The Knowledge Review The 20 Most Innovative STEM College and Universiti | Page 46

Most Innovative

STEM

College and Universities to Watch, 2017 T R

The 20

The Evergreen State College

As an innovative public liberal arts college, Evergreen emphasizes collaborative, interdisciplinary learning across significant differences. Their academic community engages students in defining and thinking critically about learning. Evergreen supports and benefits from local and global commitment to social justice, diversity, environmental stewardship and service in the public interest.
In this fast-paced era, as we face the prosperities and adversities of both globalization and a knowledge-based economy, scientific and technological innovations have become increasingly important. To succeed in this new information-based and highly technological society, students need to develop their competences in STEM to echelons much beyond what was considered acceptable in the past. The Evergreen State College’ s math and science programs emphasizes on student learning supported by dedicated faculty and staff and access to cutting edge scientific practices and modern pedagogy. Set amid a serene Pacific Northwest forest, The Evergreen State College is a progressive, public arts and sciences college in Olympia, Washington. From sustainability to social justice, Evergreen’ s curriculum focuses on real-life problems, themes, and experiences. Some of the undergraduate courses in the STEM fields offered at Evergreen in 2017-18: Earth and Sky: Climate and Change; Student-Originated Software; Computation and Consciousness; Atoms, Molecules, and Reactions: Inorganic Chemistry; Northwest Forests: Biogeochemistry and Management; Business, Biology, and Sustainable Solutions; Bryophytes and Lichens of the Pacific Northwest; Advocating for a Sustainable Future: Weaving Stories and Statistics. Evergreen also has three prominent graduate programs: Master in Teaching, Master of Public Administration and Master of Environmental Studies. Evergreen students choose from an impressive array of interdisciplinary programs and plan their path to a bachelor’ s degree and area of emphasis. Narrative evaluations replace grades and provide students with meaningful feedback that future employers and graduate schools can review to learn more about students’ accomplishments.
The Evergreen State College: Go Beyond the Ordinary and Experience Your Education the Way You Imagine

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• Institutional commitments to interdisciplinary learning, collaborative learning across significant differences, and connecting theory to practice mirror the communities of practice that students will encounter in scientific work after they graduate.
• As a student, you can mix a variety of interests and develop your own area of emphasis based on your unique goals. Evergreen offers programs and courses in more than 60 fields of study.
• Evergreen’ s grounds and facilities are managed to minimize environmental hazards through resource conservation, low-impact cleaning and maintenance, native landscaping, stormwater runoff reduction measures, and LEED certification for new and renovated buildings.
• The main library on the College campus is the Daniel J. Evans Library, named after the former governor that signed the legislation that founded Evergreen, and was also the school’ s second president. The library is home to some 428,000 volumes and 750,000 print and media items overall.