Baird Fellows Program | Dickinson College

Baird Fellows Program

Honoring Excellence in Sustainability Through Academics and Service

Seniors from all majors and all academic divisions were invited to apply for candidacy as Baird Sustainability Fellows, a new college-wide honors program that was piloted in 2012-2013. The honor of Baird Sustainability Fellow, named for Spencer Fullerton Baird, a prominent naturalist of the 19th century, driving force behind the creation of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum, and Dickinson alumnus and professor, will be awarded to graduating seniors who have advanced sustainability goals on or beyond the Dickinson campus through excellence in scholarship and service.

Earning recognition as a Baird Sustainability Fellow is a two-stage process. Seniors apply to be a Baird Sustainability Fellow candidate. Seven applicants that met the rigorous standards of the honor, as determined by an interdisciplinary selection committee, were accepted to participate in the half-credit Baird Honors Colloquium. The Spring 2013 colloquium,  a team-taught, interdisciplinary course focused on Living in a World of Limits. In the 2013 colloquium, candidates explored questions about multiple dimensions of sustainability with Dickinson faculty and guest speakers Bill McKibben, David Orr, Michael Shellenberger and others, assemble portfolios of their sustainability work, and defend their candidacies to be Baird Sustainability Fellows. All Baird candidates that meet the high standards of this prestigious honor will be named Baird Sustainability Fellows.

Dickinson Announced Seven Members of the Class of 2013 as Baird Fellows

Courtney Blinkhorn, Environmental Science Major
David Dean, Political Science Major & Sociology Minor
Emily Eckardt, Women's & Gender Studies Major & Political Science Minor
Sarah Ganong, English Major & Biology Minor
J.J. Luceno, Integrated Community and Global Health
Giovania Tiarachristie, Sociology Major & Portuguese and Brazilian Studies Minor
Taylor Wilmot, Environmental Science Major

Selection of candidates, and award of the Baird Sustainability Fellow honor, are based on the following criteria:

• Attainment of advanced level sustainability competencies and dispositions through academic work, praxis and service.
• Completion of a substantial scholarly or service project of exceptional quality, significance and impact that is related to sustainability.∗
• Demonstrated leadership in advancing sustainability goals of a campus or community group.
• High scholastic achievement, as evidenced by a 3.4 or higher GPA.
• Character and behavior that exemplify the values of civic responsibility, environmental stewardship, social justice and global perspective.

For questions about the program and application process for this award, please contact:
 
The Center for Sustainability Education (CSE), Kaufman 190
Neil Leary, Director, learyn@dickinson.edu, 717.245.1954
Lindsey Lyons, Assistant Director, lyonsli@dickinson.edu, 717.245.1117

 DOWNLOAD THE  BAIRD SUSTAINABILITY FELLOWS PROGRAM SUMMARY AS .PDF