Preparing Students for a Changing Climate

Friday, October 26, 2012, 11:00a.m. -12:00 p.m. PST

EVENT SUMMARY
The Western Regional Conversation was a live discussion hosted by AASHE as part of Campus Sustainability Day 2012 focusing on how campuses in the region are preparing students for a changing climate. Panelists discussed what their college and region are doing to prepare students for a changing climate, where challenges still exist in creating successful sustainability and climate programs, some solutions to these challenges, and how campuses/regions can ensure that all students acquire the skills and education necessary to prepare for a changing climate, society, and economy, regardless of their course of study or career goals.

(To see how campuses in the region and throughout the U.S. and Canada celebrated Campus Sustainability Day, visit the CSD Events page).

See panelists' resources at bottom of page.

PANELISTS

Jim Buizer -- Professor, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, Director of Climate Adaptation & International Development, Institute of the Environment, University of Arizona

Jim serves on the Executive Secretariat of the Federal Advisory and Development Committee for the National Climate Assessment, on the Board of Directors of Second Nature and the National Council for Science and the Environment, and as Chairman of the Climate Adaptation Working Group of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.

Tina Evans -- Associate Professor, Sustainability Studies, Colorado Mountain College

Tina is author of Occupy Education: Living and Learning Sustainability, a contributing author to New Clear Vision, a founder and member of the Advisory Board for the Journal of Sustainability Education, and a member of AASHE's Advisory Council. She has a Ph.D. in sustainability education from Prescott College.

Carlos Davidson -- Professor, Environmental Studies Program, San Francisco State University

Carlos has been active in sustainability issues on campus, including helping found the University Sustainability Committee, co-authoring the campus' first greenhouse gas emissions inventory, and leading a successful effort to get a sustainability general education requirement for all undergraduates.

Kim Smith -- Instructor, Sociology, Portland Community College

Kim has served as PCC Service-Learning coordinator, Teaching Learning Center co-director, and Summer Sustainability Institute training coordinator. She works with the nonprofits Northwest Earth Institute, Community Energy Project, City Repair, and Hands on Greater Portland. Kim was also AASHE's representative at the United Nations' Rio+20 Earth Summit.

MODERATORS

Judy Walton
Chief Publications Officer
AASHE

Margo Wagner
Marketing/Communications Coordinator
AASHE

RESOURCES

Re-cap of Campus Sustainability Day 2012

• AASHE's press release re-capping the week.
• Storify page
• Facebook page
• CSD Events page

Books & Journals Recommended by Panelists

• Occupy Education: Living and Learning Sustainability (2012, Peter Lang) -- if you're interested in sustainability theory and praxis with a focus on the social justice aspects of sustainability, you check out this book by Tina Evans
• Journal of Sustainability Education -- consider contributing to this journal, assigning students to read articles from the site, or becoming a peer reviewer. The journal is open access online.

Organizations and Websites Recommended by Panelists

• Security and Sustainability Forum
• NCSE/CEDD Webinar Series on Online Education and Open Education Resources
• AASHE's Resource Center -- see "Education & Research" section
• AASHE's curriculum workshops.
• AASHE's Higher Education Sustainability Review
• Disciplinary Associations Network for Sustainability (DANS)
• Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development
• Declaration of Higher Education Institutions
• Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
• Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform
• The Future We Want
• City Repair Project in Portland
• Hands on Greater Portland
• Transition Towns
• Northwest Earth Institute (NWEI)
• The Evergreen State College's Curriculum for the Bioregion

Programs at Panelists' Campuses

• University of Arizona Environment and Sustainability Portal
• Colorado Mountain College's Sustainability Studies Program -- toward bottom of page are program-specific requirements.
• San Francisco State University's new sustainability GE requirement (pdf) -- proposed Academic Senate Policy #F10-255. Requirements for Baccalaureate degrees, majors, concentrations, minors, and certificates.
• Portland State University's Institute for Sustainable Solutions
• Portland Community College's Sustainability Page -- also see Summer Sustainability Institute and Climate Change course

For more information email judy@aashe.org, or visit the main Campus Sustainability Day web page.