Dr. Sabine O’Hara Quoted in Article Highlighting UDC’s Sustainable Infrastructure

When the campus of the University of the District of Columbia (UDC, an HBCU) began to show signs of deterioration, the administration decided to go beyond just fixing things and instead use the upgrade as an opportunity to both boost and teach both environmental and  social sustainability.

Founded in 1851 and now consisting of several small campuses throughout the city, UDC is the city’s only public university. It’s also unusual in that it’s a land-grant university entirely located within an urban area, with  a focus on urban agriculture. The student body includes not only traditional undergraduate and graduate students, but also those enrolled in workforce development, a community college and other programs for nontraditional students.

In operation since 1968, the buildings of the Van Ness campus, lining one of D.C.’s busiest thoroughfares and abutting a diplomatic enclave of a dozen or so embassies, were in varying need of repair. Rather than simply maintain them, college officials saw an opportunity to make the University more resilient, and in doing so, turn it into a laboratory for students to learn sustainable practices.

“This is a university that doesn’t have a lot of notoriety in land-grant country. So, we said, how do we distinguish ourselves in a meaningful way?” said Sabine O’Hara, director of the doctorate program in Urban Leadership and Entrepreneurship in the University’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES). “And the answer we came up with, especially because of the student body that we have, is that it needs to be totally integrated, and it needs to take the living learning environment of these students seriously.”

Dr. Tia Jeffery Quoted in USA Today

Access Granted: Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Request for Proposals

The College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences of the University of the District of Columbia is soliciting completed proposals for projects that specifically address the goals that the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Marketing Service (“USDA/AMS”) has established for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program – Farm Bill (SCBGP-FB).

Scholarship Opportunity: $20,000 for Professional Science Master’s Graduate Tuition 

UDC is accepting applications for the Graduate Tuition Scholarship for new applicants for the Professional Science Master’s (PSM) degree tracks for fall 2023 through fall 2025. The PSM is an innovative, terminal degree that prepares graduates for science careers in business, government, or nonprofit organizations. Our PSM programs are carefully designed to prepare students for advanced and marketable skills in the competitive, professional world in the areas of Urban Agriculture, Urban Sustainability or Water Resources Management. By engaging in state-of-the-art field and laboratory trainings and a required internship at a potential employer’s site, each PSM student develops in-demand hard and soft skills, including analytical thinking, critical thinking, effective communication, problem solving, quantitative and qualitative research skills, project design and implementation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable leadership. If you are considering a graduate degree with these essential marketable skills at an affordable graduate school, our PSM program is an ideal choice. 

Scholarship Amount: $5,000.00 awarded each semester; renewable up to four semesters not to exceed $20,000.00 total tuition assistance.

Eligibility: A new student with a BS/BA degree and a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above; requires acceptance into the PSM program.

Conditions to Maintain Scholarship: Full-time student with cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above.

Application Deadline: May 15, 2023

Now Open: DC Water Resources Research Institute (DCWRRI) Request for FY2023 Proposals

The College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences of the University of the District of Columbia is soliciting completed proposals for projects that specifically address the goals that the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Marketing Service (“USDA/AMS”) has established for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program – Farm Bill (SCBGP-FB).

Dr. Matthew Richardson and Caitlin Arlotta Invited to Speak at the Tri-Society (Agronomy, Crop Science and Soil Science) Annual Meeting

Dr. Matthew Richardson and Caitlin Arlotta's presentation was titled “Using Mulch from Green Waste as a Soil Cover for Agricultural Production.” The featured project was a collaboration between Caitlin and Francis Lopez from the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill in Barbados. Caitlin also presented her research, “Red Russian Winter Kale Production: An Assessment of Tunnel Systems and Ground Cover,” at the meeting. This project was completed in collaboration with Dr. Richardson and Anna Wallingford from the University of New Hampshire.

My name is Patrick Payne. I grew up in Catonsville, Maryland, and attended Calvert Hall High School. Before graduating, I spent eight years in the United States Marine Corps as a Combat Engineer. I was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, for my first four years and completed two deployments to Iraq. For the last four years, I was stationed at The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, where I was a combat instructor in explosives operations and survivability. I was honorably discharged in April 2012 and returned to the Baltimore area.

After completing my enlistments and coming home, I enrolled in the Community College of Baltimore County-Catonsville Campus. I chose Environmental Science as my major. I am fascinated by how this ecosystem contributes to our health and well-being. After leaving the community college, I chose to attend UDC because of its location, affordability, educational opportunities, and chance to start a new lacrosse program, as I was part of the inaugural Lacrosse team at the NCAA Division 2 level. I spent the next four years at the University, earning a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science. I graduated with that degree in 2015. I loved the University and still had one more year of eligibility for lacrosse, so I enrolled in the Professional Science Master’s (PSM) program for Water Resources Management. I chose to be a part of CAUSES because of the many opportunities the college provides. The professors and staff are top-notch. I really enjoyed the educational approach as it was not all about taking tests and knowledge-dumping to prepare for the next test. The approach was to prepare us for life outside the University. The professors pushed us to be critical thinkers and apply the knowledge we have been given to everyday situations. The approach taught us how to do proper research, draft papers for research, gain grants and proposals for projects, and have hands-on practical application. CAUSES pushed us to be the best environmental leaders and workers that we can be, and I owe many of my accomplishments to CAUSES.

I finished my college lacrosse career in May 2016 and still had credits for my PSM. I worked as a Counselor for Science Camps over the summers. In August 2016, I received a position at the National Park Service to be a Park Ranger at President’s Park. I enjoyed working at President Obama’s last Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony. Shortly after that, in January 2017, I started working as a Chemist with the Environmental Protection Agency at the Laboratory for Region 3 in Fort Meade, Maryland, running various parameters on water and soil from the various superfund sites in Region 3, many being from New Jersey. I worked there until I completed my PSM in May 2018.

In May 2018, I landed a position with Howard County Government in Maryland as an Engineer Support Technician with Environmental Services. We worked on various environmental systems, including Landfill Gas systems, Groundwater Remediation Systems, Compost Facilities, and Leachate Systems. We also collected monthly outfall samples and bi-annually groundwater monitoring wells, recovery wells, and stream samples from the county's inactive and active landfill sites. I held that position through July 2022, when I became the Laboratory Supervisor at the Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant in Savage, Maryland, and was part of the Howard County Bureau of Utilities. I supervise two lab technicians. Together we operate a certified drinking water lab for the parameters of coliform and E. coli. We analyze our Final Effluent for regulatory samples of TSS, BOD, NO3-NO2, NH3, TP, and TKN. We even run tests of our process water samples to ensure that all the processes in wastewater treatment are working properly. We also run the total solids and volatile solids of our solids handling processes. We are a certified lab through the Maryland Department of the Environment.

I reside in Western Howard County, Mount Airy, MD, with my wife, daughter, and dog.