master of arts in sustainability Leadership

www.claremontlincoln.edu

The Master of Arts in Sustainability Leadership is aninterdisciplinary degree program that examines howorganizational decision-making and activities impactsociety, the environment, and the organizations’ ownprosperity – or the triple-bottom line of the neweconomy: people, planet, and profit. The program is designed to equip students with theknowledge and skills needed in the areas ofdevelopment, the natural world, and corporateresponsibility leadership, to assess and effectively leadsocially responsible organizational initiatives. Students will learn how to critically analyze issues inorder to develop and ethically communicate highimpact solutions that are sustainable.

program snapshot

Accreditation Program Length12 Months

Program Cost$18,000

Format100% Online

Global Change: Function as a socially responsiblechange agent in global sustainable contexts.Systems: Apply systems thinking to interconnectedfields of study addressing the challenges related tosustainability.Leadership: Incorporate sustainable practices to leadethically and responsibly.Communication: Demonstrate the engagement skillsnecessary to achieve clear and accuratecommunication for sustainability.Impact Analysis: Critically analyze data to developstrategic sustainable solutions.

Program Objectives:

*12 month courses: Full-time status (2 courses per term)must be maintained to complete the master's degree in 12 months.

"Solving problems cannot beaddressed until people of traditions

dare to work together."- Rev. Dr. Jerry Campbell, CLU President Emeritus

Sustainability relies on the interdependence of systems. Asan introductory course to sustainability principles andpractices, this course introduces systems theory and how it isa foundation for sustainability for students to understand theelements of systems, learning organizations, and howleadership traits can influence diverse environments anddecisions. Students will learn about sustainable developmentgoals (SDG), sustainable issues facing organizationalleaders, strategies to address and overcome challenges andcritique policies related to sustainability through ethicalleadership.

In this course students will gain a basic understanding of theinterdisciplinary study of environmental science.Environmental science encompasses many aspects ofsustainability including the “triple bottom line” of economic,environmental, and social policies. The scientific method,ecosystems, how human activities impact natural systems,biogeochemical cycles, how organisms interact within acommunity, and operating principles of sustainabledevelopment will be discussed.

Data is used to make predictions in a variety of fields includingsustainability and there is inherent uncertainty present inmaking probabilistic forecasts. Students will discover thechallenges that arise with data collection, analysis, anddistribution, including errors in predictive methods,assumptions of beliefs, biases, and how to address theseissues. Characteristics and traits shared by good predictors,various types of data, which measure should be used,communicating uncertainty, and efficient market hypothesisare also discussed to enable students to understand data,how to analyze to make successful decisions, and how tocommunicate findings effectively.

In this course students will develop an understanding of criticalEarth resource systems including biological, mineral, water,and atmospheric, and the interdependence of the variousresource systems (water, energy, minerals, and land). Theimpacts of resource use, critical factors for those resources,evolution of resource use by humans, the competition betweenagricultural needs and natural ecosystems, and waste streamson the environment are discussed. Students will evaluate theinputs required from each system to support other systemsthrough interdependence, evaluate environmental resourcevalues and impacts across systems, and the instabilities thatcan result from interdependencies of multiple, constrainedresource systems.

MSL 5301 Systems Thinking and Sustainability

MSL 5302 Environmental Science

MSL 5303 Data Analysis and Decision Making

Required Degree Courses:

MCC 5301 - Mindfulness

MCC 5302 - Dialogue

MCC 5303 - Collaboration

MCC 5304 - Change

Build the capacity for focused awareness andcompassion. Move from personal vision to sharedvision through critical and strategic thinking.

Craft creative solutions by drawing out and integratingother's ideas. Listen to understand and advocatewithout alienation.

Build sustainable change through teams. Creatediverse teams who can deal with complex problemsand resolve conflict.

Combine flexibility with insight to stay ahead of therapidly changing environment. Replace resistance tochange with an ability to "skate where the puck is going."

MSL 5304 Earth Resources

Analyze systems thinking and its application to theconnections between people, business, and thenatural world.Examine adaptive leadership and its application tosustainability and sustainable business practices.Appraise approaches to conflict, bias, power, andinfluence.Plan an initiative to foster and help build sustainabilityin an organization.

Course Objectives:

Discuss foundational scientific disciplines involved inthe interdisciplinary field of environmental science.Demonstrate a working knowledge of the scientificmethod and environmental problem-solving.Apply scientific thinking to societal environmentalissues.Analyze environmental issues and develop possiblesolutions.Investigate the interconnections between humans andthe environment.

Distinguish between various types of data and whichmeasures should be used to describe them.Analyze the appropriateness of conclusions reachedby the application of data.Describe errors in tests and predictive methods.Discuss limitations in the ability to forecast futureevents.Apply strategies to communicate findings effectively.

Evaluate the inputs required from each system tosupport other systems through interdependence.Contrast the appropriate use and misuse of Earthresources.Analyze environmental resources values, risks, andimpacts.Dissect the different means to characterize thelimits of Earth’s resources.

MCC 5301 - Mindfulness

MCC 5302 - Dialogue

MCC 5303 - Collaboration

MCC 5304 - Change

Build the capacity for focused awareness andcompassion. Move from personal vision to sharedvision through critical and strategic thinking.

Craft creative solutions by drawing out and integratingother's ideas. Listen to understand and advocatewithout alienation.

Build sustainable change through teams. Creatediverse teams who can deal with complex problemsand resolve conflict.

Combine flexibility with insight to stay ahead of therapidly changing environment. Replace resistance tochange with an ability to "skate where the puck is going."

MSL 5306 Environmental Policy and Law

Sustainable business applies the foundationalmicroeconomic principles of efficiency and equity to avariety of issues including in business, humanmanagement, and environmental. Students will learn touse equilibrium and intertemporal analysis, as well asnon-market valuation in the pursuit of an understandingof market successes/failures, optimal resource extractionpaths, renewable resources adoption, andenvironmental/sustainability policy.

In this course, students will explore the balance betweenmeeting needs (and desires) of current generations withoutdepleting resources for future generations. Students willexplore the limits of depletion for stock-limited resourcesand of availability for flow-limited resources. This contentwill be coupled with efforts to assign plausible net values tothe use of various resources based on the levels of needsaddressed and how to address and communicate thesevalues as a leader.

MSL 5307 Sustainable Resource Management

This course explores the policies, laws, and politics ofenvironmental protection and use of natural resources.Students will review the history of the U.S. naturalresource policies and the shift from local and stategovernments to federal leadership on matters ofenvironmental health and quality protection. The U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) along with keyfederal statutes are addressed such as theAdministrative Procedure Act, Clean Air Act, The CleanWater Act, the Resource Conservation and RecoveryAct, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) andthe Safe Drinking Water Act including the effects of thepolicies for sustainability.

MSL 5308 Impact AssessmentThe basic concepts of Environmental Impact Statement(EIS) and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)can be used as a tool/ set of tools to predict potentialimpacts and aid in decision making for such areas ofwater, soil, noise, air, climate, atmospheric quality,biological resources, cultural resources, and others. Inthis course, students will learn the historical backgroundleading up to the passage and implementation of theNational Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), setting ofnational priorities for the environment, the creation of theCouncil on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

MSL 5305 Economics and Sustainability

MCC 5304 - Change

Build sustainable change through teams. Creatediverse teams who can deal with complex problemsand resolve conflict.

Combine flexibility with insight to stay ahead of therapidly changing environment. Replace resistance tochange with an ability to "skate where the puck is going."

Construct foundational economic modelling skills.Analyze causes and potential solutions toenvironmental challenges.Conceptualize market successes/ failures as theyrelate to business, the environment, and socialwelfare.Generalize the existence of environmentalchallenges using foundational economic analyses. Communicate market failures as they relate tobusiness, the environment, or social welfare.

Research the legal and political history of U.S. NaturalResource offices, laws, policies, and regulations.Investigate the state and local government’sleadership role in environmental policy and law.Analyze the costs and benefits of selected actionsrelating to the environment.Discuss the U.S. Federal Government’s leadershiprole in managing land, natural resources, biologicalheritage, and coastal zones.Analyze the implications of policy responses toenvironmental issues as a leader.

Characterize and communicate the value added byconsumption of resources.Explain the factors limiting sustainable resource use.Evaluate predictive assessment of resource use.Contrast the disparities in resource consumptionbetween affluent and poorer societies.Evaluate limits to growth and carrying capacity.Investigate the concepts of internal and externalcosts and benefits of alternative energies.

Research the tools and techniques associated withimpact assessment to aid in decision making.Inspect U.S. offices, policies, laws, and regulations thatrelate to environmental impact assessment.Analyze the contexts which require an environmentalimpact assessment.Apply the essential processes and frameworks fororganizing and implementing an environmental impactassessment.

MCC 5304 - Change

Build sustainable change through teams. Creatediverse teams who can deal with complex problemsand resolve conflict.

Combine flexibility with insight to stay ahead of therapidly changing environment. Replace resistance tochange with an ability to "skate where the puck is going."

MCC 5304 - Change

Build sustainable change through teams. Creatediverse teams who can deal with complex problemsand resolve conflict.

Combine flexibility with insight to stay ahead of therapidly changing environment. Replace resistance tochange with an ability to "skate where the puck is going."

In this course students will gain an understanding of themethods and orientation of Critical Leadership Studies(CLS) and implications for the natural environment includingthe origins and key concepts of environmental ethics andcorporate responsibility.

MSL 5309 Sustainability Leadership and Ethics

MSL 5310 Sustainability Leadership CapstoneThe educational experience at Claremont Lincoln Universityculminates in the Capstone Action Project. This projectdraws on the entire educational experience includingresearch, analysis, and determining appropriate methodsand contemporary strategies for designing and implementinginitiatives that generate positive social impact.

Assess the area of Critical Leadership Studies and itsimplications for global sustainability.Interpret the fields of Environmental Ethics andEnvironmental Leadership.Analyze the leadership challenges posed by humaninteractions with the natural world.Compare leadership theories and articulate their differences.Create an action plan to address one’s own response toleadership and the environment.

Compose an introduction and literature reviewappropriate for action research.Design action research methods for a 10-week pilotproject.Evaluate outcomes from an action research pilotproject.Construct a final action research project report forsustainability leadership.

Admission to CLUADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS A completed Bachelor's degree from an accreditedinstitution is required to apply to Claremont LincolnUniversity. Neither a GRE or GMAT score is required forenrollment. APPLICATION PROCESS The Admissions process has been streamlined forapplicants to complete the online application in 15 minutesor less. Unofficial Transcripts and a current Resume or CVare required to be uploaded with the online application. The Enrollment Committee will then review the applicationand determine an acceptance status within 24 businesshours. A determination letter will then be sent, and inreturn, an acknowledgment of its receipt will be needed.The Admissions, Financial and Student Services Team willfinalize any other necessary items to complete Enrollment.

Claremont Lincoln University reserves the right to requestadditional items as deemed necessary by the enrollmentcommittee to determine student readiness for the graduatelevel workload. Claremont Lincoln University reserves theright to accept, provisionally accept, or deny students uponthe evaluation of all admission documents.

Robert M. McManus Ph.D. is the McCoy Professor of Leadership Studies andCommunication at the McDonough Center for Leadership and Business at Marietta College(Ohio). McManus holds a Ph.D. in communication studies, as well as a Master of BusinessAdministration and a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication studies. He is the co-authorof Understanding Leadership: An Arts and Humanities Perspective (Routledge, 2015) andlead editor of Ethical Leadership: A Primer (Edward Elgar, 2018). McManus is an award-winning educator who regularly teaches course and writes on the topics of leadership andsustainability.

Carolyn Stevenson Ed.D. completed her Ed.D. from Roosevelt University, M.B.A. fromKaplan University, and M.A. in communication from Governor’s State University. She alsoreceived her certification in online learning from the Illinois Online Network (sponsored bythe University of Illinois). Her research interest include: competency-based education, adulteducation, qualitative research, eLearning, and prior learning assessment. Dr. Stevensonhas over 20 years teaching and administrative experience in higher education at both theundergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Stevenson served as the Director of Education andSpecial Project Lead for AWARE (Action Within a Resilient Environment) with the SeaTrustInstitute.

Rian Satterwhite's M.A. is in Educational Leadership from the University of Wollongong,Australia. His current research is in the area of leadership and sustainability. In fact, heco-edited one of the textbooks we will be using in the program - Innovations inEnvironmental Leadership:Critical Perspectives. He is active in the field and is wellregarded in this area. His background in service learning makes him a good fit for actionresearch as well.

David Brown's Ph.D. is in Environmental Toxicology from Duke University. His MS andBS are from Ohio University and are in the field of Biology. He is currently a Professor ofBiology at Marietta College. He was the SME for the Environmental Science course. Heunderstands CLU's desire for an interdisciplinary program and can pitch the science atthe appropriate level to students needing to have the knowledge of EnvironmentalScience but not needing to be "scientists" per se. He is very familiar with CLU's missionand vision. He has been invaluable in helping us build the program.

faculty:

Thomas Lasalvia's Ph.D. is in Urban and Environmental Economics from BinghamtonUniversity, and his MA is in Economics from Northeastern. He is currently an AssistantProfessor of Economics at William and Mary. His background is in Urban andEnvironmental Economics and his commitment to environmental justice, urban renewal,and community service comport well with the ethos of sustainability.

Jeff Boian M.A. is a leadership scholar and consultant whose work focuses on change,innovation, human-centered design, and entrepreneurial thinking. His past research hasfocused on sustainability, specifically looking at perceptions and practices of undergraduatestudents at a leading public state university and a leading private, faith-based university. Hismost recent interest is in how an uninformed public develops their thoughts, their beliefs,and ultimately their actions. Boian holds a Bachelor of Science in recreation administrationand a Master of Arts in organizational leadership. He also holds graduate certificates inorganizational development and change and teaching in higher education.