Teachers and educators are advisors to the next generation of environmental leaders, and as such they play an important role in the DEL program’s cohorts.  Unfortunately, schools or school districts rarely support continuing education opportunities.  To address this need, a new program created from a longstanding grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation will enable more teachers and educators to join DEL programs.

The new Coca-Cola Advancement in Teaching in the Environment Scholarship (CATES) will provide partial funding for traditional and non-traditional educators to enroll in both the continuing distance learning master of environmental management (MEM) degree or executive education short courses.  Sherri Nevius, Assistant Dean for Executive and Distance Learning Programs at the Nicholas School said, “We have the opportunity to have a greater impact on educating the public on environmental issues, conservation, awareness, etc. CATES scholars can immediately impart what they learn in executive education courses or the master’s program to a wide audience, every day, throughout their career.”

In the past, this funding has supported guest lectures, public events, and environmental education graduate courses.  Some funding will continue to support a volunteer program that places Nicholas School graduate students in public school classrooms in the vicinity of Durham, NC.

Professionals in the following areas are encouraged to apply for CATES funding*:

  • All K-12 classroom teachers
  • Community outreach specialists
  • Museum, zoo, or aquarium educators
  • public, private, not-for-profit, international, and government-employed educators

Current DEL-MEM student Eric McDuffie, a science teacher at C.W. Stanford Middle School in Hillsborough, NC, hopes to apply for CATES funding for the second year of his professional Masters program.  McDuffie said, “To receive the CATES award would be a great honor to any educator.  To have our work recognized and rewarded by an organization as worldwide as Coca-Cola would show the value placed on educating students and how they can impact the sustainability of the world they live in.  The rigors of the DEL-MEM program have made me a better teacher because I now integrate the courses’ content into my own thoughts about how nature and humans can coexist in order to maintain a sustainable planet for generations to come. Through the ever-changing curriculum developed and through the thoughts of my students, together, we continually engage in discussions on these important environmental topics of our generation.”

For more information on eligibility, requirements, and the application process, please visit http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/del/cates-program.

*please remember that applicants must show a strong link to environmental issues; DEL-MEM applicants are required to have a minimum of 5 years of experience as an environmental professional