Environmental Studies Gains an Endowed Professorship
September 2001
With 150 majors, Oberlin's program in environmental studies is one of the College's most popular and fastest-growing programs. It's also one of the strongest of its kind in the country.
It's about to get even better.
A $2.75 million gift from Arthur and Stephanie Blank will pump up the program in three ways: with an endowed professorship in ecological design, with funds for student research and internships, and with support for construction of the second phase of the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies. The gift was given through the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.
Arthur Blank – whose daughter Danielle Blank graduated in May 2000 with a major in environmental studies – pioneered the big-box superstore when he co-founded the $30 billion hardware giant Home Depot in 1978. Over the years he served the company as president, chief executive officer, and co-chairman. He retired in May 2001.
 "Danielle had a good experience at Oberlin, and Home Depot is very committed to the environment," said President Nancy S. Dye. "So Mr. Blank was interested in what we were doing here. What we most need in environmental studies is to build the program with faculty members and to give students research and internship possibilities. Mr. Blank was very responsive to our needs. This is a wonderful gift!"
Home Depot – the world's largest home-improvement retailer – made national environmental news in August 1999 when it announced that it would give preference to wood products certified as derived from responsibly managed forests. The company also pledged to stop selling wood products derived from environmentally sensitive areas within three years, and to work with the World Wildlife Fund and World Resources Institute to develop subsequent steps for its environmental efforts.
The Professorship in Ecological Design
 The major portion of the Blanks' gift, $1.75 million, is designated for an endowed professorship in ecological design, an emerging field within environmental studies. The Blanks have not yet decided on a name for the professorship.
"We're trying to make ecological design the focal point of our program," said Professor and Environmental Studies Program Director David Orr, whose forthcoming book on the subject (The Nature of Design) will be published by Oxford University Press in fall 2001.
"Ecological design is the calibration of human intentions with how the world works as a physical system. It's not about how you make buildings – it's about how you do everything. The question is how we can remake the human presence in the world. It's revolutionary in how we provision ourselves. The intention is to develop something that will look in hindsight to future generations how the Enlightenment looks to us now.
"This position will make Oberlin's program truly distinctive and will put us in a niche that no one else occupies," Orr continued. "Oberlin's program is among the top programs in the country, and this professorship is the keystone to making it the best."
A search to fill the position is under way, and the College plans to have someone on staff by the fall of 2002.
Funds for Student Research and Internships
The second component of the Blanks' gift is $500,000 for student research and internships.
"One of the main goals of The New Oberlin Century campaign is building resources for student-faculty research," said President Dye. "It's important for students – especially in environmental studies – to get real-world experience in architectural firms, with environmental lawyers, in local and state government. Endless possibilities exist for putting what you learn in the classroom to work in the world at large."
The environmental studies program has been a leader on campus in involving students in research projects, said Dye.
Students are involved in program-sponsored projects involving sustainable agriculture, organic agriculture, reducing greenhouse gases, creating community gardens in low-income neighborhoods throughout Lorain County, and expanding local watershed education, to name just a few.
Classes sometimes take on research projects too. For example, students in Orr's Ecological Design course assisted the Cleveland-based Great Lakes Brewing Company in eliminating waste from its production stream and explored ways the firm could do this at a profit.
Individual student research projects supervised by faculty members also abound. (See sidebar.)
Phase II of the Lewis Center
The final component of the Blanks' gift is $500,000 to support the second phase of construction of the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies.
 Now being planned, this second building will be constructed on property owned by the College and adjacent to the Lewis Center. The facility will be smaller than the Lewis Center and will house a research laboratory for Assistant Professor John Petersen, a greenhouse, and a toolshed.
Petersen joined the faculty in 2000 and specializes in systems ecology, dynamic simulation modeling, experimental ecosystems, and ecological design and engineering, among other interests.
A History of Philanthropy
Arthur and Stephanie Blank, who live in Atlanta, are noted philanthropists; they were the recipients of the 2000 Georgia Philanthropists of the Year award given by the National Society of Fundraising Executives. Among the institutions they have supported are Babson College (Mr. Blank's alma mater), the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and the Atlanta Zoo. Home Depot also has an extensive corporate philanthropy program.
The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation was established in 1995 and supports activities related to arts and culture, the environment, underserved youth, and women's issues.
"It has been said that wealth is something you acquire so you can share. You don't need to keep it," Blank said in a keynote speech he gave at the Hilton Head Island Foundation's annual luncheon in November 2000. "Growing up in a Jewish home and having a religious background, I was taught that the first word of the Ten Commandments was 'I' and the last word was 'neighbor.'" He noted that his mother used to say, "Compassion cures more ills than condemnation."
"Believe me, once you give, you don't ever want to stop," Blank continued. And to give, one does not need to be a chief executive officer or have a foundation. "You just need to open your heart."
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