Session Recap >> Infusing Sustainability Through...

Full Title: Session Recap >> Infusing Sustainability Through General Education Curriculum

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Presenter: Ashwani Vasishth, Rampart College of New Jersey

The way we make decisions need to fundamentally change
The best way to do this is to reach into the general education (GE) system

In Ramapart college mission there are Four "pillars" for college
-International
-Intercultural
-Inderdisclipinary
-Experimental
-Sustainability - not official but seen as the 5 pillar

There is Plenty of "evidence" but no actual structure for sustainability on campus
New opportunities are presenting themselves to push for sustainability in General Education
- Sustainability education center
- MA in sustainability studies
- Center for sustainability studies
- President signed ACUPCC

Recent moves towards sustainability
- Trying to establish sustainability studies as a presence on campus
- Treating the move to sustainability as a complex system
- Gradually drawing out of resources through speaker funding and library acquisition
- Redesign the India study abroad program with a sustainability focus

General education curriculum work at Rampart
- Established a general education committee to assess and infuse sustainability
- Provided survey to faculty to gauge interest and awareness
- 52 faculty members have responded so far
- Applied for a FIPSE grant - grant funding fell through
- grant was to provide funding for events for sustainability on campus
- "dinky little pokes" towards system wide change
- once people are made aware of the problem they want to help
- but once you inform them of the problem, the vastness of it overwhelms them
- networking through departments and courses

Curricular interventions
- Recent emphasis on assessment
- Started professor swap program
- Sustainability living facilities
- Interdisciplinary course as one path to success
- Student learning outcomes

Curricular Potential
- First year seminar
- Five year masters program in sustainability
- Student groups
- Presentations to students and faculty

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