Abstract
When Florida Gulf Coast University opened its doors to students in August 1997, a commitment to graduating ‘ecologically literate’ students had already been established. Faculty from across disciplines were courted to advance this endeavour. Nine months before the university opened, the Dean’s Council adopted the following statement as a guide for the development of programmes: We have made a commitment as a university to make environmental education an integral part of our identity. One of our university-wide outcomes is that all students will develop ‘an ecological perspective.’ A way to accomplish this perspective is to devise a course, or group of experiences, with an environmental focus that all FGCU students must complete, and in which faculty from all four colleges would be involved. Because ‘ecology’ applies to our total living space and interrelationships, human and natural, it is relevant to all our disciplines and professions. Thus an ecology course would touch on all nine of the university-wide goals and outcomes, and more. Students would not only be introduced to FGCU values, they would participate in them. (Dean’s Council 1997) To this end, FGCU requires all undergraduates to complete a course on sustainable development, called ‘The University Colloquium: A Sustainable Future’. To date, all students who have received an undergraduate degree from FGCU have taken this class. For the spring 2009 semester, 31 sections of Colloquium were offered, with 25 students per class, taught by 28 faculty members.