Bowie State University President Aminta H. Breaux joined U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio today to sign a five-year agreement to extend and expand a partnership between Bowie State and the EPA, providing educational and practical experiences to BSU students looking to enter careers in the federal government.
Maryland Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles and Maryland Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Julianne Oberg were among state officials who attended the agreement signing.
The goal of the partnership is to diversify the federal government workforce by preparing more Bowie State students for those careers. The EPA will work with Bowie State faculty and administrators to provide students with access to EPA experts, joint research projects, and access to competitive student internships and employment.
n 2009 when Bowie State and the EPA first entered into a partnership, only students in the College of Business could participate. With this latest five-year extension, even more BSU students from all academic areas, including education, criminal justice and nursing, will be exposed to the knowledge and resources of the EPA. Since the first agreement, students have experienced job shadow days with EPA scientists, connected with EPA mentors, and heard from EPA policy experts in campus-based forums and classes.
“Bowie State University’s partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency provides invaluable experiential learning opportunities that bridge learning from the classroom to the workplace, deepens the learning for our students, and prepares them for success after graduation,” said President Breaux. “With enhanced access to the EPA’s research facilities and instrumentation, Bowie State can continue to strengthen its academic programs through curriculum development in areas such as public and business administration, education, and environmental policy, to name a few.”
“This agreement highlights many of Administrator Scott Pruitt’s top priorities including active engagement and building strong partnerships,” said EPA Regional Administrator Servidio. “Collaborations with academic institutions like Bowie State help bring environmental stewardship to a new generation.
