SBE | Story & Strategy

SBE Trends

A visual analytic of the University of Florida Program in Sustainability and the Built Environment (SBE) student headcount and demographics from Fall 2010 through Fall 2022.

For an interactive version of this data dashboard with user selectable views by annual Fall Cohort Headcount, please visit the Enrollment & Demographics: Sustainability & the Built Environment summary at the University of Florida Institutional Planning & Research Facts section.

Faculty Governance Committee

SBE is an interdisciplinary STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) program, with dedicated faculty that are housed at one of the four major academic units of the College of DCP (Architecture, Construction Management, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture and Planning). The program is governed by the DCP Constitutional Language for Interdisciplinary Degree Programs.

All policy and curriculum decisions for the SBE are decided by its Faculty Committee. It is comprised of members from each academic unit in the College of Design, Construction and Planning plus a member from the College of Agriculture.

SBE Past, Present, & Future

Our Commitment to Past, Present, & Future

Upon hindsight, we honor our past heritage. With insight, we elevate the solutions hidden in the present problems. Through foresight, we foster adaptive capacity for the uncertain changes and challenges emerging from a future embedded in the seeds we plant today.

Past | SBE Origin & Evolution

In the mid 2000s, sustainable development was becoming a widely discussed goal for the human endeavor and the green building suite of products, services, processes, and professional skills was maturing from niche into necessity. Within this market milieu, former DCP Dean, Dr. Christopher Silver, FAICP conceived of the SBE program.

Our first courses were offered in the Fall 2008 semester. Facilitated through the leadership of Professor Margaret (Peggy) Carr (SBE Director, 2008-2018), the rapid growth in our undergraduate major and minor reinforced the merit of our interdisciplinary approach.

Present | SBE Symbiosis

Today, the SBE program is firmly rooted as an interdisciplinary, generalist program interweaving all of the disciplines within DCP. Like the mycorrhiza that forms an endosymbiotic mutualism among fungi and plant roots, the SBE program serves as a web of critical thinkers and problem solvers trained to see the forest and the trees. Our holistic approach to teaching, research, and outreach complements the more targeted and specialized skill sets underpinning the other distinct disciplines within DCP. Bahar Armaghani (SBE Director, 2018-Present) now carries the light of our leadership as the program strengthens its symbiotic connections with public, private, and non-governmental institutions and individuals working toward a more sustainable and resilient built environment

Future | SBE Strategic Plan

The strategic plan for the Sustainability and the Built Environment (SBE) program is developed to articulate both the decisions made about the program’s goals and the ways in which the program will achieve those goals. The strategic plan is intended to guide the program’s leader(s) in decision-making moving forward.

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