Unity College, Educating the next generation of Sustainability Professionals with President Dr. Melik Khoury

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Amazing, great story, a love it,
but there's a, there's a bigger.

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There's a bigger story here to
write.

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I mean, let's talk about you
guys started the the the, you

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know, the path and all of a
sudden 1,500 institutions later

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Now, what are we talking about?
Yeah, I mean well now it's in

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the trillions of dollars and you
know once the major players kind

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of bought into it, you know, the
larger institutions.

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I mean I'm also proud to say
that the state of Maine was the

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first state in the nation to
divest.

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So it's really interesting that
Unity was the first college.

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Main was the first state in.
Now, some of the major

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universities, I think for the
longest time it to your point,

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there was a couple of
confounding issues, when was the

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fear of loss of return And I
think the more colleges winning

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more people know investment is
just that the I think the other

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piece was there was a lot of bad
information that once you

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decided to divest you somehow
were under pressure to divest

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all of your stocks immediately.
Welcome to the environmental

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transformation podcast where we
talk with industry leaders,

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climate Champions and
sustainability professionals,

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who are making an impact in
their businesses.

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Today, each leader solving
complex challenges and provide

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Solutions within the respective
areas of expertise.

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Here's our host, Sean Grady.
Eighty Nation.

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Thanks for listening, guys, and
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Thanks for listening.
Welcome to the environmental

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transformation podcast.
I'm your host Sean gradient,

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today's guest is Malik.
Corey, dr.

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Malak Cory is the president of
Unity College.

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He's been there for the past 11
years and we're excited to talk

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with him about uni, Community
College, being America's

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environmental College.
Hey Malik, welcome to the show.

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Thanks Sean.
Pleasure to be here.

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Oh yeah, I'm really glad to talk
with you and learn more about

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Unity collagen.
You know, Unity College is

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located in the main.
And let's see.

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It's in.
Let me see.

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What was the town?
They're called again.

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New club.
Multiple locations.

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We have in unity itself in New
Gloucester, in Thorndyke, in

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Meuse, River and online.
Okay, I love it.

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Online, it's good, hybrids, a
new way of doing things.

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We've kind of, since the
pandemic, everybody's gone to a

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hybrid model.
So I'm glad you guys are there

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to.
So, well, before we jump in,

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tell us a little bit about
yourself.

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Dr. Corey and what you've been
doing and that what, you know,

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what you, how you got involved
with becoming the president of

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Unity College.
Absolutely, I actually started

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Unity College and I've performed
multiple roles and when my

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predecessor announced his
retirement, Fire.

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Meant the college was going
through a metamorphosis of kind

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of show you part.
Not a small private colleges

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that don't have major
endowments.

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Have been trying to find their
footing in this new world.

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And I was asked by the Board of
Trustees.

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If I could help transform our
mission to, you know, be more

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accessible more affordable to
more people out there in the

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great wide world.
And, you know, with the fact

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that everything around us Every
job, every career impacts the

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environment in some way, sure it
was h a worthy challenge, I was

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happy to take on.
Well that's great.

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Well, tell us how did Unity
College become America's

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environmental college?
Is that when I saw that I was

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like, huh, okay?
You know, Unity College has

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always been a Maverick in being
in first of many things, you

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know, it was actually founded in
1965 as a Entrepreneurial

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College, okay?
And as The Story Goes, it was

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back in when the interstate was
being built and it kind of

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bypassed the, you know, the town
and they were like, so what are

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we going to do is an economic
driver but very quickly in the

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mid-70s as the climate crisis,
you know, really became a

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scientific issue of our time.
The faculty staff and trustees

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at a time says, you know, how we
And shade ourselves from the

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rest of the world.
We've always been an institution

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that has focused on, you know,
what is called considered to be

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green.
Careers, how do we differentiate

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ourselves from the other kind of
more traditional liberal arts?

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Colleges that, you know, kind of
really focus on just basically

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everything.
And so, you know, the community

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back then really said, you know,
we are a school that really

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focuses on biology we really
focused on conservation.

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We really focus on really trying
to solve the climate issues of

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our time, let that be our Niche.
And so, you know, the concept of

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America's environmental College
was born and then over a number

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of about 20 years that the
evolved also into incorporating

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sustainability science.
As the as the kind of the core

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element in incorporating and
building out our curriculum.

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So, it was really a no-brainer
for the College looking at where

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the world is going and our place
in it, that's really great.

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Because, you know, I course, I
went to IUPUI, Indiana,

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university-purdue University of
Indianapolis and I majored in

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Biology and I love my earth
scientists.

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And you know, that's really kind
of Drew me into the

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environmental field, you know,
as a young graduate and I

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started out working for the
state of Indiana environmental

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agency and I love that.
You know, I love the

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environmental Focus that I
received in.

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College, but to have, you know,
a college like yourself

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primarily focusing on
Environmental Studies.

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That is impressive because I
don't think there's a lot of

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schools that says, hey this is
our Niche and this is what we're

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doing, that's what we're all
about.

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Absolutely, I think, you know,
in many ways the fact that many

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in Academia still CD
environmental science as a niche

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or program, you can elect into
or as a value-added I believe is

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a bit of a misnomer.
I mean, think about an industry

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That does not involve the
environment whether it's nursing

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or G or and the like so, you
know, one of the ways that I

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explain this is that, you know,
the liberal arts, you know, was

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invented by the Greeks.
As you know, it was militarized

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by the Romans and he was
democratized by the Americans.

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But the the idea that the
environmental Sciences how we

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engage with this one planet,
that we live in is somehow on

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the side or Or some Department
in the corner, doesn't make

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sense to me and most people who
work at Unity because it has to

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be kind of baked into the very
fabric of general education, The

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Core Curriculum, regardless of
the field.

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And that's I think has been our
mission is to kind of graduate

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more environmentally aware
sustainability minded

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professionals.
Regardless of which field they

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go into, right?
Right?

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No, I mean so When I looked at,
look at your website and I was

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kind of doing a little op-ed
research here for this

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interview.
I said, you know, I wonder how

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many undergraduate and master's
degrees.

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Do you guys offer?
So, you know, give me a little

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flavor, let the listeners know
what type of undergraduate and

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master's degrees.
Do you guys offer at Unity

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College?
Absolutely.

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All of our programs graduate
undergraduate.

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Micro-credentials certificates
associate degrees all are kind

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of live in the Environmental
Science World Old and

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sustainability in some of our
larger programs are like marine

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biology, animal behavior,
conservation law, and Vern

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concept, sorry conservation, law
enforcement sustainable business

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management with different
focuses just to name a few, you

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know, we have a, you know, a
little under 20 programs and and

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you know, I'm really looking
forward to the fact.

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Actually, we are launching our
first vet tech program.

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This fall in our Technical
Institute for environmental

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professions, which is our The
area that does put a two-year

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degrees.
And we also going to be

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launching environmental
engineering, you know, distance

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education program.
So we're constantly evolving

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into looking at what are the
careers that the kind of the

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green economy is going towards?
Well, I mean, you know, you'd

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have to be sleeping under a rock
to know that not to notice all

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the, the new, you know, focus on
sustainability and, and circular

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economy and climate change and
Addressing you know zero net

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carbon, you know, Industries are
really adopting and and really

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driving now sustainability into
all their programs as they

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manufacture and operate from
from my vantage, point being in

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the Professional Services world.
You know.

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We're helping clients do a lot
of these things.

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It is the way of the future.
I mean, you know, this is going

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to be driving the industry for
the next 20 to 30 years.

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He's With, you know, new new
Young professionals need to come

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into the the workforce and help
help, you know, industry, you

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know, meet these expectations
and they need trained

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individuals.
And this is what you guys are

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doing.
Absolutely, I mean, I, you know,

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I like I mentioned earlier, I
think that the concept of how

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any organization Corporation a
foundation, impacts the

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environment and economy.
If you are graduating, we got us

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the And you don't have a grasp
even at to Sheree grasp of how

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those three elements, you know,
kind of symbiotic if you will.

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Yeah, interconnected therapist.
Yeah, yeah.

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Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.

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So well.
So do you guys offer some online

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programs for, you know, actual
current professionals that are

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in the actual Workforce, they
need to scale up, you know, and

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and, you know, basically become
better familiar with different

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types of You know.
Technology or topics things like

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that.
What tell us we'll talk a little

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bit about that absolutely when
we designed this kind of new

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Enterprise model if you will one
of the things that we wanted to

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make sure was that we really
focused on differentiated

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audiences, using differentiated
pedagogies and we know that the

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adult Market, if you will
working professional second

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career, folks Place bound,
folks, can't always kind of do

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the residential.
So, one of the subsidiaries that

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we have is called the sea
Education and it's all online.

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There are no red, no residential
expectations.

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Instead our faculty and staff
and instructional designers work

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with students to incorporate
their local ecology within the

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fabric of their experience.
And so, you know, we offer micro

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credentials, we offer Workforce
Development, we offer

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certificates, will be offering
Associate's degrees, coming this

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fall and then of course, our
Baccalaureate programs ranging

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from sustainable.
Business to environmental

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justice.
So, our distance education

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program is the best suited if
you will, to support the

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working, adult who might be
placed bound, or who needs a

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level of flexibility in their
curriculum.

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That might not be best suited
for a semester approach, where

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you have to take five classes to
qualify for federal and state

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aid.
That's good to know because

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there's a lot of professionals
that are out there that are, you

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know, struggling In to skill up.
I mean, like, for instance, you

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may be working in say health and
safety or environmental space.

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And now, all of a sudden
sustainability becomes the focus

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and you just became the
sustainability leader.

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It's raw, it's your company.
And, you know, you didn't know

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anything really about that in
the past and now you have to

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become, you know versed, well
versed and you know,

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sustainability reporting and and
greenhouse gas calculations and

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they'll call a lot of things
like that, that professionals

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are struggling to skill up.
And, you know, if you've got

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Programs like that, that is
great news.

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And you know, not only do we
have programs like that but one

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of the Optics in our students is
the amount of folks who are

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taking our courses as non
degrees, because they want that

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one course that really applies.
But they don't really need a

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00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:04,500
degree because you already have
one.

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We're also seeing an uptick in
demand for non degree offerings.

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For example, we just partnered
with the ocean Conservancy in in

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d.c.
Along with a few other companies

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where we are, providing their
Workforce with basically

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sustainability and Leadership
principles in working the

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environment.
Our model also allows us to

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00:14:25,500 --> 00:14:29,000
partner with organizations and
Taylor curriculum.

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00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,700
Be the credit bearing or
non-credit bearing specifically

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for their industry, which is
actually much more valuable than

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00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:38,100
simply saying.
This is what we offer have your

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00:14:38,100 --> 00:14:41,200
employees.
Well, I've got, I've got an

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00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:43,100
opportunity I could discuss with
you.

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00:14:43,100 --> 00:14:46,900
So I belong to The Institute of
hazardous material managers and

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00:14:46,900 --> 00:14:50,200
they their credentialing body.
And you can obtain your

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00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:53,800
certificate of say, your
hazardous material management,

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00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:56,600
or your dangerous goods
management or your Safety

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Management.
They have a student program that

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00:14:59,900 --> 00:15:03,300
they are partnering with
universities and colleges to

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00:15:03,500 --> 00:15:07,300
basically provide a student
credential for somebody coming

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00:15:07,300 --> 00:15:10,700
out of college immediately.
They have a credential that they

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00:15:10,700 --> 00:15:13,400
can put on their resume when
they enter the workforce.

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00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:16,900
The hey I'm a No, the student or
an associate, I think they call

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00:15:16,900 --> 00:15:21,500
it an associate type certified,
hazardous material manager and

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00:15:21,500 --> 00:15:24,300
you learn you know all the
attendants of Rekha you know

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00:15:24,300 --> 00:15:28,700
d.o.t. all the various you know
regulations it's a fantastic

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00:15:28,700 --> 00:15:30,500
program.
If you've got some interest I'd

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00:15:30,500 --> 00:15:34,200
be able to be happy to hook you
up with that group and see if

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00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,800
you get some staff, might want
to help train some some young

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00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:39,600
professionals and hazardous,
waste management.

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00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:43,000
That's a big circular economy.
You know, component there?

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00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:45,500
No, absolutely.
I mean, we always happy to

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partner with folks you know as
you know growth comes in you

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00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:50,800
build your partner and you
acquire.

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So Partnerships are key.
And you know, we now actually

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work with four companies, where
we do their employee Workforce

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Development for non-credit
bearing trainings.

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As they are beginning to see the
value of having their employees

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00:16:05,900 --> 00:16:09,700
have a basic certification or
and my credentials.

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You know, we also partnered with
credly to allow us to give some

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00:16:13,700 --> 00:16:18,000
of Our partners, the ability to
kind of have the macro

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00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,700
Prudential on their website on
their LinkedIn pages and the

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00:16:21,708 --> 00:16:25,100
like as a new, as a
differentiated way to for

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00:16:25,100 --> 00:16:28,100
employees and students to show
their competencies.

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00:16:28,300 --> 00:16:29,300
Yeah.
No, I love it.

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00:16:29,300 --> 00:16:32,700
I mean and you know, I think
it's a big it is a

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00:16:32,708 --> 00:16:34,200
differentiator for a student to
come in.

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00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:36,100
Say well I've got this
credential, I'm not just, you

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00:16:36,100 --> 00:16:38,600
know, just have a bachelor
degree, that's it, you know, so

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00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:45,700
that's really great.
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Well, you know, Unity colleges,
you know, you've got this

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00:17:41,700 --> 00:17:45,300
Enterprise, which I believe is
kind of like the Operations, the

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00:17:45,300 --> 00:17:48,000
business management of the
Enterprise there at Unity

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00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,700
College, but how does it support
sustainable education?

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00:17:50,700 --> 00:17:52,900
You know, the business unit and
their objectives.

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00:17:53,300 --> 00:17:57,500
Absolutely, I mean, we are
designed, we know what we found

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00:17:58,100 --> 00:18:03,200
when we started is that most
colleges our size traditionally

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00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:05,800
historically.
Small, private colleges, you

306
00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:07,900
know, we've got one business
model, right?

307
00:18:07,900 --> 00:18:10,700
A residential program.
And anything that we want to do

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00:18:10,700 --> 00:18:14,600
is kind of adds a burden to the
to, the folks who already I have

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00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:19,600
a full plate and in many cases
those particular folks tend to

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00:18:19,608 --> 00:18:23,100
have expertise in a certain type
of education, which tends to be

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00:18:23,100 --> 00:18:26,000
more, the traditional kind of
freshman transfer residential

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00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:27,700
approach.
So, we came up with the

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00:18:27,700 --> 00:18:30,300
Enterprise model, it's very
similar to.

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00:18:30,500 --> 00:18:35,100
If you are a public school, a
system office or, you know, if

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00:18:35,100 --> 00:18:38,000
you are a corporation, a
corporate headquarters, if you

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00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:41,900
will, kind of like centralized
services in Human Resources,

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00:18:41,900 --> 00:18:44,200
budget quality control
assessment.

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00:18:44,300 --> 00:18:49,000
Ain't that that allows for
fractional kind of support for

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00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:53,600
different subsidiaries that can
focus with their own faculty,

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00:18:53,700 --> 00:18:56,800
their own staff, their own PLL
and not have to compromise

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00:18:56,800 --> 00:19:00,300
across the board.
So our Enterprise model supports

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00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:03,900
currently four, distinct
subsidiaries it supports

323
00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,700
distance education and this is
education is really focused

324
00:19:07,700 --> 00:19:13,100
around asynchronous online Place
bound adult students that is who

325
00:19:13,100 --> 00:19:16,000
they cater to That is who the
instructional designers.

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00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:18,500
The Faculty that is the
pedagogical approach.

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00:19:18,900 --> 00:19:22,000
We have what we call hybrid
learning, which is your more

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00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:26,300
High Residency program that
allows for expeditions

329
00:19:26,300 --> 00:19:29,500
residential Etc and allow
students to take both

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00:19:29,500 --> 00:19:33,000
face-to-face or online based on
their needs and that they tend

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00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:36,100
to focus more on your more
traditional freshman and

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00:19:36,100 --> 00:19:39,700
transfer.
We have the technical institute

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00:19:39,700 --> 00:19:42,400
for environmental professions.
That's launching this fall and

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00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:46,400
they'll be focused specifically
on a OC 8 degrees and

335
00:19:46,900 --> 00:19:50,600
certificates at a very
differentiated price point

336
00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:53,100
designed around Regional
Workforce Development.

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00:19:53,100 --> 00:19:56,100
In the areas of green careers,
for example will be launching

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00:19:56,100 --> 00:19:57,900
event.
Tech will be launching data

339
00:19:57,900 --> 00:20:00,200
analytics for environmental
professions because we're seeing

340
00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:03,900
that as a really key is big one
right now.

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00:20:03,900 --> 00:20:05,100
I was going to touch on that
one.

342
00:20:05,100 --> 00:20:06,900
We will touch on that one.
Yeah, absolutely.

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00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:11,900
And then finally, we have a
sustainable Ventures, the School

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00:20:11,900 --> 00:20:14,200
of Business and system of
Ventures which really focuses on

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00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:19,700
The concept of low residency and
you know, this idea that those

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00:20:19,700 --> 00:20:24,000
who can do also teach.
So we have a working large up in

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00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:27,300
Meuse River.
We have a farm in Thorndyke, we

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00:20:27,300 --> 00:20:31,100
have an event center of but
Unity a campus tour.

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00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:33,300
So think of it in the
traditional sense as an

350
00:20:33,300 --> 00:20:36,700
exhilarating but also as an
opportunity to really lend

351
00:20:36,700 --> 00:20:42,900
itself to providing kind of the
non-credit, bearing arm of the

352
00:20:42,900 --> 00:20:45,800
college.
All of Of those allowed to

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00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,700
operate independently, through
our decentralized functions and

354
00:20:49,700 --> 00:20:53,100
then they all are supported by
the Enterprise for centralized

355
00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:57,900
functions and then we can add
and subtract subsidiaries as new

356
00:20:57,900 --> 00:21:01,200
markets and new pedagogies,
develop, that's great.

357
00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:02,700
Now, I really like it.
That's good.

358
00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:06,000
Well, looks like you've got the
core system, therefore support

359
00:21:06,100 --> 00:21:07,800
established.
Well, that's really great.

360
00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:11,200
And you've got these four region
or four groups, business units

361
00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:14,200
that are helping Drive the bit,
the the education.

362
00:21:14,500 --> 00:21:18,400
Engine there.
You know one of the things that

363
00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,600
caught my eye as I was kind of
perusing.

364
00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:27,400
Your website was the you guys
were the first institution of

365
00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,900
higher education to divest 18
million dollars of your

366
00:21:30,900 --> 00:21:34,200
endowment from fossil fuels.
Let's talk about that.

367
00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:36,700
Let's let's get into that.
What you know that must have

368
00:21:36,700 --> 00:21:41,600
been a serious conversation with
the the leadership there to make

369
00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:45,800
that decision you know because
Quite frankly, you got, you got

370
00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:48,400
some, you know, Revenue you got
money there, you're trying to

371
00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,700
maintain and you got to keep
growing the and the investment

372
00:21:51,700 --> 00:21:54,900
and keep funding the college.
And, you know, wrong moves,

373
00:21:54,900 --> 00:21:59,000
might have some impact and, you
know, talk about, you know, all

374
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,600
that behind the scenes, if you
could a little bit and what went

375
00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:05,800
into being the first college to
do this, because this is pretty,

376
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:07,600
pretty impressive.
Absolutely.

377
00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:09,700
I mean, I'm very proud to say
that we are celebrating our 10

378
00:22:09,700 --> 00:22:13,400
year anniversary of divesting.
Our endowment from fossil fuels

379
00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:17,500
this Fall actually back then he
was 12 and a half million.

380
00:22:17,700 --> 00:22:20,300
It's now grown to 18 and a half,
okay?

381
00:22:20,700 --> 00:22:26,000
But as America's environmental
College mean, somebody had to

382
00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:29,700
lead the way and you know,
unlike many colleges or what you

383
00:22:29,700 --> 00:22:32,400
see in the news where there
seemed to have been a lot of

384
00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:36,000
contention around decisions like
this, it was actually pretty

385
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:39,000
straightforward.
My predecessor gets the full

386
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,300
credit for making this decision.
I don't want to take that away

387
00:22:42,300 --> 00:22:45,500
from him and you know, he
Partnered with three fifty.org.

388
00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:50,900
And the idea was, you know, how
can we not divest?

389
00:22:50,900 --> 00:22:55,300
And, you know, the the issues
that we had was less about the

390
00:22:55,300 --> 00:22:58,500
decision and more of the
implementation plan because back

391
00:22:58,500 --> 00:23:01,600
then there was no fossil fuel
free portfolio.

392
00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:08,700
So, that's making the decision
was actually supported at all

393
00:23:08,700 --> 00:23:11,500
levels students, faculty staff
trustees.

394
00:23:11,700 --> 00:23:14,900
The, the the real conversation
was how Are you going to get

395
00:23:14,900 --> 00:23:18,100
there and do it in a financial
way that you're going to still

396
00:23:18,100 --> 00:23:21,000
be successful at, you know,
getting a return on your

397
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:22,500
investment.
Exactly.

398
00:23:22,500 --> 00:23:24,000
And that was the biggest
concern, right?

399
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,600
Is that, you know, if we do this
are we going to know?

400
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:30,500
What is the what's the
likelihood we going to lose?

401
00:23:30,500 --> 00:23:33,700
What, you know, what precious
endowment we do have.

402
00:23:33,700 --> 00:23:36,400
I'm very proud to say that over
the last ten years, we have

403
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:41,000
performed at or better than the
index and you know the Board of

404
00:23:41,008 --> 00:23:44,300
Trustees back then said, you
know, we can sacrifice one or R

405
00:23:44,300 --> 00:23:47,800
2 percentage points to do the
right thing and it ended up not

406
00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:51,500
being quite the, the, the
sacrifice, the key was the

407
00:23:51,500 --> 00:23:55,400
implementation plan, the Board
of Trustees created investment

408
00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,400
committee.
As you can imagine worked with a

409
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,100
investment firm because we do
not have parties.

410
00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:03,900
Yeah.
And the investment perspective

411
00:24:03,900 --> 00:24:08,700
is no fossil fuel, free index.
And so the first list that the

412
00:24:08,700 --> 00:24:12,500
college created was that,
honestly, this they created a

413
00:24:12,508 --> 00:24:17,400
list of 200, the The top 200
fossil fuel free companies that

414
00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:21,900
says we would invest in those.
That's really how we started and

415
00:24:22,500 --> 00:24:25,900
the investment firm was willing
to work with us because they saw

416
00:24:26,300 --> 00:24:31,100
that somebody had to be the
first and then we give ourselves

417
00:24:31,100 --> 00:24:34,500
three years to fully divest
because one of the misnomers

418
00:24:34,500 --> 00:24:37,300
with investment decisions is
people assume the day you

419
00:24:37,300 --> 00:24:39,200
divest, you just going to throw
your socks out.

420
00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:42,500
The window know things have to
come to maturity in the like we

421
00:24:42,500 --> 00:24:44,700
were able to do that in about a
A year.

422
00:24:45,100 --> 00:24:48,500
So we didn't have to take the
three years and and, you know,

423
00:24:48,500 --> 00:24:51,900
the rest is history as they say,
that is amazing.

424
00:24:51,900 --> 00:24:56,500
I mean, it's funny this this,
you know, topic came up.

425
00:24:56,700 --> 00:25:01,000
I don't know if you've seen the
movie or the show billions, but

426
00:25:01,100 --> 00:25:04,600
recently, I was watching an
episode and, and they are trying

427
00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:09,400
to help a university divest.
I don't know if you saw this

428
00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:12,700
episode, but then I remember the
episode I was laughing when I

429
00:25:12,700 --> 00:25:14,100
saw it.
Yeah, yeah.

430
00:25:14,300 --> 00:25:16,700
So I was watching it and then
this came up and, you know,

431
00:25:16,700 --> 00:25:19,200
they're trying to make this
decision to divest and things

432
00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:23,200
like that and and then I read
your your website that you did

433
00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,600
this.
I was like wow this is so like,

434
00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:30,900
you know, you know, Deja Vu or
serendipitous that this cut,

435
00:25:30,900 --> 00:25:33,700
this topic came up that I was
watching you know that there's a

436
00:25:33,700 --> 00:25:36,600
lot of Institutions really
trying to you know, make this

437
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:40,700
decision just like you guys did
to divest to make, you know,

438
00:25:40,700 --> 00:25:42,700
basically put your money where
your mouth is, you know, you're

439
00:25:42,700 --> 00:25:45,700
really trying to make an impact.
And the environment you want to

440
00:25:45,700 --> 00:25:48,000
support, you know, you know,
companies that are doing it the

441
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,200
right way.
You want to help reduce climate

442
00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:53,500
change and things like that and
you guys did it amazing.

443
00:25:53,500 --> 00:25:56,400
Great story, a love it but
there's a there's a bigger.

444
00:25:56,500 --> 00:25:58,000
There's a bigger story here to
write.

445
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,500
I mean, let's talk about you
guys started the the the, you

446
00:26:01,500 --> 00:26:05,500
know, the path and all of a
sudden 1,500 institutions later

447
00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:09,400
Now, what are we talking about?
Yeah, I mean, well now it's in

448
00:26:09,408 --> 00:26:13,100
the trillions of dollars and you
know once the major players kind

449
00:26:13,100 --> 00:26:15,900
of bought into it, you know, the
larger institutions.

450
00:26:15,900 --> 00:26:19,000
I mean I'm also proud to say
that the state of Maine was the

451
00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:21,300
first state in the nation to
divest.

452
00:26:21,300 --> 00:26:24,200
Its really interesting that
Unity was the first college main

453
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,700
was the first state in.
Now, some of the major

454
00:26:27,900 --> 00:26:31,600
universities, I think for the
longest time it to your point,

455
00:26:32,100 --> 00:26:34,800
there was a couple of
confounding issues, when was

456
00:26:34,900 --> 00:26:39,200
their fear of loss of Turn.
And I think the mole college is

457
00:26:39,208 --> 00:26:41,600
what in most people know
investment is.

458
00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:45,100
Just that, the, I think the
other piece was, there was a lot

459
00:26:45,100 --> 00:26:49,900
of bad information that once you
decided to divest, you somehow

460
00:26:49,900 --> 00:26:55,300
were under pressure to divest
all of your stocks immediately.

461
00:26:55,700 --> 00:26:59,800
And so, you know, over the last
10 years, my predecessor myself,

462
00:26:59,900 --> 00:27:04,100
we've spoken to student by
student populations, cfo's

463
00:27:04,100 --> 00:27:07,500
colleges trustees.
And we've said, you know, make

464
00:27:07,500 --> 00:27:12,100
the decision, stop digging the
hole and then create an

465
00:27:12,100 --> 00:27:17,100
implementation plan that works
best for your portfolio based

466
00:27:17,100 --> 00:27:20,200
with your financial advisors and
you investment firms.

467
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:24,200
Because if you have a stock for
example, that doesn't match or

468
00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:27,200
bond, that doesn't mature for
three years, and you make the

469
00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,400
decision today.
All that means is once it's

470
00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:34,300
mature, don't we invest it.
In fossil fuels, we invested in

471
00:27:34,300 --> 00:27:37,200
the right approach, we have to
Stop digging.

472
00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:42,300
And I think those misnomers that
fear of the unknown, you know,

473
00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:46,100
it's funny.
Now it's almost business as

474
00:27:46,100 --> 00:27:49,900
usual.
But somebody had to be first and

475
00:27:49,900 --> 00:27:54,900
if Unity College over the next
150 years gets remembered that

476
00:27:54,900 --> 00:27:59,500
it made it okay?
For the big players to have a

477
00:27:59,500 --> 00:28:03,300
roadmap with, which they can be
more comfortable in that.

478
00:28:03,300 --> 00:28:06,000
I think that was a decision.
Well made and yes.

479
00:28:06,100 --> 00:28:07,800
It was only 12 and a half
million.

480
00:28:08,300 --> 00:28:11,600
Well, I mean it was everything.
Well, it was everything.

481
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:15,400
I mean that was, you know, you
in your small College, you know

482
00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:18,500
that endowment needed to last.
It needed to help you grow.

483
00:28:18,500 --> 00:28:21,400
And you guys were putting your
neck on the line to make this

484
00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:25,100
work and it did.
And then all of a sudden now

485
00:28:25,100 --> 00:28:31,200
you've got major institutions.
I saw this chart on your website

486
00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:33,100
that showed the other
institutions of them

487
00:28:33,100 --> 00:28:37,000
contributing and you've got you
know, Stanford and Yale and

488
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,700
Harvard.
I mean these guys are holding

489
00:28:39,700 --> 00:28:42,700
like 50 some billion dollars in
endowment.

490
00:28:42,700 --> 00:28:45,100
I'm sitting there going that's
where the big money is and these

491
00:28:45,100 --> 00:28:49,000
guys have, you know, divested
and that's where the 39 trillion

492
00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,700
dollars is adding up over time
with all these institutions.

493
00:28:51,700 --> 00:28:55,000
There's some big hitters in
here, you know, what does it

494
00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:59,600
feel like to be, you know that
leader of that pack that you

495
00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:03,400
know, started it all.
I mean if you want to ask all of

496
00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:06,000
the employees trustees it's
Pride.

497
00:29:06,100 --> 00:29:09,800
I'd write its but honestly I
think at the end of the day it

498
00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:12,300
was the right thing to do.
Right?

499
00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:15,700
It how I think that somebody was
going to have to make that

500
00:29:15,700 --> 00:29:19,900
decision and I and I'm glad that
my predecessor and the Board of

501
00:29:19,900 --> 00:29:23,100
Trustees and the community back
then well brave enough to make

502
00:29:23,100 --> 00:29:26,100
that decision but no matter what
happens.

503
00:29:27,500 --> 00:29:33,100
Unity College has cemented its
name in kind of the the climate

504
00:29:33,100 --> 00:29:38,100
Century if you will.
That we Started this Revolution

505
00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:42,000
and it was peaceful, it was
positive.

506
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:46,500
It was well planned and we made
it, okay?

507
00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:51,700
For the big players, 10 years
later to, to have the courage to

508
00:29:51,700 --> 00:29:56,400
follow suit, I always joke with
my board, wouldn't it be nice if

509
00:29:56,400 --> 00:30:00,000
every college that decided to
divest since then gave us a

510
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,900
little bit of a royalty, but,
you know, it's a good, you know,

511
00:30:03,900 --> 00:30:06,800
maybe one of those billions of a
Harvard, you be just fine.

512
00:30:06,900 --> 00:30:09,200
Just round up, and send it our
way.

513
00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:12,400
But in all seriousness, I want
to know who to build a couple

514
00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:14,100
more business units for their
prize.

515
00:30:14,100 --> 00:30:18,200
Exactly.
But, you know, II You say that

516
00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:23,400
that group of folks were in the
right time in the right place

517
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:27,600
made the right decision and we
should always be proud of them.

518
00:30:28,100 --> 00:30:34,900
Yeah, it's great.
I mean if you're listening to

519
00:30:34,900 --> 00:30:38,400
this podcast I'll bet you may be
thinking how can I level up in

520
00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:40,900
advance my career?
If you want to get that

521
00:30:40,900 --> 00:30:43,500
promotion, increase your
regulatory knowledge gain.

522
00:30:43,500 --> 00:30:45,900
Professional recognition and
earn more money.

523
00:30:46,100 --> 00:30:48,700
Then it's time to obtain.
In an industry credential from

524
00:30:48,700 --> 00:30:51,300
The Institute of hazardous
material management.

525
00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:54,100
The I hmm offers eight
credentials that are antsy

526
00:30:54,100 --> 00:30:57,100
approved for students
experience, skilled employees

527
00:30:57,100 --> 00:31:00,400
without a degree and for the
degree, professional looking to

528
00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:04,300
set themselves apart from the
pack, their credentials, focus

529
00:31:04,300 --> 00:31:07,100
on three main areas, the
certified hazardous material

530
00:31:07,100 --> 00:31:08,500
manager, the see.
Hmm.

531
00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:12,800
The certified dangerous goods,
professional the CD GP, and the

532
00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:14,900
certified safety and health
manager.

533
00:31:14,900 --> 00:31:18,600
The CSS.
Hm, if you Comment, I, hmm,

534
00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:22,400
credential professional, then
you will be in the top 1% of

535
00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:24,700
your profession and your
credential will have a global

536
00:31:24,700 --> 00:31:26,800
reach.
Check out their programs, they

537
00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:36,300
offer at www.ihs.gov/scholarship
today.

538
00:31:39,700 --> 00:31:41,900
Well, that's really good to hear
that, you know, you worked with

539
00:31:41,900 --> 00:31:44,800
a great investment company to
help you kind of maintain and,

540
00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:47,800
and, and basically, you know, do
you know out perform some of the

541
00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:51,300
previous Returns on investments
for your endowment that made the

542
00:31:51,300 --> 00:31:55,300
decision so much easier?
I can sure, I'm sure you know

543
00:31:55,300 --> 00:32:00,700
talk a little bit about Unity
support of 350 org dot org and

544
00:32:00,700 --> 00:32:03,400
as an ally to the fight against
climate change because I think

545
00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:09,300
there was a lot of support there
and I saw a little YouTube clip

546
00:32:09,300 --> 00:32:12,600
for Three fifty.org, just
recently and you know, they're

547
00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:17,000
really pushing for a global type
boots on the ground, Grassroots

548
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,100
support of these types of
changes.

549
00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:22,900
Absolutely.
I mean, Unity College and three

550
00:32:22,900 --> 00:32:26,600
fifty.org, you know, it was a,
it was a match made in heaven.

551
00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:29,800
If you will, at the right time,
three fifty.org back, then was

552
00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:33,200
pushing this agenda quite
strongly.

553
00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:36,900
And, and when my predecessor who
was who was a climate change

554
00:32:36,900 --> 00:32:40,700
expert himself met, and They had
this conversation.

555
00:32:40,900 --> 00:32:45,100
Three fifty.org, was able to
bring some legitimacy and some

556
00:32:45,100 --> 00:32:47,900
data to the table to partner
with Unity College.

557
00:32:47,900 --> 00:32:49,500
That gave us of the confidence
to do it.

558
00:32:49,500 --> 00:32:52,900
So, you know, we are very proud
of the work that they've done.

559
00:32:52,900 --> 00:32:57,900
We were glad that they were here
at the right time to help us and

560
00:32:57,900 --> 00:33:01,100
it is a, it's an organization
that if you're seriously

561
00:33:01,100 --> 00:33:04,700
considering making this
decision, it's a great partner

562
00:33:04,700 --> 00:33:09,400
to talk to, that's good.
Well, let's dig in a little bit.

563
00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:12,400
On some new trends in the
industry and I'm front and

564
00:33:12,408 --> 00:33:15,800
center watching a lot of these
things because, you know, most

565
00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:21,000
people know I do environmental
Consulting and have her 20 years

566
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:25,900
and data analytics is leading
the way for, you know,

567
00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:28,800
evaluating environmental
information, whether that's

568
00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:32,000
sustainability, climate change,
you know, greenhouse gas, all

569
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:34,700
this kind of things, talk a
little bit about, you know,

570
00:33:34,700 --> 00:33:37,400
house Unity College, helping
train young and seasoned

571
00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:39,200
Professionals in the learning,
you know.

572
00:33:39,500 --> 00:33:42,600
These types of skills because
it's going to be a valuable

573
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:46,500
skill to have absolutely, you
know, historically you need to

574
00:33:46,500 --> 00:33:49,600
college, has always been an
environmental science,

575
00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:51,800
institution.
And I say that quite

576
00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:55,600
deliberately because I think
there are many out there who

577
00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:59,600
confuse environmental science
with just environmentalism.

578
00:33:59,900 --> 00:34:04,400
Hmm.
And I think that while for, you

579
00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:08,199
know, in our 55 year history,
we've done a really good job in

580
00:34:08,199 --> 00:34:12,900
the Incorporating within the
fabric of our curriculum, you

581
00:34:12,908 --> 00:34:16,000
know how to use data to make
informed decisions, whether it's

582
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:20,500
in statistics in biology and the
like the concept of data science

583
00:34:20,500 --> 00:34:26,300
as a standalone subject matter
is something that we recognize

584
00:34:26,300 --> 00:34:29,500
over the last few years.
That is missing in our

585
00:34:29,500 --> 00:34:33,600
curriculum portfolio.
We've also realized that it's

586
00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:38,699
not a bachelor's degree.
So we so we have data analytics

587
00:34:38,699 --> 00:34:40,900
Incorporated.
Within the fabric of our

588
00:34:40,900 --> 00:34:43,900
Baccalaureate programs and our
masters programs, but we are

589
00:34:43,900 --> 00:34:47,000
creating a data analytics for
environment professions in our

590
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:49,500
associate degrees.
We are also creating a

591
00:34:49,500 --> 00:34:53,699
certificate program, and will
also be creating non-credit

592
00:34:53,699 --> 00:34:55,699
micro credentials.
Because there are many people

593
00:34:55,699 --> 00:34:59,200
out there who already have
baccalaureates who already have

594
00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:03,200
jobs that really need the skill
set and we will provide it using

595
00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:07,100
our hyflex, our
competency-based, our distance,

596
00:35:07,100 --> 00:35:12,800
education pedagogy I will allow
these folks to be able to take

597
00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:17,400
these competencies will only
help them because, you know,

598
00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:24,500
climate change as you very well.
Know, is a symptom of

599
00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:30,500
overpopulation, poor policy.
Lack of data in decision making

600
00:35:30,500 --> 00:35:35,700
with agriculture with energy and
the like, and what?

601
00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:39,800
As a as an institution based in
science, if we can help. folks

602
00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:44,900
in all areas of the workforce,
get a certificate about how to

603
00:35:44,900 --> 00:35:49,300
use data to quantify and
objectively and empirically,

604
00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:56,800
document, everything from Energy
used to doing data analysis, for

605
00:35:56,800 --> 00:36:00,400
incorporating.
You know, starting a new Farm.

606
00:36:00,500 --> 00:36:03,500
I think that is a very, very
important piece that is

607
00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,000
evolving.
And we are launching those

608
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:10,200
programs this fall because it's
not enough to just say I'm

609
00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:13,700
graduating with a degree and I
can I understand data, but

610
00:36:13,700 --> 00:36:16,500
really understanding the data
science is a growing career

611
00:36:16,500 --> 00:36:18,800
field.
That is going to be in high

612
00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,200
demand just like Logistics will
be as well.

613
00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:26,500
Yeah.
I mean it really is mi mi yeah,

614
00:36:26,900 --> 00:36:30,100
Malik.
I mean we get a lot of people

615
00:36:30,100 --> 00:36:34,300
who come into the industry and
they are looking for young

616
00:36:34,300 --> 00:36:37,600
professionals to already, have
some skills to be able to, you

617
00:36:37,607 --> 00:36:41,600
know, basically put together
some, some dashboards of, you

618
00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:45,200
know, for from a data analytics
perspective and some runs some,

619
00:36:45,500 --> 00:36:49,300
you know, trending analysis and
having Sevilla visualizations,

620
00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:51,400
you know, at their fingertips,
to interpret the information.

621
00:36:51,500 --> 00:36:53,600
In there trying to solve, you
know, and understand.

622
00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:57,000
And I think that is a skill set
that young Professionals of.

623
00:36:57,008 --> 00:36:58,900
They come into the market with
that in there in there.

624
00:36:58,900 --> 00:37:01,900
You know, back pocket.
They're going to be, they're

625
00:37:01,900 --> 00:37:04,900
going to start to, you know,
become very quickly assets to

626
00:37:04,900 --> 00:37:06,500
that call any of those
companies, you know?

627
00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:08,400
Absolutely.
I mean, for example, at Unity

628
00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:11,700
College, we've always
Incorporated GIS as part of

629
00:37:11,900 --> 00:37:15,800
another another great.
Yep, another great technology to

630
00:37:16,100 --> 00:37:17,900
know.
Yeah.

631
00:37:17,900 --> 00:37:21,300
So so, so you're right, I mean
visual representation of data on

632
00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:24,900
The standing Trend analysis
being able to create predictive

633
00:37:24,900 --> 00:37:28,700
modeling, being able to those, I
would say, Unity College, our

634
00:37:28,700 --> 00:37:31,800
faculty have always been very
good at incorporating that but I

635
00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:36,000
think it's time we kind of
supersize that and, and through

636
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:40,400
your point, you know, we need to
stop looking at environmental

637
00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:43,400
sciences and the issues of
climate change as predominately

638
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:47,300
partisan political issues.
The it is a, it is, it is, it is

639
00:37:47,300 --> 00:37:51,200
a problem that we have to solve
using data and using science.

640
00:37:51,500 --> 00:37:54,500
Yeah no I agree with you.
I mean it's you get good data

641
00:37:54,500 --> 00:37:57,000
and good science mean, that's
what people need.

642
00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:59,600
They need to be able to measure
and monitor and track this

643
00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:03,700
information and you need good.
You need to good Solutions, you

644
00:38:03,700 --> 00:38:06,200
need software, you need, you
know, data analytics, you need

645
00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:09,400
this, these tools and and
professionals that come with

646
00:38:09,500 --> 00:38:11,100
into the market.
With that those skills are going

647
00:38:11,100 --> 00:38:19,500
to be high valued professionals.
Did you know e-tank is the only

648
00:38:19,500 --> 00:38:22,100
environmental Rental Equipment
company in the industry that

649
00:38:22,100 --> 00:38:26,200
offers a 100% certified clean
guarantee at no additional cost.

650
00:38:26,500 --> 00:38:28,800
Well, this gives customers the
Peace of Mind knowing that

651
00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:31,600
container contents from the
previous renter, isn't going to

652
00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:34,300
cross contaminate the contents
of the current customer and

653
00:38:34,300 --> 00:38:36,400
potentially cause liability
concerns.

654
00:38:36,900 --> 00:38:38,700
You know.
E-tank also provides a

655
00:38:38,700 --> 00:38:41,800
one-of-a-kind complete
maintenance program for all its

656
00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:45,500
rental items, including liquid,
tight roll off containers, fluid

657
00:38:45,500 --> 00:38:49,700
transfer pumps, and filtration
Some components to learn more

658
00:38:49,700 --> 00:38:52,600
about the types of containers at
pump, see tank supplies.

659
00:38:52,700 --> 00:38:55,100
Check out their website at
www.ato.gov.au.

660
00:38:56,800 --> 00:38:59,500
So the next time you are faced
with an environmentally

661
00:38:59,500 --> 00:39:03,500
challenging project, give e-tank
a call to help solve your

662
00:39:03,500 --> 00:39:05,500
problem.
It's just that easy.

663
00:39:08,900 --> 00:39:11,100
Another area that I didn't have
it on the list here.

664
00:39:11,100 --> 00:39:13,500
Some questions I wanted to ask
you though, but another one that

665
00:39:13,500 --> 00:39:17,000
kind of came to mind, was, you
know, a business, a business

666
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:20,300
degree, you know, there's a lot
of professionals coming in the

667
00:39:20,300 --> 00:39:23,600
environment of space and, you
know, running in managing

668
00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:27,900
business as part of this
process, you know, of, you know

669
00:39:27,900 --> 00:39:31,600
sustainability or if they go
into Consulting I can tell you

670
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,700
you almost have to have an MBA
to manage businesses, and

671
00:39:34,700 --> 00:39:39,200
invoices and clients and without
those skill sets as I mean it's

672
00:39:39,200 --> 00:39:41,900
great to have the scientific
understanding but Dia the

673
00:39:41,900 --> 00:39:45,100
business side is crucial for
success of a lot of

674
00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:48,400
professionals coming in where
you guys with you know Business

675
00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:51,900
Degree supports or you know
associate business degree or

676
00:39:51,900 --> 00:39:53,900
minor thing like that with part
of your education.

677
00:39:54,500 --> 00:39:56,700
Absolutely.
I mean to your point you know if

678
00:39:56,700 --> 00:39:58,700
you if they eat is not the
tenants of sustainability

679
00:39:58,700 --> 00:40:03,100
science, right?
Is you know economy ecology and

680
00:40:03,700 --> 00:40:08,400
you know humanity and and so we
incorporated about 5 years ago.

681
00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:11,100
So Sustainable business
management, which focuses are

682
00:40:11,100 --> 00:40:17,300
some very specific Industries
because to your point, you know,

683
00:40:17,300 --> 00:40:21,200
the environment, everything we
do, whether you're selling

684
00:40:21,200 --> 00:40:23,400
textiles or you're running a
hotel right?

685
00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:26,900
You are managing a business.
Yeah.

686
00:40:26,900 --> 00:40:28,800
And you aren't interacting with
the environment.

687
00:40:28,900 --> 00:40:31,300
Yeah.
And so we launched a sustainable

688
00:40:31,300 --> 00:40:33,900
business MBA.
So instead of it being an

689
00:40:33,900 --> 00:40:37,500
elective, it is kind of kicked
in understanding the concept of

690
00:40:37,500 --> 00:40:42,500
differentiated economies.
And how, you know profits and

691
00:40:42,500 --> 00:40:47,300
you know, managing a piano, you
know, balance sheet, you know,

692
00:40:47,300 --> 00:40:51,800
how do you attract, how do we
change the conversation that

693
00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:54,200
somehow involved in
environmental science and

694
00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:59,000
climate change does not somehow
coexist with business?

695
00:40:59,100 --> 00:41:02,000
Yeah, I think that's the that's
been the biggest coup.

696
00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:06,000
If you will, that the climate
change deniers of done, is they

697
00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:08,500
made it look like
pro-environment is untied.

698
00:41:08,700 --> 00:41:11,800
Business.
Yeah it's really weird because

699
00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:13,700
it didn't I go hand-in-hand,
right?

700
00:41:13,700 --> 00:41:17,500
Yeah, you've got to have a
balance there and I mean, you

701
00:41:17,500 --> 00:41:20,900
know II, see that and live it
every day and of course, you

702
00:41:20,908 --> 00:41:23,700
know, we're I'm passionate about
getting up and you know, trying

703
00:41:23,700 --> 00:41:26,900
to help the environment but same
time you know there's a business

704
00:41:26,900 --> 00:41:29,100
aspect to this too and you get
to have someone, you know, good

705
00:41:29,100 --> 00:41:31,000
understanding about it.
So it's good to see that you

706
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:33,400
guys are incorporating.
Those things into your

707
00:41:33,600 --> 00:41:37,400
curriculum and those offerings
because it's a valued aspect.

708
00:41:38,700 --> 00:41:43,200
I would say, you know, one of
most of our students, as you can

709
00:41:43,200 --> 00:41:46,200
imagine are not taking the
business major, but they are

710
00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:48,100
taking the business
concentrations, they are taking

711
00:41:48,100 --> 00:41:51,100
the business electives because
it's amazing.

712
00:41:51,100 --> 00:41:54,000
How many folks historically that
I've spoken to said, oh, I

713
00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:56,200
graduated from Unity College in
your adventure program, I

714
00:41:56,200 --> 00:41:58,600
graduated, but then I realized
that I needed to go back to

715
00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:02,000
school because I needed some
basic business principles.

716
00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:05,900
So it became it became a
no-brainer five years ago.

717
00:42:05,900 --> 00:42:09,300
The way that data analytics is
now becoming a no-brainer Now,

718
00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:13,200
one of my favorite sayings is no
margin no mission.

719
00:42:14,300 --> 00:42:17,200
Yeah, so even as a non-profit,
right?

720
00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:21,600
If whether the, whether the
funding comes from, tuition from

721
00:42:21,600 --> 00:42:25,700
Grants, from gifts from the
federal or state government, if

722
00:42:25,900 --> 00:42:29,100
you don't have the right
resources, then you can, we can

723
00:42:29,100 --> 00:42:32,500
support students and that that
goes the same for any industry.

724
00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:33,800
That's right.
That's right.

725
00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:37,300
You know because there's so many
you know professions like you

726
00:42:37,300 --> 00:42:38,900
know sustainability
professionals.

727
00:42:38,900 --> 00:42:41,000
I don't know if you saw
recently, you know Deloitte just

728
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:44,100
said they're investing, you
know, 1 billion dollars in And,

729
00:42:44,300 --> 00:42:45,900
you know, sustainability
business.

730
00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:48,900
Well, I'm as onto, yeah.
I mean, these guys are all

731
00:42:48,900 --> 00:42:50,700
business, you know, companies
are key.

732
00:42:50,700 --> 00:42:53,600
Know, they counting Big D, big
accounting, firms KPMG,

733
00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:58,900
Deloitte, you know, PWC, you
know, all of them ey they're

734
00:42:58,900 --> 00:43:02,300
they're they're bringing in
sustainability and

735
00:43:02,300 --> 00:43:05,800
environmental, you know, aspects
to the accounting World business

736
00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:09,100
world.
So it's it goes back to the

737
00:43:11,400 --> 00:43:13,400
fundamentals of a university or
College.

738
00:43:13,600 --> 00:43:17,000
Right, you need to know how to
think, how to read at a right.

739
00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:19,900
But at the same time, you know,
the concept of Ethics, the

740
00:43:19,900 --> 00:43:24,000
concept of of business, it is,
it is, you know, the future

741
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:28,200
while I do believe that
specialization is key having a

742
00:43:28,200 --> 00:43:31,200
well, balanced portfolio of
Education that makes you

743
00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:34,700
understand the relationship.
You know, between, you know,

744
00:43:34,700 --> 00:43:38,000
people profit and Planet.
I think gives you a competitive

745
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:41,300
advantage and if you think one
is completely independent of the

746
00:43:41,300 --> 00:43:43,100
other two.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.

747
00:43:43,500 --> 00:43:44,600
Good.
That's good.

748
00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:47,500
Well, let's talk a little bit
about, you know, the unity

749
00:43:47,500 --> 00:43:50,100
School of environmental business
and state sustainability

750
00:43:50,100 --> 00:43:51,600
Ventures.
Tell me a little bit about this

751
00:43:51,600 --> 00:43:54,800
McKee or yeah, the McKay farms
and research stations.

752
00:43:55,500 --> 00:44:00,000
Sure, the McGee for Mary
cessation is part of a portfolio

753
00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:03,600
of sustainable businesses.
That is it as a number of

754
00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:06,400
locations, we have across the
state of Maine and hopefully,

755
00:44:06,400 --> 00:44:09,400
someday nationally and
hopefully, someday globally.

756
00:44:09,400 --> 00:44:14,200
So we've got the farm that was
donated to us and we use As a

757
00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:19,500
commercial Farm but at the same
time we use it to promote

758
00:44:19,500 --> 00:44:22,600
sustainable practices.
We use it for students to be

759
00:44:22,600 --> 00:44:26,500
able to do research on it.
And the like and it is a it is

760
00:44:26,500 --> 00:44:32,300
an axillary that we have that
helps our institution along with

761
00:44:32,700 --> 00:44:36,800
moose Sky Lodge which is
150-acre Lodge up in Meuse River

762
00:44:36,800 --> 00:44:40,900
that is we use as a large but
also a place for students to go

763
00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:48,000
and study what, you know?
Hospitality wildlife biology and

764
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:51,400
the like, so McKay farm.
And we sensation is part of an

765
00:44:51,400 --> 00:44:55,100
ecosystem, of small, sustainable
businesses that we have, as we

766
00:44:55,100 --> 00:45:00,000
are trying to create a, the idea
that those who can do also teach

767
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:04,100
and our hope is to expand the
portfolio of small sustainable

768
00:45:04,100 --> 00:45:08,400
Enterprises that we have to
really kind of reflect a revenue

769
00:45:08,400 --> 00:45:10,600
generation.
Sorry, a revenue-generating

770
00:45:10,600 --> 00:45:14,200
manifestation of our curriculum.
So we Just teach it.

771
00:45:14,200 --> 00:45:15,300
We do it.
Yeah.

772
00:45:15,300 --> 00:45:17,500
No that's great.
And you give you give your

773
00:45:17,500 --> 00:45:20,700
students Hands-On, you know,
practical application of

774
00:45:20,700 --> 00:45:25,000
learning trades, and skills.
You know, I saw some of the the

775
00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:28,400
greenhouse work you're doing
growing plants and feeding the

776
00:45:28,400 --> 00:45:30,600
community with some of the
vegetables and things like that,

777
00:45:30,600 --> 00:45:32,900
you're growing.
I mean, holistic approach, I'm

778
00:45:32,900 --> 00:45:35,200
sure you doing composting and
things like that.

779
00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:38,400
I mean, that's all part of that
whole regenerative type, you

780
00:45:38,400 --> 00:45:40,600
know, farming, that's really
cool.

781
00:45:42,500 --> 00:45:45,000
And then, you know, are there
any, are there any, you know,

782
00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:48,400
Key Programs that you're most
proud of their, you know, Unity,

783
00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:50,200
you know?
Yeah.

784
00:45:50,200 --> 00:45:55,200
I know a little bit about to be
proud of and the fact that our

785
00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:58,400
entire curriculum, regardless of
major is, you know, the concept

786
00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:03,400
of sustainability science and
environment is baked into to you

787
00:46:03,408 --> 00:46:07,500
know, kind of whatever the major
is is is something that every

788
00:46:07,500 --> 00:46:09,500
President should have at the
University.

789
00:46:09,800 --> 00:46:12,900
You know.
I I long for the day when Are in

790
00:46:12,900 --> 00:46:15,400
the days when it was writing
across the curriculum and math

791
00:46:15,400 --> 00:46:17,700
across the curriculum, its
environmental sustainability

792
00:46:17,700 --> 00:46:21,600
across the curriculum.
But I'm proud of the of the of

793
00:46:21,600 --> 00:46:25,400
this new kind of non standard
model that has that has a really

794
00:46:25,600 --> 00:46:28,900
allowed our faculty and staff to
kind of have these.

795
00:46:28,900 --> 00:46:31,900
Differentiated subsidiaries that
allow to meet students where

796
00:46:31,900 --> 00:46:35,300
they are keeping tuition down.
I mean, we've been really

797
00:46:35,300 --> 00:46:38,500
leading into this for just about
three years now, and we've

798
00:46:38,500 --> 00:46:41,900
already seen our average age, go
up from 21.

799
00:46:42,200 --> 00:46:45,700
To about 30, our Multicultural,
enrollment from a 50-year

800
00:46:45,700 --> 00:46:48,300
history of about eight percent
to over 20.

801
00:46:48,900 --> 00:46:52,300
The amount of students no longer
taking alternative loans in

802
00:46:52,300 --> 00:46:55,700
order to get a degree because
we're not forcing everybody to

803
00:46:55,700 --> 00:46:58,500
have a residential program.
It's up to them.

804
00:46:58,700 --> 00:47:02,300
So I'm proud of the model that
the, we have built that really

805
00:47:02,400 --> 00:47:05,600
pushes accessibility and
affordability where one class at

806
00:47:05,600 --> 00:47:07,900
a time.
Qualifies you for federal and

807
00:47:07,900 --> 00:47:11,200
state aid, allowing a
differentiated socio-economic

808
00:47:11,200 --> 00:47:14,400
population to have Access to
Environmental Education, instead

809
00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:17,700
of many environmental colleges.
Sometimes I viewed as a little

810
00:47:17,700 --> 00:47:20,600
bit kind of like, you know, for
a specific.

811
00:47:21,600 --> 00:47:26,500
The mug demographics that isn't
viewed by kind of mainstream

812
00:47:26,600 --> 00:47:29,100
population as legitimate green
careers.

813
00:47:29,300 --> 00:47:36,000
So we're very, very proud of
that on a more practical basis.

814
00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:38,900
I'm also proud of the fact that
we have started to incorporate

815
00:47:38,900 --> 00:47:43,300
and investing in R&D for Exxon,
are into the fabric of our

816
00:47:43,300 --> 00:47:46,200
curriculum.
So we know that the future

817
00:47:46,200 --> 00:47:49,900
graduates of Unity College are
going to have to work in an

818
00:47:49,900 --> 00:47:57,100
augmented and a virtual space.
And so we have a plan to

819
00:47:57,100 --> 00:48:02,900
incorporate 30% of our
curriculum is going to have some

820
00:48:02,900 --> 00:48:08,200
sort of a our or VR element with
the curriculum so that when they

821
00:48:08,200 --> 00:48:12,000
graduate, they have had that
experience the way.

822
00:48:12,200 --> 00:48:17,200
Microsoft Word and PowerPoint
was really cool in the 90s.

823
00:48:17,300 --> 00:48:20,400
The way Google Docs in the early
2000.

824
00:48:20,400 --> 00:48:24,400
We think XR is the future and
any student who graduates with

825
00:48:24,400 --> 00:48:28,000
that competency is going to have
an edge in the workforce in grad

826
00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:32,000
school or as an intrapreneur.
And the it's really been

827
00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:34,300
interesting and if you go on our
website, we'll see.

828
00:48:34,300 --> 00:48:38,700
We it's also really allowed the
reduction of barrier to entry.

829
00:48:38,900 --> 00:48:40,300
You know, the medical field has
used it.

830
00:48:40,300 --> 00:48:44,700
Where students get to work.
Work with animals and work with

831
00:48:44,700 --> 00:48:48,300
crime scene investigations in a
much more affordable way than

832
00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:51,500
the more expensive kind of
Hands-On way, which is allowed

833
00:48:51,500 --> 00:48:54,200
us.
I mean, you know that that the,

834
00:48:54,200 --> 00:48:58,000
you know, the VR is so great
because it gives you that

835
00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:01,800
ability to have the mental reps
of understanding how to actually

836
00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:05,500
do something even though you
physically aren't doing it.

837
00:49:05,500 --> 00:49:08,500
But you're visually, you know,
walking through the process and

838
00:49:09,000 --> 00:49:14,200
you know I've got a client of
mine who they They do VR

839
00:49:14,200 --> 00:49:18,700
training of their their, you
know, operators on a huge

840
00:49:18,700 --> 00:49:22,300
platform and they learn all the
ins and outs of this design of

841
00:49:22,300 --> 00:49:25,000
this platform in the.
And it's designed exactly to the

842
00:49:25,000 --> 00:49:27,600
specifications of the real
life-size platform.

843
00:49:27,600 --> 00:49:31,100
And they just go and do training
on changing out Valves and

844
00:49:31,300 --> 00:49:33,700
things like that and they get
all those mental reps to know

845
00:49:33,700 --> 00:49:35,900
what to do, and what do you know
of, you know what?

846
00:49:35,900 --> 00:49:38,000
It's what it's like to
experience that process.

847
00:49:39,700 --> 00:49:42,800
It's a pretty powerful process,
so I threw Be great to be doing

848
00:49:42,800 --> 00:49:44,600
that.
Yeah, actually it's been so

849
00:49:44,600 --> 00:49:47,600
positive the feedback, we've
gotten from students and

850
00:49:47,600 --> 00:49:49,700
incorporating that into our
curriculum that we are actually

851
00:49:49,900 --> 00:49:54,300
currently in a beta for our
first student Commons.

852
00:49:55,000 --> 00:49:56,200
So that.
So we are going from the

853
00:49:56,200 --> 00:50:00,400
curricular aspect of xr2, a
co-curricular aspect of sxr that

854
00:50:00,400 --> 00:50:03,200
we hope to launch next year to
give our students faculty and

855
00:50:03,200 --> 00:50:07,700
staff, A Whole New World to
interact with kind of learning

856
00:50:07,700 --> 00:50:12,300
from the gaming industry, but
also incorporating it into And

857
00:50:12,300 --> 00:50:15,400
as an educational world.
So we have be Towing like solar

858
00:50:15,400 --> 00:50:19,300
farms and oceans and and all the
different kinds of vegetation in

859
00:50:19,300 --> 00:50:23,500
ecosystems that gives students a
preliminary access to

860
00:50:23,600 --> 00:50:25,900
interacting in a really
interesting way.

861
00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:30,500
Something that historically you
only see in the gaming industry

862
00:50:30,600 --> 00:50:33,700
that we're trying to really
incorporate into the educational

863
00:50:33,700 --> 00:50:38,600
platform.
Oh, Malik tell me how can,

864
00:50:38,700 --> 00:50:40,800
what's the best way for
listeners to learn more about

865
00:50:40,800 --> 00:50:43,800
Unity College?
And Possibly enroll to take

866
00:50:43,800 --> 00:50:45,600
these awesome courses that
you're offering.

867
00:50:46,300 --> 00:50:48,600
Absolutely.
And the best way to get to us is

868
00:50:48,600 --> 00:50:55,500
just through our website Unity
dot edu, you and ity Dot edu and

869
00:50:55,500 --> 00:50:59,200
our website will self guide you
to different.

870
00:50:59,200 --> 00:51:02,900
Subsidiaries are different
information and we'll be more

871
00:51:02,900 --> 00:51:05,800
than happy to chat with you.
Whether you are a student, a

872
00:51:05,800 --> 00:51:09,100
company looking for a partner to
build you some Workforce

873
00:51:09,100 --> 00:51:14,100
Development, or a donor, who
would Like to help, you know,

874
00:51:14,700 --> 00:51:17,400
students, learn without the
burden of having to be able to

875
00:51:17,400 --> 00:51:19,600
weaken.
Yeah, I love it.

876
00:51:19,800 --> 00:51:22,300
I love it.
Well, Malachy.

877
00:51:22,300 --> 00:51:23,700
Thanks for coming on the show
today.

878
00:51:23,700 --> 00:51:26,500
I mean, we learned a lot about
Unity collagen and, and all the

879
00:51:26,500 --> 00:51:29,600
things that you guys are doing,
I guess, you know, I didn't, I

880
00:51:29,607 --> 00:51:32,400
didn't really, we didn't touch
too much on faculty, but I'm

881
00:51:32,400 --> 00:51:35,200
assuming you've got a pretty
good bench there at the school

882
00:51:35,200 --> 00:51:39,600
and I don't know how many
faculty you have, but, you know,

883
00:51:39,600 --> 00:51:41,600
that's a big part of being able
to do.

884
00:51:42,100 --> 00:51:45,800
Deliver these, these educational
offerings.

885
00:51:45,800 --> 00:51:48,800
So I'm glad you guys have a good
bench there.

886
00:51:49,900 --> 00:51:51,800
What?
We're going to get this out next

887
00:51:51,800 --> 00:51:53,000
week.
We'll push this out.

888
00:51:53,000 --> 00:51:56,100
The make sure we promote it
internally and externally.

889
00:51:56,100 --> 00:51:59,500
I'm going to put it on LinkedIn
and Facebook and then we'll tag

890
00:51:59,500 --> 00:52:02,000
you guys and then if you guys
can do the same and share with

891
00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:04,100
your network, that'd be
fantastic.

892
00:52:04,400 --> 00:52:06,100
And I really appreciate you
coming on.

893
00:52:06,100 --> 00:52:09,800
And also leading the way for
other universities to divest out

894
00:52:09,800 --> 00:52:11,600
of fossil fuels and their
endowments.

895
00:52:11,600 --> 00:52:15,300
And then You know, still be able
to make a profit and you thrive.

896
00:52:15,300 --> 00:52:17,500
I love it.
I had the pleasure was mine.

897
00:52:17,500 --> 00:52:18,300
Set.
Thanks Sean.

898
00:52:18,500 --> 00:52:21,800
We really appreciate you giving
us the opportunity to tell our

899
00:52:21,800 --> 00:52:23,500
story.
Yeah, this is great.

900
00:52:23,500 --> 00:52:25,800
Well, I'm looking forward to
some follow-up and feedback and

901
00:52:25,800 --> 00:52:27,800
we'll stay in touch.
Same here.

902
00:52:36,400 --> 00:52:39,500
I want to thank Our Guest, dr.
Malak Corey for coming onto the

903
00:52:39,500 --> 00:52:41,500
show today.
If you want to learn more about

904
00:52:41,500 --> 00:52:44,100
Unity College, in the degree
programs and certificates they

905
00:52:44,100 --> 00:52:49,000
offer, check out their web site
at www.uh.edu.

906
00:52:49,500 --> 00:52:51,900
Will also put a link to their
contact information on my

907
00:52:51,900 --> 00:52:55,200
website to listen to Future
environmental transformation

908
00:52:55,200 --> 00:52:56,800
podcast?
You can check us out on a

909
00:52:56,800 --> 00:53:01,000
podcast Spotify, Google podcasts
and other podcast networks or

910
00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:05,400
better yet from my website at
www.ge.com K great e.com.

911
00:53:05,800 --> 00:53:08,200
You can also also follow me on
Instagram or the environmental

912
00:53:08,200 --> 00:53:11,100
transformation podcast, Facebook
page.

913
00:53:11,600 --> 00:53:13,500
Well, if you enjoyed the
episode, don't forget to

914
00:53:13,500 --> 00:53:16,600
subscribe and tell your friends.
We'd also love to hear feedback

915
00:53:16,600 --> 00:53:19,900
from the ET Nation.
So please leave a review for me

916
00:53:19,900 --> 00:53:24,000
on my website and or on the
Apple podcast platform.

917
00:53:24,300 --> 00:53:26,700
Well thanks for listening and
until next time and make a

918
00:53:26,700 --> 00:53:29,100
positive impact in someone's
life today.