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Sr. Damien Marie Joins Faculty
4/30/2007
 A new face on campus will bring expertise in environmental studies and revive UST’s program in that field in August. Although Sr. Damien Marie Savino, FSE, will join the faculty under a joint appointment in the Catholic Studies Program and the Department of Biology, her presence here and her background will give the once-beleaguered Environmental Studies Program the necessary faculty to keep it viable.
Last semester, the Office of Academic Affairs recommended that the major in Environmental Studies be terminated because it didn’t have enough faculty to sustain it without restructuring after environmental studies professor Ravi Srinivas was appointed as director of the Master Liberal Arts Program. Fortunately during this time, Sr. Damien Marie was introduced to the University through the Franciscan Sisters. She has a Ph.D. in Engineering (Environmental) Science, along with master's degrees in soil science and theology. Her expertise and teaching experience focus on environmental policy and management as well as science. “I hope to develop programs that promote the much-needed dialogue between science and theology called for by Pope John Paul II and now by Pope Benedict XVI,” Sr. Damien Marie said.
Dr. John Hittinger, vice president of Academic Affairs, said her interests in environmental sustainability expand into considerations of international environmental policy. “She is a strong proponent of students doing field work and internships in a variety of settings–agricultural, aquatic, forest, rural and municipal,” he said. “In fact, the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist have a land program to provide young adults an opportunity to learn work skills, and to relate to the needs of soil, plants and animals and the cycles of nature in the context of Catholic faith.”
According to Hittinger, the University intends for Sr. Damien Marie to join other faculty during the coming year to study and propose revised environmental studies/science courses and curricula, including a new major program. “As the Catholic university in Houston, UST will not abandon its commitment to the environment,” Hittinger said. “In light of the ongoing discussion among students, faculty and the administration, we are delighted to announce that UST will be able to work toward developing an environmental studies program that is sustainable for its long-term presence at the University and for its service to Houston. Sr. Damien Marie will be instrumental in this process.”
Hittinger said that with the “redesign” of the Environmental Studies Program underway, the department will temporarily suspend the admission of new students. The department will continue to coordinate lower-division environmental science and geology courses and upper-division courses required for students completing majors in environmental studies under the current curriculum. Dr. Maury Harris will be its chair.
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