Our program’s faculty is one of its greatest strengths. You won’t find another sustainability program–online or otherwise–that brings together such diverse expertise in one place. That’s because the Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Management is a collaboration between UW-Extension and four University of Wisconsin System campuses–UW-Parkside, UW-River Falls, UW-Stout, and UW-Superior.
All courses in this online program are developed and taught by University of Wisconsin Sustainable Management faculty—the same faculty who teach our on-campus courses.
Our instructors have expertise in a wide range of fields, including:
- Accounting
- Botany
- Business
- Chemistry
- Computer Engineering
- Economics
- Environmental Dynamics
- Environmental Studies
- Geography
- Law
- Logistics
- Psychology
- Range Science
- Resource Management
- Sociology
- Urban Planning
Abiola Olanrewaju Awosika-Fapetu
Dr. Abiola Olanrewaju Awosika-Fapetu joined the faculty of UW-Stout in 2009. She earned an M.B.A. and a Doctor of Business Administration (Finance) at United States International University, and a Non-Profit Management Certificate in Fundraising at Duke University. She has also taught at the Center for Distance Learning, Obafemi Awolowo University (Ile-Ife, Nigeria), Liberty University Online, Montreat College, LeTourneau University, Adeyemi College of Education (Ondo, Nigeria), and the University of Benin (Edo State, Nigeria). In addition to teaching, she is chief executive officer of Prodev Specialists. Dr. Olanrewaju Awosika-Fapetu teaches courses in finance, international business, and international sustainability management.
Sahar Bahmani
Dr. Bahmani is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin at Parkside and the Director of the Center for Economic Education (CEE). She received her B.A. in Economics and Political Science from UW-Madison in 2003, her M.A. in Economics in 2004 from UW-Milwaukee, and her Ph.D. in Economics in 2007. She has taught previously at the business schools of UW-Milwaukee, UW-Whitewater, and Marquette University. She has taught courses on Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Business Statistics, Environmental Economics, Financial Institutions and Markets, Industrial Organization, Managerial Economics, and Money and Banking. Professor Bahmani has also published over 25 articles on money market dynamics in such journals as Empirical Economics, Journal of Economics and Finance, Journal of Developing Areas, Economics Bulletin, and Applied Economics.
Mei Cao
Dr. Mei Cao, Assistant Professor of Business and Economics, joined the faculty of UW-Superior in 2008. She earned a B.A. in English from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (China), an M.B.A. in Information Systems, and a Ph.D. in Manufacturing Management and Engineering from the University of Toledo. At UW-Superior, Dr. Cao teaches courses in supply chain management, advanced supply chain management, land transportation, air transportation, business statistics, and quantitative models for productions and operations management. She is the author of book chapters and publications in various academic journals and conference proceedings.
Rita Kozak
Dr. Rita M. Kozak is an Adjunct Professor at UW-River Falls. She completed a B.A. degree in Geography from Elmhurst College, an M.A. in Geography from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Land Use Planning, Management and Design from Texas Tech University. Dr. Kozak was a member of the UWRF faculty for seven years prior to her work as a land use planning consultant in a self-owned firm. Dr. Kozak teaches the Systems Thinking and the Sustainable Management Capstone courses.
Sakib Mahmud
Dr. Sakib Mahmud is an Assistant Professor in Economics of Sustainable Management at UW-Superior. Prior to this appointment, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Montana and lecturer at the North South University in Bangladesh. He received his doctoral degree in economics from the University of Wyoming and M.A. from the University of British Columbia (UBC) of Canada. Dr. Sakib’s research focuses on applied microeconomics with applications on issues related to environmental and resource economics, development and health economics, and behavioral economics. He also received a grant from the South Asian Network for Development and Environment Economics (SANDEE) to conduct a household survey in the southwest coastal areas of Bangladesh during 2008 to 2010.
Mark McCoon
Dr. Mark A. McCoon is an assistant professor of accounting at the University of Wisconsin Superior. A recent addition to UWS’ faculty, joining in the fall of 2012, Mark has a Ph.D. from the University of Southern Mississippi, an M.A. from Auburn University, an M.A. from the University of Detroit, and a B.B.A from the University of Michigan at Flint. Prior to becoming an academic Mark had a long career as a CPA/business consultant and is also a CMA. He teaches a wide variety of accounting courses including cost accounting, managerial accounting, and auditing. He also teaches taxation courses and the accounting capstone course. Beginning in January 2013 Mark will teach Triple Bottom Line Accounting in the Sustainable Management Program.
Gwendolyn Miller
Gwendolyn Miller, Senior Lecturer, joined UW-Parkside in 1987. She has a B.A. in English from UW-Parkside and an M.A. in Administrative Leadership (concentration in Adult and Continuing Education) from UW-Milwaukee. Additional teaching experience includes U.W. Independent Learning, Gateway Technical College, and St. Catherine’s High School. Ms. Miller teaches courses in writing and literature.
Eric Sanden
Dr. Eric Sanden, Professor of Natural Resources Management and Community Planning, joined the UW-River Falls faculty in 1992. He has a B.S. in Range Ecology from Colorado State University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Range Science from Texas Tech University. Additionally, he taught courses at Colorado State and Texas Tech and was a range conservationist for the USDA-Soil Conservation Service. Dr. Sanden teaches courses in natural resources management and environmental policies; introductory, comprehensive and advanced community planning; geographic information systems; remote sensing; and environmental education.
David Sprague
Dr. David Sprague is an Adjunct Professor at UW-River Falls. He has a B.S. and M.S. in Education from Indiana University, and an Ed.D (ABD) from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Sprague teaches courses in sustainable finance, operations management, professional sales and cooperatives. He holds concurrent business positions with SMS Research; The Sprague Group; MindStreams and serves as an executive coach with a prominent Minneapolis medical technology company.
Laine Vignona
Dr. Laine Vignona, Professor Emerita of Environmental Science and Management, was a member of the UWRF faculty for 12 years. She has a B.S. in Geology from Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering from Rice University. She has also taught courses at New York University and Berkeley College (N.Y.). Dr. Vignona teaches courses in environmental policy.
Richard Walasek
Dr. Richard Walasek, Professor and Chair of the Geography Department, joined UW-Parkside in 1979. He has a B.S. in Landscape Architecture (Natural Resources) from UW-Madison and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Illinois-Urbana. Dr. Walasek teaches courses in economic, environmental, and human geography. He believes that geographers are spatial people and that the Earth must be protected.
Michael Waxman
Dr. Michael A. Waxman, Professor of Chemistry, joined the UW-Superior faculty in 1997. He has an M.S. in Physics from the Novosibirsk Electric Engineering Institute (Novosibirsk, Russia), a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Tel-Aviv University, and postdoctoral training in Physical Chemistry from Texas A&M University. He has also taught courses at the University of Detroit, Texas A&M University, Tel-Aviv University, and Novosibirsk University. Dr. Waxman teaches courses in general and physical chemistry.
Dennis Weibel
Dennis Weibel has been at UW-Stout since 2008. He has a B.A. in Anthropology and Teacher Certification, Elementary Education, and an M.S. in Resource Management/Environmental Education from UW-Stevens Point. Mr. Weibel teaches courses in ecology and biology.
Joy Wolf
Dr. Joy Wolf, Professor of Biogeography, joined the UW-Parkside faculty in 2000. Her B.S. in Applied Sociology and M.A. in Geography come from Northern Arizona University, and her Ph.D. in Biogeography is from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Visit her webpage to learn about her research in a variety of plant communities including old-growth mixed-conifer forests in North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona; grasslands in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado; riparian corridors in central Arizona and Wisconsin; and oak savanna, maple-beech forests, and ephemeral ponds in Wisconsin.
Marya Wilson
Marya Wilson has been at UW-Stout since 2005. She has a BA in Psychology, an MS in Management Technology, an MA in Human Development, and is PhD Candidate in Human and Organizational Systems. Ms. Wilson teaches Sustainable Management and Organizational Behavior, Organizational Leadership, Production and Operations Management, and Quality Management.
Are you ready to start your journey in sustainable business? Call an enrollment adviser at 1-877-895-3276 from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. CT Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, and 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the first Saturday of the month, or email us anytime at learn@uwex.edu.