There's more to being environmentally minded than changing light bulbs or wearing hemp. Just ask Alana Jelinek and Jim Leland. Both 61, these trend-setting elders are among the students enrolled in one of the nation's first "green" business programs, the MBA in Sustainable Enterprise offered by Dominican University in Marin County, California.

Students from 22 to 65 are hitting the books in this groundbreaking master's track. Launched last fall at the liberal arts college in Marin's San Rafael community, the curriculum focuses squarely on the skills needed to run a business, but with the principles of sustainability—social responsibility, environmental concerns, and social justice—as firmly ingrained in the program as the need for spreadsheet smarts.

Alana commutes nearly 50 miles round trip from her farm outside Santa Rosa to attend classes, and says she's doing so for a practical reason: career advancement. A graphic designer, Alana says the program fits perfectly with her concern for the environment and her concern for her own future. "I may be older, but I don't want to be paid an older woman's earnings," she says, referring to the trend of paying retirement-age people less than younger workers. "I'm not planning to retire. I don't want to, and I can't afford to."

Alana attends part time, balancing homework with her design and marketing business, FARM. "Getting an MBA at 60-plus is something our parents never would have done. It's new to our generation. But then, our generation has always done things a bit differently. We've never taken no for an answer."

She's also applying classroom knowledge to help "green" her design business. Using an "eco-commerce" model she worked on for a final paper, Alana now chooses printers based on green practices, including the use of recycled paper and earth-friendlier solvents. She encourages her clients to ask printers about those choices, too.

Jim is back in school to advance his next career. Currently a county planner in nearby Solano and a council member in his hometown of Novato, California, Jim was already interested in sustainability when he heard about the program. He plans to work with a consultancy company after graduation to help firms get up to "green" speed.

"Sustainability is going to be pervasive in our economy," Jim says, noting similarities between today's nascent sustainability field and the emergence of computer technology decades ago. "It's reminiscent of the late '60s and early '70s, when we were getting hints that the PC market would become a huge market."

Going back to school also coincided with what had lately been bugging Jim: his failure to go for an MBA earlier. "Enough regrets, I thought. It's time to go ahead and do it!"

Go to eldr.com/green [0] for schools offering full-curriculum MBAs in sustainability.