REDEFINING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

On September 1, 2004, the University of Minnesota's Department of Wood and Paper Science became the Department of Bio-based Products. The date marked far more than a name change. The shift reflected an increasing research emphasis to include a wide range of biomaterials, and signaled the beginning of a total redesign of undergraduate course offerings and curricula. The new curriculum has a strong combination of coursework in chemical engineering and materials science, chemistry, and key elements of wood science, including courses in bio-composites and bio-process engineering. Another change that will have a significant impact both on students within the Department of Bio-based Products and those in the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management is initiation of a new undergraduate curriculum and undergraduate minor in Corporate Environmental Management. One of the factors considered in advance of changing the curricula was the observation of trends in other universities, and particularly within those that operate pulp and paper programs. The trends were sobering, and the need for change inescapable.