About VCEMS

About Vanderbilt Center for Environmental Management

VCEMS Mission

Until recently, businesses complied with existing regulations because they were compelled to by law, with little incentive to manage their environmental risks beyond minimum standards. Today, however, this situation is rapidly changing. Government is faced with the reality of decreased budgets and reduced regulatory zeal--at a time when the public's interest in environmental protection continues to grow. Moreover, "voluntary" international quality standards are being implemented by industry, and many corporations are finding that preventing pollution can be beneficial to the bottom line. Public demand and natural market forces, rather than regulation, are becoming the driving influences in future environmental protection activities. VCEMS was formed to study the coordination and sharing of environmental responsibilities that is required among a variety of stakeholders representing business, government and community interests.

History
Organization and Management
Principle Activities
Funding Sources
Why Vanderbilt?

History of VCEMS

VCEMS formally became a university center on the Vanderbilt Campus in November, 1995.

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Organization and Management

VCEMS provides the guidance and support for the interdisciplinary study of environmental issues. The Center brings faculty members and students together from various disciplines for collaborative study and research on topics such as environmental risk assessment, management and communication, policy analysis, civil and criminal liability, environmentally conscious manufacturing and technology management, and global environmental issues and business development.

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Primary Objectives

Consistent with its mission, VCEMS has defined the following core objectives which define the Center's principal activities:

Coordinate and encourage undergraduate/graduate course offerings on campus towards developing an interdisciplinary environmental management concentration accessible for cross-school registration;
Develop and offer executive management courses focusing on critical and emerging topics in environmental management;
Stimulate development of new methods and management practices for achieving reductions in environmental risk;
Organize and present national symposia on key topics relating environmental policy to business management and operations; and
Disseminate information on environmental management issues and Center activities.

The relationship of each objective to the Center's principal activities is provided below.

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Principle Activities

Curriculum Development
VCEMS is addressing the following innovations in the area of undergraduate/graduate education:

Publish a list of existing courses relating to environmental management on campus;
Facilitate the offering of a coherent environmental management concentration within the University through coordination of existing offerings and new course development;
Introduce interdisciplinary courses in this concentration; and
Explore the long term possibility of a new degree program addressing environmental management issues.

This development is viewed as a sequential process leading to an established focus and visibility for environmental management on campus.

Current Academic Programs

Executive Education
The Center has adopted a goal of offering an environmental management executive education series of courses which address key business needs. Topics of interest include:

Environmental risk management

Green marketing

Global environmental issues and business development

Environmental auditing

Management of environmental technologies

Environmentally sound manufacturing design and life-cycle analysis

Corporate culture and employee awareness of environmental issues

Employee and community health impacts of environmental exposure

Firm and manager civil and criminal liability considerations

Courses vary in length depending on the subject matter and target audience. Extensive use is made of case studies, class exercises, seminar discussions, and presentations by outside speakers.

Conference Planning
The Center organizes and sponsors symposia which address critical and emerging topics in the environmental field. These meetings are designed to bring together diverse stakeholders for candid discussion and consensus building on issues of mutual concern.

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Why Vanderbilt

VCEMS offers unique qualities as an academic environmental management partner with industry and government, including the following:

Commitment to environmental management as a key thrust area on the Vanderbilt University campus;
Extensive prior University involvement with environmental policy, management, engineering and technology;
Strong ties to industry and government leaders in the environmental feild;
Exceptional academic reputation;
Existing organizational infrastructure to facilitate Center development;
Proactive policy and financial commitment from the Vanderbilt University administration towards interdisciplinary teaching and research; and
Previous history of collaborative research efforts with an interdisciplinary focus among Center principals.

As a leader in the environmental management field, VCEMS is committed to fostering proactive, quality-oriented and customer-driven initiatives that advance the well-being of business and environmental health.

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