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The Center for Wine, Food and Culture sounds very Old World. A curriculum in sustainability studies sounds awfully West Coast. But both are happening right here in Southampton.
Since the State University at Stony Brook bought the Southampton College campus of Long Island University, the people involved with developing its future have been thinking out of the box, exploring interesting, edgy concepts in education. There was a clear need. Having a college or university immensely enhances the cultural life of an area, and with all the talent and skill in the Hamptons, it is an entirely logical and meaningful component. But the demographics at the end of Long Island cannot support a conventional liberal arts institution, as we saw when LIU was forced to close the campus. The hard truth is that you have to fill classrooms or you can’t pay the bills. And you have to look at the larger picture to project where education is moving. That was the challenge for the planners of Stony Brook Southampton.
Shaping their new, less predictable program is an ongoing process, far from complete at this time, but the tantalizing outlines are there. I recently sat down with Louisa Thomas Hargrave, one of the prime movers, to get the inside story. Hargrave is the woman who with her former husband planted the first grapevines on Eastern Long Island in 1974, launching the wine industry here. Since selling the vineyard she has written a book and numerous articles, and been a consultant and advisor. But Hargrave looks to the future more than the past. Two years ago she started a long term project: the Stony Brook University Center for Wine, Food and Culture. It focuses on wine and food producers and growers, works with educators, students and researchers, and brings important issues to the public along with some pleasant gastronomic diversions. Its mission statement uses such words as “sensory awareness” and “conviviality” and “public health,” suggesting they are no slouches in keeping up with the times.
A college of sustainability studies would encompass subjects where Southampton has demonstrable strengths, in marine sciences and environmental science, for example, and incorporate new components that the architects of this program are now exploring. Except for a few required courses, the classes at Southampton will not duplicate what is happening at Stony Brook, a policy that makes sense financially and organizationally. One of Hargrave’s hopes is that this program will help preserve our remaining farmland and boost the region’s fishing industry. With a new approach, new technologies and new faces, she foresees a renewed interest with young people looking to these callings for viable careers. It is a sound idea in this age of celebrity chefs and cult wines and trendy ingredients.
An academic institution has to change carefully but creatively. What worked in the past may not work in the future. Mainstream Americans are now reacting to the crises in climate change and fossil fuels, to the environmental costs of the globalization of food production, to the ever expanding health threats in our food supply, to the ecological mismanagement of our planet and the unacceptable legacy we are leaving to future generations. The need to develop innovative college and graduate level studies in sustainability—that will make a difference in how we live—is urgent. And the case for doing at a reinvigorated Southampton campus is compelling. We should all be supporting this initiative.
On October 27, 2007, the Center for Wine, Food and Culture will host their second annual “Sustaining the Good Life Symposium.” It consists of an afternoon of discussions led by Hargrave, with Florence Fabricant, of the New York Times, and Jonathan Gold, Pulitzer Prize winning food critic, taking part. The theme is nominally about local, fresh and authentic foods, but it is also unmistakably a step forward in helping establish the sustainability curriculum. A Harvest Celebration with samplings from East End wineries and restaurants and food suppliers follows the discussions. Registration information is available at www.stonybrook.edu/winecenter.