Chatham University Honors Legacy of Trailblazing Environmentalist and Chatham Alumna With Rachel Carson Healthy Planet Awards Program and Scholarship

PITTSBURGH, PA--(Marketwired - December 15, 2016) - Chatham University today announced a new awards program and scholarship for high school and community college students that celebrates the legacy of scientist, author, environmentalist and Chatham alumna Rachel Carson, class of 1929.

The Rachel Carson Healthy Planet Award will be awarded to one deserving student nominated from each high school and community college throughout the United States, who embodies the spirit of Rachel Carson in his or her dedication to sustainability and community development. Healthy Planet Award recipients will also receive preferred consideration for the Rachel Carson Scholarship, a full-tuition scholarship to attend Chatham University.

"Rachel Carson has been an inspiration and a catalyst for Chatham's embrace of sustainability in our mission, our programs and throughout the larger university," said David Finegold, president of Chatham University. "The Rachel Carson Healthy Planet Award & Scholarship was created to honor and extend her legacy, inspiration and impact to a new generation of leaders who will help complete her vision of healthier people and a healthier planet."

Carson rose to prominence with her book, Silent Spring, as a trailblazing voice questioning the resulting impact of pesticides on people, animals and the environment. This call to attention was a catalyst of the environmental movement that has helped bring awareness and action to the ecological programs our planet faces, and led to her selection as one of Time Magazine's most influential people of the 20^th century.

Award & Scholarship Details

Winners of the Rachel Carson Healthy Planet Award will receive a a special edition of Carson's book Silent Spring, a certificate of achievement, a $5,000 merit scholarship to attend Chatham University, and an invitation (with discounted price) to Chatham's Sustainable Leadership Academy, scheduled for July 30-August 5, 2017. For more information about the award or to nominate a student, visit www.chatham.edu/rachel-carson-award.

Healthy Planet Award recipients will also receive preferred consideration for the Rachel Carson Scholarship, a full-tuition scholarship to attend Chatham University. The scholarship is awarded each year to one new first-year student and one new transfer student from a community college. Applicants must meet all scholarship requirements and be accepted to Chatham in order to qualify for a scholarship interview. The deadline for the scholarship is April 1, 2017 for community college students and November 1, 2017 for high school seniors. More information is available at www.chatham.edu/scholarships.

Carson's work also inspired Chatham's commitment to advancing sustainability education, implementation and research. Carson's thinking and devotion to improve the world are just two of the qualities Chatham's Falk School of Sustainability & Environment works to bring to life through its students. Housed at Chatham's Eden Hall campus, the world's first academic community built from below the ground up for the study of sustainability, the Falk School offers academic programs dedicated to producing professional sustainability leaders. Programs currently being offered at the bachelor's and master's levels include: Bachelor of Sustainability (BSUS), Master of Arts in Food Studies (MAFS), Master of Sustainability (MSUS) and the dual-degree Master of Sustainability-Master of Business Administration (MSUS-MBA).

About Chatham University

Chatham is the alma mater of environmental icon, Rachel Carson, and is recognized today as a leader in sustainability and environmental education perennial named to top green college lists and is ranked in the top five nationally for sustainability achievements in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS), placing us as one of the top 5 highest ranked colleges in the world. Chatham is also home to the Falk School of Sustainability & Environment, and in 2014 opened Eden Hall Campus, the first campus in the world built from the ground up for the study of sustainability. More information at www.chatham.edu.

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Chatham University Honors Legacy of Trailblazing Environmentalist and Chatham Alumna With Rachel Carson Healthy Planet Awards Program and Scholarship

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