MES Spring 2006 Calendar

   MES Thesis and Internship Defense Dates

This orientation gives incoming MES Students a chance to meet their fellow first-year students and representatives from MESSA (the MES Student Association). Additional information is provided about the MES Program, and students will have a chance to ask any questions they may have.

ALL new and returning students are invited to celebrate the start of the school year event. This is an opportunity not only to catch-up with old friends, but also to meet new people! If you have any questions, contact Jessi Rowland.

This is the Fourth Annual Master of Environmental Studies Student Association (MESSA) 8K Run/Walk to preserve and improve water quality in the Charleston area.

All proceeds from the 8K for H20 will be donated to LEEP - Lowcountry Environmental Education Program. LEEP'S mission is to ensure that all students in and around Charleston County have opportunities for hands-on, environmental education, regardless of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Visit the 8K for H2O Website for more information and registration details.

March 30
Thursday

 Rethinking Floodplain Management
 in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina  

6:00 p.m.

With the approach of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, the Master of Environmental Studies (MES) Program at the College of Charleston welcomes David Conrad, Senior Water Resources Specialist for the National Wildlife Federation, who will present "Rethinking Floodplain Management in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina" as the inaugural lecture in the MES Environmental Speaker Program.

This public lecture will examine the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf region.

David Conrad has been a water resources policy analyst and conservation advocate in the nation's capitol for more than a quarter century. Under David's leadership, in July of 1998 the Federation published an award-winning report on the nation's repetitive flood loss problems and the potential for greater use of non-structural approaches to reducing flood risk: Higher Ground - A Report on Voluntary Buyouts in the Nation's Floodplains - A Common Ground Solution Serving People At Risk, Taxpayers and the Environment.

David also served on a panel formed by the H. John Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment that issued a report on the Hidden Costs of Coastal Hazards, which used South Carolina's Hurricane Hugo as a case study to identify many of the economic and environmental impacts of coastal storms that are seldom chronicled in basic reporting on such events. More recently David was a principal author of another report in 2004 produced with the organization Taxpayers for Common Sense called Crossroads: Congress, the Corps of Engineers and the Future of America's Water Resources. The report identifies policy concerns and major reforms needed in managing the nation's largest water resource development agency.

In 2000, David received the FEMA's Outstanding Public Service Award for his "efforts to educate elected officials, the Congress, and the American people on the importance of preserving our Nation's floodplains." In May, 2003, David received the Goddard - White Award granted by the Association of State Floodplain Managers for "Vision and Skills in Forging National Policy and Solutions to Reduce Flood Losses." David spent his childhood in Kansas, Washington State, and later in Virginia, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia in 1974. He resides with his wife and two children in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

The MES Environmental Speaker Program is an annual lecture series sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs, the Graduate School Office, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the School of Sciences and Mathematics at the College of Charleston.

For additional information, contact the MES Program Office at (843) 953-2000.

  Graduation  

  5:30 p.m.

If you are planning to graduate this May, you must apply for Spring 2006 graduation by

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10th

You can download an Application for Graduation online at

www.cofc.edu/gradschool/current/index.php

This site has complete graduation information from the Graduate School Office. In addition to downloading your Application for Graduation, you will find information about what you will need to do if you plan to take part in the Commencement Ceremony on Friday, May 5, 2006 (including such items as what color hood to ask for when ordering your MES regalia at the bookstore: Gold).

***

Also - remember that the final, completed copies of your theses or internship reports must be submitted by the close of business on Friday, April 28th, 2006. This means that you should plan to hold your defense by April 14th at the latest, in order to leave time for final corrections, etc.

Questions about how to format your Internship report?

www.cofc.edu/~environ/intern.htm

How to format your Thesis?

www.cofc.edu/gradschool/current/Thesis%20Manual.pdf

(this is the new Thesis Manual from the Graduate School Office. It has replaced the former thesis guidelines for individual departments)

Don't forget to fill out the Thesis Forms required by the Graduate School Office before submitting your thesis...

Thesis Release Form: www.cofc.edu/~environ/Release.pdf
Binding Transmittal Form: www.cofc.edu/~environ/Binding.pdf

For more information contact:

Mark McConnel
Program Coordinator
Master of Environmental Studies Program
College of Charleston
66 George Street
Charleston, SC 29424
Phone: (843) 953-2000
www.cofc.edu/~environ