{"id":3667,"date":"2016-09-12T17:08:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-12T22:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/for-wisconsin\/?post_type=campus_story&p=3667"},"modified":"2016-09-12T17:08:00","modified_gmt":"2016-09-12T22:08:00","slug":"uw-sustainable-management-student-helps-green-the-green-bay-packers","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/uw-sustainable-management-student-helps-green-the-green-bay-packers\/","title":{"rendered":"UW Sustainable Management Student Helps \u201cGreen\u201d the Green Bay Packers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The online Sustainable Management master\u2019s<\/a> program is a collaborative effort of five UW System institutions: UW-Green Bay, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Parkside, UW-Stout, and UW-Superior.\u00a0Launched in 2013, the master\u2019s degree program is designed for working adults with real-world experience and offers flexibility to students who balance family, a job, and other commitments.<\/p>\n

\"Matthew<\/a>
Matthew Christianson, UW System\u2019s first Sustainable Management master\u2019s degree graduate, with professor John Katers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A veteran, his family, and a dream<\/h3>\n

One of the first master\u2019s degree students was\u00a0Matthew Christianson, who graduated in May 2014. Matthew\u00a0grew up in Sturgeon Bay, Wis.,\u00a0graduated high school in 2004, and then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. After serving, he used his veterans benefits to go back to school, enrolling as an undergraduate at UW-Green Bay and then\u00a0as a Sustainable Management graduate student\u00a0in the spring of 2013.<\/p>\n

Being married with two young sons and working full time as a production supervisor, Matthew decided to fast-track his studies, aiming to finish as quickly as possible. He understands many of the challenges facing nontraditional students.\u00a0\u201cI found it challenging on a personal level to balance getting through the program quickly while also raising a family,\u201d Matthew says.<\/p>\n

A capstone project tailored to his interests<\/h3>\n

In addition to the 60 credits of required coursework<\/a>, the Sustainable Management master\u2019s program requires each student to complete a capstone course<\/a>\u2014a hands-on project at a company or\u00a0organization that gives the student new skills and the organization new information to use in its sustainability efforts. Matthew\u2019s capstone involved a\u00a0quintessential Wisconsin organization: the Green Bay Packers.<\/p>\n

The Packers were\u00a0a natural choice for Matthew\u2019s capstone because of the\u00a0organization\u2019s importance within Wisconsin culture. Matthew says,\u00a0\u201cThe Packers have a unique relationship with the people of Wisconsin, and that creates leverage in terms of sustainability. We can work toward a cultural shift toward more sustainable practices because people trust a sports franchise like the Packers organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sustainability work at the Green Bay Packers stadium<\/h3>\n

Matthew\u00a0helped the football franchise \u201cgreen\u201d their operations by finding ways to reduce energy and water consumption; increase positive PR for green activities; reduce waste; and increase the Packer fan base through environmentally responsible practices.<\/p>\n

For\u00a0example, Matthew had specific recommendations for the Packers when it came to reducing waste. The organization was already at a very respectable 88 percent diversion rate, achieved by working with their partners at Waste Management (recycling stadium waste) and Sanimax (decomposing byproducts, such as uneaten food cooking oil). But he knew there were additional opportunities, including working with suppliers who use decomposable or recyclable packaging and better waste management in the stadium parking lots.\u00a0Tailgating is a cherished part of the Packers experience, but it also produces a lot of waste. Matthew suggested adding more waste containers and staff monitoring to help fans cut down on waste both inside and outside the stadium.<\/p>\n

Career transformation<\/h3>\n
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Matthew\u2019s goal is to pursue a whole new career\u2014one that requires management skills he\u2019s developed through the master\u2019s degree program. The capstone project was an\u00a0excellent\u00a0launching pad. He now has practical experience applying many of the sustainable business concepts he learned in the classroom. And it doesn\u2019t hurt to have both \u201cUniversity of Wisconsin\u201d and \u201cGreen Bay Packers\u201d on his resume.<\/p>\n

UW Sustainable Management also offers a\u00a0bachelor\u2019s degree<\/a> and two\u00a0certificates<\/a>. For more information about the program, explore the website<\/a>, download the program guide to the right, or speak with an enrollment adviser at\u00a01-877-895-3276 or learn@uwex.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Crystal Fey and Lisa Agnew Nielsen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The online Sustainable Management master\u2019s program is a collaborative effort of five UW System institutions: UW-Green Bay, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Parkside, UW-Stout, and UW-Superior.\u00a0Launched in 2013, the master\u2019s degree program is designed for working adults with real-world experience and offers flexibility to students who balance family, a job, and other commitments. A veteran, his family, and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":3669,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[102,111],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-3667","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-extension","institution-uw-green-bay"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/3667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=3667"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=3667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}