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The Centre for Human Ecology was founded, as part of Edinburgh
University, in 1972 by the geneticist Professor Conrad H. Waddington.
Waddington was a founding member of the Club of Rome, commissioners of
the influential 1972 Limits to Growth study that brought global
environmental concerns to the world political stage.
The CHE has since then been a leader in interdisciplinary
environmental thought, with many practical achievements to its credit,
including Britain's first MSc in Human Ecology, which was launched in
1992 with support from the Scottish Office (UK Government) and the
World Wide Fund for Nature.
CHE was closed by the Edinburgh University in 1996 following a long
campaign to save it during which CHE was supported by a wide range of
internationally recognised figures. It was then re-established by
former students and supporters as an independent organisation and
became an accredited institution of the Open University in 1999.
In 2005 CHE entered into a partnership with the Department of Geography & Sociology at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow; this replaced the relationship with the Open University. Since September 2005 the MSc in Human Ecology has been offered through this partnership. In September 2006 a range of professional development courses were launched through the partnership.
CHE remains an independent organisation carrying out action, research and education, often in collaboration with a number of other organisations. |
