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EPA Administrator Christie Whitman Kicks off A New Environmental Education Partnership

Release Date: 6/7/2002
Contact Information: Bonnie Smith, 215-814-5543

Bonnie Smith, 215-814-5543

PHILADELPHIA – Today at Philadelphia’s Lincoln High School, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman announced an environmental educational partnership between Lincoln University, Philadelphia Academies, Inc. and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“The partnership between EPA, Lincoln University, and Philadelphia Academies will enhance the education and training of students so that we are prepared to meet the environmental challenges of the future," said Whitman. “The young people I have met today remind me that they are often the greatest stewards of our environment. The agreement we sign today is an important part of our efforts to raise the next generation of environmentally aware American citizens who will be ready to turn their knowledge into action.”

This is the first federal environmental education partnership EPA has developed to respond to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This law increases support for educating American youth and expanding higher education opportunities - - particularly for students from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds - - and especially those at historically black colleges and universities.

Administrator Whitman was joined by Lincoln University President Ivory V. Nelson, Ph.D.; Philadelphia Academies, Inc. President Natalie S. Allen; Philadelphia’s Lincoln High School Principal David Kipphut; Donald S. Welsh, EPA mid-Atlantic regional administrator; and students from Lincoln High School’s Environmental Technology Academy.

“The partnership we establish between the EPA, Lincoln University and Philadelphia Academies ensures that kids learning biology and chemistry today will become the scientists, biologists and chemists of tomorrow - and some may even work at EPA,” said Don Welsh, EPA mid-Atlantic regional administrator.

“Lincoln University is very pleased to join in this educational partnership with Philadelphia Academies and EPA," said Lincoln University President Ivory V. Nelson, Ph.D. “This innovative environmental program is a good fit for Lincoln University because it is consistent with the University's academic mission to provide students with greater educational and career opportunities in the sciences as they prepare to live and work successfully in a global society requiring technological sophistication.”

Lincoln University is a historically black university that combines a liberal arts education and science-based undergraduate core curriculum, and graduate programs that meet the needs of students living in a highly technological and global society. Lincoln is America’s first historically black higher education institution. In 2004, Lincoln University will celebrate its 150th anniversary.

Philadelphia Academies, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing youth’s educational and career needs through academic programs that are meaningful and productive. Started in 1969, the Philadelphia Academies, Inc. currently has thirteen career areas designed to meet needs of the city’s economy by training a workforce that understands the basics of its major industries. Business and community partners work closely with the Academies to broaden their education beyond the classroom.

The only Environmental Technology Academy in Philadelphia is at Lincoln High School. It is one of the most well-established high school environmental education programs in the country. The Environmental Technology Academy is a college preparatory program that combines an academic roster with courses in environmental concepts, theories and skills. Students use the latest technology to monitor and analyze environmental problems. Over 90 percent of these graduates go on to institutions of higher learning and many now are working in the environmental profession.

Although Lincoln University and Lincoln High School share the same name, they are not affiliated educational institutions.