News Detail
College of Technology featured in Kent State Magazine
Posted Apr. 13, 2009
Sustainability
New Paradigm is Fundamental to the College of Technology
by Christa Skiles
Dr. Verna Fitzsimmons knows that the words “eco-friendly” and “technology” have not always been linked in the minds of many consumers. But, according to the interim dean of Kent State’s College of Technology, that disconnection only highlights a general lack of understanding about the role technology will play in addressing growing concerns about sustainability.
“Technology is certainly positioned well to contribute to sustainability and better management of our natural resources by how we use them and how we convert them into products that society wants,” Fitzsimmons says. “That’s who we are. We make things. We build things.”
What products get made and how — these are the issues technologists must consider, and they are questions imbedded into the culture of the College of Technology. From construction to manufacturing, energy conservation to transportation, today’s students are being asked to evaluate not only the technical side of the equation, but also what the long-term consequences of their decisions will be to the world in which they live.