Back in middle school I met with the principal about getting rid of our lunchroom’s Styrofoam trays. I remember it being one of my most important times in seventh grade.
The work of an applied design professor and her students at Hampshire College may result in a greater yield and more efficient preparation of one of the dietary staples of sub-Saharan Africa.
Created and recognized for shaping bold new educational approaches, Hampshire is expanding its calendar of academic programs to include a variety of summer programs geared toward professionals and practitioners, advanced high school students, graduate students, and undergraduates.
Think of it as win-win-win: A $1 million gift to Hampshire College provides seed money for innovative projects and businesses started by current students and recent graduates. Other students gain hands-on investing experience as they make all decisions on which ventures to fund. And if their investments on behalf of Hampshire succeed, as the donor thinks they will, they may provide big dividends for the college.
While pursuing an MFA in design at the University of Texas at Austin, Beth Ferguson 96F bought an electric scooter on Craigslist. When she couldn’t find a place to charge it, she created a solar-charging station on campus. The SolarPump Charging Station became her thesis project, and she wrote a business plan for a course she was taking on social entrepreneurship. Thus was Sol Design Lab launched.
Arriving on the Hampshire College campus to take part in the summer 2013 Food, Farm and Sustainability Institute, Enli Li and Mengxiao Wang found themselves immersed in a new culture.
When Hampshire College students return to campus this fall, they will be welcomed back to a totally changed approach to food on campus. Hampshire aims at nothing less than redefining what the college dining experience can be. “We are questioning everything that is currently done and every practice that has become routine,” said President Jonathan Lash, who encouraged the College community to think big in approaching
