Huxley alumni at 2010 reunion
1969 was an exciting, tumultous year in U.S. history. We were enmeshed in an unpopular war. There were demonstrations about issues ranging from peace, to civil and women’s rights, to the environment. Woodstock music festival celebrated the musical explosion that mirrored the social and political explosions of the 60s.
Meanwhile on the far NW coast in the mellow college town of Bellingham, Washington, one of the first Environmental Studies Programs in the U.S. was born. Huxley College, a new cluster campus of Western Washington University was established to host this program. Its namesake, Thomas Henry Huxley, vigorously defended Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution more than two centuries ago.
The story of Huxley College has been chronicled in Green Fire, written by author and assistant professor Bill Dietrich. Green Fire refers to the passion for the environment exhibited by Huxley students, faculty and its graduates. Although Green Fire is about Huxley, it is also emblematic of a worldwide passion for environmental stewardship that has grown exponentially in the past four decades.
When Huxley College first offered Environmental Studies, it was one of a handfull of colleges to do so. Middlebury, Williams and University of California, Berkeley were the others. Today, according to the College Board, 416 colleges in the U.S. offer Environmental Studies programs.* This is how the College Board describes this major: “Students of environmental studies use what they learn in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities to understand environmental problems. They look at how we interact with the natural world and come up with ideas for how we can prevent its destruction.”*
Green Fire author Bill Dietrich summarized well Huxley’s strengths: “What it (Huxley) does have is a consistent mission, to produce environmental problem solvers, and a quiet, persistent, unquenchable fire in its belly to make the world a better, more sustainable place. And for forty years, that has been quite enough.”
I was one of the relative few who majored in environmental studies at Huxley in the early 1970s. Back then, we did so purely to follow our passions. There were precious few environmental jobs or careers available. Despite the current down economy, there are many more opportunities in this field now. Given the host and magnitude of environmental issues that we face, there should be.
Over the years, the science component of Environmental Studies has been strengthened, giving students a better foundation from which to grasp environmental issues. Prior to coming to Huxley, I had taken two years of science as a Wildlife Biology major at University of Montana, which served me well. Now, as stated in Green Fire, Huxley has significantly increased its emphasis on science course work.
It gives me hope that today more students are majoring in Environmental Studies. One of my daughters is among them. Environmental Studies is not just a good idea, it is key to survival. Our very lives and the health of planet earth depend upon it. We need to keep the green fire burning.
Green Fire is available at Village Books and WWU Bookstore in Bellingham, Washington and Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Washington for $30. To order a copy contact Manca Valum at 360-650-6542 or at manca.valum@wwu.edu
* Source: http://www.collegeboard.com/
