UMass Donahue Institute collaboration wins National Award for Smart Growth Achievement
Christie Todd Whitman, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), presented the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) with the agency's first annual National Award for Smart Growth Achievement on November 18 in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes the Community Preservation Initiative, a program that combines education, training, and use of the Web to help make citizens aware of the impact of growth and current policies on their communities. A major element of this initiative was the Community Preservation Institute, a regional training program in which the UMass Donahue Institute is a major player.
The Community Preservation Institute (CPI) is a collaborative effort between the University of Massachusetts and EOEA that taps the talents of UMass faculty, as well as government and citizens groups, to assist leaders in applying preservation principles in their communities. CPI now has more than 200 graduates. Offshoots of the Community Preservation Institute are:
- a comprehensive textbook, co-authored by CPI instructors, due out in the fall of 2004;
- Community Preservation High, a two-day residential program for high school students and teachers; and
- alumni classes covering current environmental issues and topics.
The nine-week course has been expanded to four UMass campuses (Lowell, Boston, Amherst, and Dartmouth), and the I-495 Center for Professional Education. Twenty-three UMass faculty from the four campuses have taught in the program.
August 09, 2002
