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University of Idaho Board of Regents Approve New Graduate Degree in Bioregional Planning and Community Design
April 17, 2008
MOSCOW, Idaho – The University of Idaho will offer a new graduate degree in bioregional planning and community design. Today at the State Board of Education meeting in Moscow, the university’s Board of Regents approved the new master's of science degree.
The distinctive graduate degree program blends many fields of study and is part of the university’s initiative focused on Building Sustainable Communities. The initiative includes outreach programs to engage faculty and students to assist communities with sustainable community planning and development. Twenty students will be in the program this coming fall. The initiative includes 40 assistantships to attract top-quality graduate candidates.
The initiative also includes a professional development program aimed at increasing the capacity of local elected leaders and professionals to plan and manage community resources for long-term sustainability.
“The initiative is critical to the University of Idaho and to the state for several reasons, including the fact that Idaho is one of the fastest growing states in the nation,” said Steve Hollenhorst, director of the program.
According to Hollenhorst, Idaho’s population increased 41 percent between 1990 and 2005, to 1.4 million individuals. By 2050, urban development is expected to double and suburban development is expected to quadruple, resulting in resulting in a loss of 4.5 million acres of ranch, farm and open-space land. Hollenhorst said community leaders and professionals will need the skills and knowledge to guide this growth in a sustainable manner that preserves and enhances Idaho’s rich cultural and natural resources.
”In addition, the University of Idaho’s statewide assets can help create and implement internationally recognized programs in planning education, service learning and community engagement, beginning here in the state,” said Hollenhorst.
The university’s Building Sustainable Communities initiative links faculty from many academic disciplines together with the university’s Extension program to address growth and development issues. Among the participating departments are architecture; agricultural economics and rural sociology; civil engineering; conservation social sciences; environmental science; geography; health, physical education, recreation and dance; landscape architecture; and political science. In addition, the university’s seven colleges, along with external partners around the state, will focus on bioregional planning and development.
“This approach considers the ecological functions and human settlement patterns of a region, builds more inclusive civic constituency, and emphasizes regional resources and energy sources in an effort to inform community and economic development policy and design,” said Hollenhorst.
The new master’s program will accept its first graduate students in the fall. For more information, call (208) 885-7448 or e-mail bioregionalplanning@uidaho.edu.
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About the University of Idaho
Founded in 1889, the University of Idaho is the state’s flagship higher-education institution and its principal graduate education and research university, bringing insight and innovation to the state, the nation and the world. University researchers attract nearly $100 million in research grants and contracts each year; the University of Idaho is the only institution in the state to earn the prestigious Carnegie Foundation ranking for high research activity. The university’s student population includes first-generation college students and ethnically diverse scholars. Offering more than 150 degree options in 10 colleges, the university combines the strengths of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. For information, visit www.uidaho.edu.
Contact: Sue McMurray, College of Natural Resources, (208) 885-6673, suem@uidaho.edu; or Steve Hollenhorst, Bioregional Planning and Community Design Program, (208) 885-7448, bioregionalplanning@uidaho.edu
SH/SM/TT-4/17/08-CNR
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