Using Sustainability to Create New Course Content:
A Curriculum Development Institute for Faculty
in All Disciplines

May 24, 2010 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT

Presented by Jack Byrne, director of the sustainability integration office at Middlebury College and Tom Kelly, chief sustainability officer and director of the Office of Sustainability at the University of New Hampshire, and adjunct professor of Public Health at the College of Health and Human Services

Sustainability has been defined as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs." Some definitions go further and say that we should strive to do more than "not compromising" i.e., that we should "enhance" the ability of future generations to meet needs.

Sustainability is a concept that encompasses many ideas and disciplines. It challenges us to work out what it means on the ground and in a diverse range of ecological and cultural settings. It is a notion that has taken root amongst government and non-governmental organizations, corporations, foundations, and in academia worldwide.

Sustainability provides educators and trainers with new opportunities to connect their disciplinary subject matter with that of other disciplines. Topics such as scarcity, conflict, democracy, health, human rights, poverty, economic development, social justice, religious beliefs, cultural preservation, food security, energy independence, biodiversity, ethics, ecosystems, corporate social responsibility and many more can be systemically related to each other using sustainability as a unifying theme. Developing such inter and trans-disciplinary linkages is often done best through dialogue with other faculty and experts.

This workshop is designed for educators who are looking for new and creative ways to weave sustainability into their curricula or to develop a new course with a sustainability focus. Participants will also work with each other to explore and identify sustainability knowledge and skills as they relate to and across different disciplines. They will also develop student learning outcomes that are important in teaching about sustainability and discuss ways by student sustainability learning could be assessed.

The workshop will include a tour of the Middlebury College Organic Garden and its biomass gasification facility. It will be held at the Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest which is a LEED Platinum Certified building.

Jack Byrne is the director of the sustainability integration office at Middlebury College in Vermont where he works with faculty, staff and students to build the College's capacity to create a more sustainable future. He recently co-chaired a College wide effort to develop a strategic plan for achieving carbon neutrality by 2016 and is now working on implementing it with several task forces on campus. Mr. Byrne is also currently working with eleven faculty members to integrate sustainability concepts and skills into their existing courses. As the co-founder of the non-profit Foundation For Our Future at the Center for a Sustainable Future, Jack oversaw a six-year $18 million Department of Education project Education for a Sustainable Future. He also serves on the Commission for Education and Communication of the World Conservation Union and is a member of the Advisory Council for the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Mr. Byrne has a masters degree in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School and a B.S. In biology from Kent State University

Tom Kelly is the chief sustainability officer and director of the Office of Sustainability at the University of New Hampshire, as well as an adjunct professor of Public Health at the College of Health and Human Services. Dr. Kelly is a founding member of the Northeast Campus Sustainability Coalition, a member of the Advisory Council for the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and a member of the Committee for US Partnership UN Decade for Education for Sustainable Development. He is the author numerous publications including Virtuous Globalization: A dialogue for the University of New Hampshire Discovery Program and co-author of The Sustainable Learning Community: One University's Journey to the Future (2009). Dr Kelly has a Ph.D. In international environmental policy and a M.A. In international development studies from Tufts University.

Registration Deadline was May 12, 2010

Workshop fee:
$70 for Campus Compact members or $95 for non-members

This workshop is full.  Registration is closed.

Agenda

Flyer

Online Registration
Printable Registration

Sponsored by:

Co-Sponsored by:

Accommodations

Overnight accommodations in the Middlebury area are limited due to Middlebury College's Commencement on May 23.  If you would like assistance in finding accommodations, please contact Marguerite at the Addison County Chamber of Commerce at (802) 388-7951, ext. 1. 

Location, Directions and Parking

The institute will take place at the Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest on the campus of Middlebury College.

Here are directions to campus and a campus map.

On the campus map our location is listed as the Hillcrest Environmental Center, and is located at F-3 on the map. Parking may be found by the tennis courts behind Proctor Hall. As you come through campus on College Street (Rt. 125 West), turn left at the top of the hill onto Hillcrest Road. Continue past the Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest and Proctor Hall. The tennis courts will be on your left. Please print out and bring the parking permit that was emailed to you, and place it on the inside of your windshield when you arrive.