Educating for a Sustainable Future: Mobilizing Higher Ed for the Climate Century

Students, faculty and administrators are increasingly concerned that a university education prepare its graduates for a world where sustainability is a profound concern for our careers, our civic engagement, and our daily lives.

In this event, representatives from four universities will discuss the ways they are changing their institutions' curricula and practices to provide a quality sustainability education. How can we meet the needs of both those students who are most dedicated to sustainability, and those who would never think to take a class with an environmental theme? How do we recognize and scale up successes? And how can educational institutions learn from each other, while still catering to the unique needs of their student bodies and communities?

This event is part of the People, Prosperity and the Planet lecture series produced by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative.

This is a hybrid virtual and in-person event. Anyone and everyone is welcome to register for this event as a webinar through Zoom. MIT faculty, students and staff who are in the MIT Covid Pass system can also attend in-person; note that the non-MIT speakers will be joining remotely.

Speakers:

Sarah Meyers, Education Program Manager, MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative. Responsible for a wide variety of MIT's interdisciplinary sustainability education programs, Meyers manages the Environment and Sustainability Minor and has motivated the infusion of sustainability in MIT’s required introductory classes, the development of first-year discovery and experiential learning subjects, and the creation of the MIT Fall Career Fair Sustainability Initiative.

Christopher Boone, Dean and Professor of the School of Sustainability, Arizona State University. At ASU, Boone has taught classes on sustainable urbanization, urban and environmental health, principles and methods of sustainability, environmental justice, sustainable design and innovation, and interdisciplinary methods for socio-ecological research. His research focuses on sustainable urbanization, environmental justice, and global environmental change, and he serves on the Executive Committee of the Council of Environmental Deans and Directors among other distinguished appointments.

Pamela Matson, Richard and Rhoda Goldman Professor in Environmental Studies, Director of the Change Leadership for Sustainability Program, and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute, Stanford University. Matson is an interdisciplinary sustainability scientist, academic leader, and organizational strategist. As dean of Stanford University’s School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences from 2002-2017, Matson built interdisciplinary departments and educational programs focused on resources, environment and sustainability; she now leads the graduate program in Sustainability Science and Practice.

Alex Hiniker, Executive Fellow for Sustainability Initiatives at Carnegie Mellon University. Hiniker is responsible for Carnegie Mellon's Voluntary University Review of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and related activities. Previously, she oversaw New York City’s SDG program at the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, making New York City the first city in the world to report directly to the United Nations on its local implementation of the SDGs; over 200 local authorities have now committed to conducting their own reviews.