Колледж Атлантики: Экология и Междисциплинарное Образование в Мейне

Liberal arts college in Bar Harbor, Maine
the liberal arts college in Maine

College of the Atlantic (COA) is a private liberal arts college in Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Founded in 1969, it awards bachelors and masters (M. Phil.) degrees solely in the field of human ecology, an interdisciplinary approach to learning. Focus areas include arts and design, environmental sciences, humanities, international studies, sustainable food systems, and socially responsible business. The College of the Atlantic is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. The campus consists of 37 acres on Frenchman Bay, two organic farms, two off shore island research stations, and a 100 acre protected area. The farms, Beech Hill Farm and Peggy Rockefeller Farms, are living laboratories for classes and student research. Peggy Rockefeller Farms includes livestock, crops, orchards. Beech Hill Farm provides produce. Both supply the dining hall with organic produce, eggs, and meat. The off shore island properties include the Alice Eno Field Research Station on Great Duck Island where students conduct studies on Leach's storm petrels, guillemots, gulls, sparrows and other fields of natural history. The Edward McCormick Blair Research station on Mount Desert Rock is a center for the study of marine mammals and oceanographic issues.

The College of the Atlantic was conceived by Mount Desert Island residents who wanted to stimulate the island's economy during the off season, when revenue from tourism declined, by forming a year round, four year institution of higher education. In 1968, Father James Gower, a Catholic priest and peace activist, and his former football teammate from Bar Harbor High School, businessman Les Brewer, conceived the idea for the College of the Atlantic. Brewer and Gower founded the school in 1969, Parts of the campus were also donated by the family of co founder Bernard Cough.

The school's curriculum is based on human ecology, and all first year students are required to take an introductory course in human ecology. Other requirements include two courses in each focus area (Environmental Studies, Arts and Design, Human Studies), one quantitative reasoning course, one history course, and one course that involves extensive writing. The intention is for students to explore and integrate ideas from different disciplines and to construct their own understanding of human ecology. With its focus on interdisciplinary learning, College of the Atlantic does not have distinct departments, and all faculty members consider themselves human ecologists in addition to their formal specialization. As a graduation requirement, all students must complete a term long senior project and a human ecology essay in their final year, in addition to a mandatory internship sometime within their four years. For this senior project, students decide the methods and content which are then submitted for approval by their academic advisors. Projects are diverse and have included computer programs, scientific papers, ethnographic research, theatrical productions, educational curricula, novels, art exhibits, books of letters, garden renovations, and music compilations.

With international students comprising an average of 17 percent of the student body, College of the Atlantic is among the five liberal arts colleges with the highest proportion of international students. These students primarily graduate from United World Colleges and are awarded significant scholarships through the Davis United World College Scholars Program.

In 2004, COA was the first campus to make a multi year commitment to be powered entirely by renewable energy, signing a 10 year contract with Endless Energy Corporation. In 2005 it was the first school to hold a zero waste graduation. In October 2006, COA pledged to become carbon neutral, offsetting all of its carbon emissions, including those created by visiting students; COA fulfilled the pledge in December 2007 by purchasing carbon offsets for their emissions through the Climate Trust of Oregon. The college currently offsets those emissions it cannot reduce or avoid via truck stop electrification through Carbonfund. org. In 2016, COA was ranked as the #1 green college by The Princeton Review. New student housing is also touted as being some of the most sustainable in the northeast, built partially from recycled materials and featuring composting toilets, wood pellet heat, and superior insulation.