India Hines at [email protected].