It integrates the different perspectives of the humanities, social sciences, biological sciences, and physical sciences and applies these perspectives to pressing environmental concerns. As a minor in the liberal arts tradition, it strives for a broad, interdisciplinary understanding. As a program rooted in Christian institutions, it affirms the goodness of the natural world and encourages respect and care for God's creation in all its diversity. As a reflection of our Benedictine heritage, it prepares students to take an active part in contemporary life and to exert leadership in response to one of the greatest social and moral challenges of our time. The greatest challenge for the coming century is the transition to a sustainable society for human activities and aspirations that does not threaten the ecological systems that support it.
Education is of crucial importance in achieving a balance between ecology and humanity.
The College of St. Benedict and St. John's University offer an ideal venue for an Environmental Studies program to examine issues of sustainability. The institution's sponsors, the Benedictine Order, have an extensive history of environmental stewardship and reverence for Creation. The schools are located in an ecologically varied transitional region between the eastern forests and western tall grass prairies. The campuses of the institutions reflect this diversity with a myriad of deciduous and coniferous forests, savanna, prairie, lakes, and wetlands. These provide an ideal setting for the scientific, artistic, philosophical, and theological study of nature.