Interdisciplinary Environmental and Sustainability Education and Research: Institutes and Centers at U.S. Research Universities

Vincent, Shirley; Danielson, Antje; Santos, Bianca Silva

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-10690-8_19

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Only about a third are located in their own autonomous IES units-an IES department, school, college, institute, or center (Vincent et al 2012). A CEER survey of a representative sample of 334 IES programs reveals that the programs that span units are relatively equally distributed among those that span a few departments, most or all departments in one college (or equivalent unit), departments in two or more colleges (or equivalent units), or departments across the entire institution .…”

Section: Anecdotes From the Frontlinesmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…A majority of students (61 %) consider colleges' commitments to environmental issues, including academic offerings, in their decision on which school they will apply to and attend (Princeton Review 2014). Higher education institutions in the USA have sought to respond to this demand through the development of over 2000 IES degree programs (Vincent et al 2012(Vincent et al , 2014. New majors, minors, certificates, and executive education programs in environmental areas and sustainability are being established at an extraordinary pace, and existing programs are striving to keep up with student demand.…”

Section: Introduction: Layers Of Dysfunctionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability education: islands of progress in a sea of dysfunction

2015

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This essay describes the inequity faced by most interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability (IES) degree programs and the impact of that inequity on student and faculty experiences. Despite the urgent need for IES education and research to solve critical environmental and sustainability challenges, as well as high demand for IES education by students and employers alike, we illustrate and discuss how the majority of IES programs suffer from limited resources or unequal standing relative to the traditional disciplines. Traditional disciplinary departments, which dominate university structures and were created decades before most IES programs, often have a monopolistic grip on hiring, firing, and the tenure-granting process. We argue universities must structurally reform to support IES programs, given that this disciplinary silo problem is so deeprooted and restrictive. We assert the urgent need for equivalent autonomous status and equivalent resources for IES programs, preferably as schools, colleges, and institutes or centers that have core interdisciplinary faculty and draw upon resources across the university, or for smaller schools as IES departments. We also strongly support initiatives to more effectively support the integration of IES knowledge across all higher education curricula. We conclude with a list of recommendations we believe are necessary to support IES higher education.

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Section: Anecdotes From the Frontlinesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introduction: Layers Of Dysfunctionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability education: islands of progress in a sea of dysfunction

2015

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“…Since 2000, swim advisories for E. coli average 20-100 days per year, which contributed to an attendance decrease from 240,000 to 110,000 annual visitors to the Park. Lake Erie Center researchers (1) worked to identify the source of the E. coli contamination [40], (2) estimated that eliminating beach closings would increase the annual visitation of Maumee Bay State Park by over 52,000 total trips resulting in benefits to beach visitors of $6.2 million annually versus a preliminary restoration one-time cost of $1.8 million [41], highlighting the importance of using bacterial count analysis and quantifying too-often ignored ecosystem services, (3) coordinated a regional committee to develop a course of action, (4) developed an engineering solution that is economically viable and that will reduce the amount of E. coli and nutrients entering Maumee Bay and (5) constructed an artificial wetland in the Park. The constructed wetland is providing native habitat supporting macroinvertebrate and fish communities ( Fig.…”

Section: ) Habitat Loss and Wetlandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mission of the Lake Erie Center is "to improve the environmental condition, ecosystems services, natural resources, and sustainability of Lake Erie and its watersheds, and to enhance undergraduate, graduate, and public education". According to a report by the National Council for Science and the Environment [2], such "interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability academic and research programs play an important and unique role in higher education" and further serve a common education goal to "prepare sustainability-oriented problem solvers through interdisciplinary scholarship, research, practice, and informed citizenship".…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing Environmental Sustainability Through A University Field Station

Stepien¹,

Calzonetti²,

Bossenbroek³

et al. 2017

Sustainability Practice and Education on University Campuses and Beyond

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University field stations are located off site from the main campuses and frequently in a natural setting, providing opportunity for students, faculty, and the public to engage with-and appreciate-local ecosystems. Their missions usually encompass the three cornerstones of environmental research, education, and outreach/community engagement, which go hand-in-hand with understanding and furthering sustainability. University field stations enhance environmental sustainability by helping to preserve a natural setting for coming generations, fostering research and monitoring of local ecosystems and their component biodiversity, and training the next generation and citizen scientists for field and laboratory work. Here we provide an example of how we are addressing sustainability through growth of the Lake Erie Center, a mid-sized university center with modest funding and staff that is located at the heart of land-water issues of runoff, sedimentation, algal blooms, legacy contaminants, and habitat loss facing the world's largest freshwater ecosystem. We have networked our mission by building an Environmental Science Learning Community, which brings together faculty, students, educators, agencies, stakeholders, and the public to work towards the common goal of improving land-lake ecosystem services. This background has allowed us to rapidly respond to the August 2014 "Toledo Water Crisis" in which the Lake Erie water supply to 500,000 local citizens was contaminated by the algal toxin microcystin, resulting in a "do not drink" health advisory. The Lake Erie Center's strategic location, both geographically and scientifically, has enhanced our effective education, research, and community engagement programs.

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“…International calls for sustainability education over the past three decades have motivated various states and countries to integrate education for sustainability into educational programs and curricula (UNESCO, 2005(UNESCO, , 2009WCED, 1987). Many higher education institutions have responded by adding sustainability-focused concentrations, minors, and certificates (Vincent, Bunn, & Stevens, 2012). However, sustainability course work is much rarer in teacher education, and has only recently begun to emerge in the United States (McKeown, with USTESD Network, 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability Education in Elementary Classrooms: Reported Practices of Alumni from a Pre-Service Teacher Course

Merritt

Archambault

Hale

2018

Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education

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The article reflects results from a web-based survey of early career teachers who had taken a required, hybrid course focused on sustainability science. Many alumni reported early efforts to integrate sustainability topics and ways of thinking into their K-8 classrooms. Teachers reported modeling of classroom behaviors that promoted sustainability more than implementing sustainability into the curriculum. Read-aloud books and videos were used frequently, suggesting the need for available high quality children’s books and videos on sustainability topics. Supports that were most helpful to teachers included school-wide initiatives, curricular and instructional resources, like-minded colleagues and supportive administrators. Lack of time and alignment with curricula were barriers that hindered some teachers’ progress, suggesting the importance of systemic curricular reform that brings awareness to the Sustainable Development Goals.

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Interdisciplinary Environmental and Sustainability Education and Research: Institutes and Centers at U.S. Research Universities

Cited by 14 publications

References 7 publications

Interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability education: islands of progress in a sea of dysfunction

Interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability education: islands of progress in a sea of dysfunction

Enhancing Environmental Sustainability Through A University Field Station

Sustainability Education in Elementary Classrooms: Reported Practices of Alumni from a Pre-Service Teacher Course

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