New School of the Environment opens in Sudbury

Morning North5:32Laurentian University's new School of the Environment

The programs in the new School of the Environment at Laurentian University don't share a roof yet, but the new school officially opens this afternoon. we spoke to its director, Brett Buchanan to get more details.

The director of the new School of the Environment at Laurentian University in Sudbury is a professor of philosophy.

Brett Buchanan said he has been working with biologists about the conservation of endangered species, and says this work fits into the field of environmental philosophy.

As for the new school, Buchanan said four existing programs and one new one will unite under the School of the Environment umbrella though the courses won't share a roof.

Buchanan said what's different is there will be more communication among faculty and students.

These programs are going to be undergoing revisions to try to complement and work off of one another a little bit better. It's also our hope to develop new graduate programming.

Buchanan said the bachelors degree that students earn won't change, however the document will cite the individual programs.

The programs are in environmental science (as well as a French version), environment studies, science communication and archaeology.

Buchanan said the hope for us down the line, maybe 10 years, maybe five to 10 years down the line is to share the same physical location.

The new school has 13 faculty members.