The Sustainability Management online upper division Bachelor’s of Science Degree launched in 2019 as the college’s first and currently only online undergraduate degree program. Sustainability Management’s design and development was informed by the SUNY Enrollment Planning Roundtable process along with conversations and interviews with ESF Alumni working in the area of sustainability. There were a number of ESF alumni working in sustainability positions in public, private, and non-profit sectors, who had more fallen into these positions because of a strong science background and an alignment of interests and values. In talking with alumni there were some recurring themes observed- this often wasn’t specifically what their degree was in; the positions had a variety of titles, sometimes sustainability would be referenced but other times it was just a part of their role; and when they started working in this role it was a new position or function at the organization. We continue to hear that last point both from alumni who have been working in positions for a long time, and those who had been at their job for just a few years.

Sustainability Specialists continue to have a “Bright Outlook” over the next decade according to the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), but the breadth of what these positions look like, what they are called, and how they differ between sectors can be a little overwhelming. We wanted to create an opportunity for students in the Sustainability Management program to hear from professionals in the field as we did when we developed the program, to network with and talk with those professionals, and to provide a broad sampling of the variety of opportunities and pathways in this growing field. Additionally, as the only online undergraduate program at a largely residential campus, we wanted to provide a regular extracurricular opportunity that was designed specifically with the online students in the program in mind first.

The Professionals in Sustainability webinar series was developed as a partnership between the Open Academy, the academic home of the Sustainability Management online degree, and ESF’s Office of Career Services. We developed it as a way to increase career awareness of our students, reinforce course and program content and outcomes, and provide networking with sustainability professionals. We try to run 2-3 webinars each semester, with speakers coming from alumni and other workforce connections through Career Services, recommendations from our Sustainability Office, and connections from other faculty and staff. As our pool of Sustainability Management alumni grows (first graduates were in 2021), we will also start to feature program alumni in the mix too.

The general format of the webinars is about 30 minutes of content plus 15 minutes for questions. We ask all our presenters to discuss their background, career trajectory, current initiatives, and general lessons learned as part of their 30 minute talk. We also ask that they give some specific thought to highlight knowledge and skills they learned in school that they use regularly as part of their job, and knowledge and skills that they wished they had learned during school that they instead had to learn later on the job.

For the logistics each semester, we maintain a pool of suggested speakers and will try to select 2 from different backgrounds/sectors if possible. We then either reach out directly with an invitation to speak or have whoever recommended the speaker connect us. Once we have speakers for the semester, we set up an online meeting with each speaker to discuss the format, content, and logistics, and then either set a date and time. About a week before the scheduled event, we’ll hold a short online meeting to do a quick practice run to make sure the presenter is able to connect and share their slides, and to go over any last minute logistics.

We typically have about 15-20 people sign up for a webinar, with about 5 or so Sustainability Management students signed up. For reference, there are currently 38 students enrolled in the program. Other registrants tend to be other ESF faculty, staff, or students, external audience members usually connected to the speaker, and potential students who have inquired about the program. The recordings are posted to the Professionals in Sustainability YouTube playlist afterwards, and the 9 videos in the series so far average about 30 views each, with a range of 12-75 views.

We have found that the webinar series has been a helpful resource to engage our online students beyond just their online coursework and we look forward to eventually featuring program graduates in the mix of speakers over time. As an ancillary benefit, each webinar provides active professional perspectives that can help validate and inform updates to the Sustainability Management program courses and outcomes.

Professionals in Sustainability webinars playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-97Z3woX0mXy4dDyc9hZZrw2l3puIN5i
O*NET OnLine Sustainability Specialists occupation information page https://www.onetonline.org/link/details/13-1199.05

We typically have about 15-20 people sign up for a webinar, with about 5 or so Sustainability Management students signed up. For reference, there are currently 38 students enrolled in the program. Other registrants tend to be other ESF faculty, staff, or students, external audience members usually connected to the speaker, and potential students who have inquired about the program. The recordings are posted to the Professionals in Sustainability YouTube playlist afterwards, and the 9 videos in the series so far average about 30 views each, with a range of 12-75 views.