Teaching Sustainability across the Curriculum Series
The purpose of this series of events is to explore teaching and assessment strategies that will engage students in addressing real-world problems related to environmental sustainability. An additional aim is to disseminate these strategies broadly across disciplines so as to infuse curricula and provide all Penn State graduates some level of literacy with respect to environmentally sustainable principles and practices.
Printable version of "Teaching Sustainability across the Curriculum" (pdf) series events flyer
In case you missed it...
What does "sustainability" mean in pedagogical terms? - Teaching Luncheon
- Thursday, February 5
Today's environmental problems are so complex that solutions will almost surely require interdisciplinary knowledge and cooperation. Thus, faculty in all fields of study may want to consider what it would mean to teach sustainability principles and practices in their courses. So how do we come to common and useful definitions that will encourage educating for sustainability across disciplines? Come and discuss this question with panelists, Don Brown and Andy Lau.
Don Brown is an associate professor of environmental ethics, science, and law in the Science, Technology, and Society Program at Penn State University Park. He is director of the Collaborative Program on Ethical Dimensions of Climate Change in the Rock Ethics Institute. 
Dr. Brown served as senior counsel for Sustainable Development for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. During the Clinton Administration, he was program manager for United Nations organizations at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Office of International Environmental Policy, where he served as the lead on sustainability. Currently, Dr. Brown is director of the Pennsylvania Environmental Resource Consortium, an organization of fifty-six Pennsylvania universities that advocates sustainability on campuses.
Andrew (Andy) S. Lau is an associate professor of engineering, Coordinator of First-Year Seminars for the Penn State College of Engineering, and associate director of the Center for Sustainability at Penn State University Park. Professor Lau is a 1977 graduate of Penn State with a B.S.M.E., and was a Research Fellow and 1983 graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Madison with an M.S.M.E. He has worked since 1977 as an engineer in the areas of solar energy applications in buildings, simulation of building energy use, and general consulting in the energy field. Most recently, his work has involved green buildings, engineering ethics, and sustainable design. He is a licensed Professional Engineer, a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) -Accredited Professional, and has contributed over forty publications to professional magazines and journals. Professor Lau is a founding member of the Green Building Association of Central Pennsylvania. At Penn State, he is leading initiatives to integrate sustainability education into the curriculum.
- Andy Lau’s PowerPoint presentation for this discussion (pptx)
- Adobe Connect Breeze recording of this luncheon.
Integrating campus operations and sustainability pedagogy: How can faculty contribute? - Teaching Luncheon
- Friday, February 27
University leadership recognizes environmental responsibility as a central tenet for the institution's many diverse facilities and operations, but how might this core concept be envisioned and practiced in the classroom? For example, how can a Penn State education incorporate sustainable development efforts and draw on their integrative nature? How can Penn State staff and faculty provide learning outcomes that will help students to become environmentally literate citizens?
Join a dialogue with both faculty and operations staff who will share ideas about how academic/operations partnerships work in terms of university-wide sustainable development programs and initiatives. This discussion will address current and future ways to take advantage of opportunities for faculty and students to partner with operating units in order to link the university's academic mission with facets of campus operations, and to think about how can we use our campuses as living laboratories for teaching students about the pedagogy of environmental sustainability. Panelists Steve Maruszewski, Ronald Swope and Dr. James Hamilton, will discuss this question.
- Steve Maruszewski’s PowerPoint presentation for this discussion (ppt)
- Adobe Connect Breeze recording of this luncheon.
Steve Maruszewski has been at Penn State since February 1995. In December 2004, he was promoted to Deputy Associate Vice President for the Office of Physical Plant. Penn State’s physical plant consists of over 23 million gross square feet made up of over 900 buildings located on 23 campuses around Pennsylvania. The Office of Physical Plant is responsible for planning, and the design and construction of facilities, real estate services, utility procurement, and environmental and safety programs at all campuses. At University Park, physical plant is responsible for facilities maintenance and operations, grounds maintenance, utility systems operations and maintenance, and physical plant administration and financial services.
Mr. Maruszewski’s responsibilities include leading the finance and business strategy for Environmental Stewardship Strategy. The objective of the strategy is to encourage the University to conduct its business in a manner that demonstrates a commitment to environmental stewardship, and moves the University toward sustainable practices.
Mr. Maruszewski attended Penn State, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering.
Ronald Swope is director of business at Penn State Mont Alto.
James Hamilton is an assistant professor of arts and humanities at Penn State Mont Alto. He has taught or co-taught twenty-eight different courses in six different disciplines over his academic career, including Communication Arts and Sciences (CAS), Science, Technology, and Society (STS ), Recreation, Park and Tourism Management (RPTM), English, and Forest Recreation. He has long had an interest in multidisciplinary approaches to pedagogy and particularly the pedagogy of sustainability. Dr. Hamilton lives in Decorum, Pennsylvania (population 6), where he grows much of his own food, builds stringed musical instruments, and tries to live gently in his place.
Integrating the sciences and liberal arts using environmental sustainability simulations - Workshop
- Wednesday, March 25
Teaching the principles of sustainability provides one of the best opportunities for integrating the liberal arts and the sciences. Long term simulations, particularly role-playing simulations, offer both an effective and unique method by which to teach about the myriad of issues, scientific, technological and social, surrounding the topic of sustainability. Join Dr. George Vahoviak and Dr. James Hamilton for a workshop on simulations and simulation construction.
Co-sponsored by Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center .
George Vahoviak, program director at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center at Penn State University Park and affiliate assistant professor in recreation, park and tourism management (RPTM), is responsible for pre-service and in-service teacher education, undergraduate and graduate teaching, interdisciplinary research, graduate student committees, and assists with festival coordination. He instructs Cultural Interpretation (RPTM 327), Independent Studies (RPTM 496/596), National Curricula Workshops (RPTM 497F), Natural History for Teachers (RPTM 498E), Environmental Education Methods and Materials (RPTM 430), and Worldview, Sustainability, and Environmental Education (RPTM 597D). He is currently working with a Pennsylvania Department of Education Environmental Education(PA DEP EE) grant designed to address youth, schools, and the environment in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. He is former project director of a DEP Growing Greener Grant, Watershed Education project, and is assisting with other external funding grant writing with faculty from the College of Education. George received a bachelor's degree in forest science in 1978 and agricultural education in 1980, a master’s degree in agricultural education in 1987, and a doctoral degree in agricultural education/science technology and society in 1993, all from Penn State. George also serves as an emergency medical technician (EMT), EMT instructor, firefighter, and ambulance lieutenant, and enjoys kayaking, fishing, camping, hiking, and woodworking.
James Hamilton is an assistant professor of arts and humanities at Penn State Mont Alto. He has taught or co-taught twenty-eight different courses in six different disciplines over his academic career, including Communication Arts and Sciences (CAS), Science, Technology, and Society (STS), Recreation, Park and Tourism Management (RPTM), English, and Forest Recreation. He has long had an interest in multidisciplinary approaches to pedagogy and particularly the pedagogy of sustainability. Dr. Hamilton lives in Decorum, Pennsylvania (population 6), where he grows much of his own food, builds stringed musical instruments, and tries to live gently in his place.
Disciplinary approaches to environmental inquiry - Teaching Luncheon
- Thursday, April 2
Join this interdisciplinary conversation about how Penn State faculty are responding to the challenges of environmental sustainability and learn about new opportunities for collaboration. Co-sponsored by the Arboretum at Penn State.
Kim Steiner is a professor of forest biology in the School of Forest Resources and Dean of the Arboretum at Penn State. As a life-long advocate of responsible stewardship of wild lands, Dr. Steiner has served for many years on the Ecosystem Management Advisory Committee to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the board of directors of The American Chestnut Foundation, the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Council of Professional Foresters, and in various leadership roles within the Society of American Foresters. His research focuses on the regeneration of native forests. The Arboretum at Penn State, which Dr. Steiner directs, promotes natural resource stewardship, sustainable and compatible land use, and the restoration of degraded landscapes.
Terry Harrison is a professor of supply chain and information systems in the Smeal College of Business. His teaching and research are in the modeling of large scale production and distribution systems. He also has an avocational interest the management of renewable natural resources and sustainability. He is faculty co-advisor to the Penn State chapter of Net Impact
Lisa D. Iulo has been a part of the architecture faculty at Penn State since 2003. A registered architect, professional planner, and LEED Accredited Professional (LEED-AP), Lisa has focused her work and research on building and planning for a sustainable future. Lisa was an architecture advisor to the Penn State 2007 Solar Decathlon Team and continues to research alternative affordable housing and planning strategies.
Ute Poerschke, PhD, has been an associate professor in the Department of Architecture since 2006. She taught design, construction, and energy responsible planning at the Technical Universities of Berlin and Munich (1999-2005) and is a principal of the firm Friedrich-Poerschke-Zwink Architekten, Munich. In teaching, research, and practice, she focuses on integrative design and the theory of functionalism.
Malcolm Woollen teaches third year studio in the Department of Architecture and practices architecture in State College. His research interest is the cultural context for sustainability. He is co-chairman of the Creation Care Coalition, founder of the Environmental Concerns Committee at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church and member of the Committee for Environmentally Conscious Architecture.
What Americans really think about climate change - Lecture
- Wednesday, April 22
Co-sponsored by Penn State Departments of Communication Arts and Sciences, Political Science, and Psychology, and the Social Science Research Institute, this lecture features Jon Krosnick, of Stanford University. The change in the U.S. administration with the 2008 presidential election is expected to bring about a sea-change in public policy to address climate change. But while climate policy is expected to become a high priority, significant challenges will remain in crafting a path forward. Jon Krosnick's "What Americans Really Think About Climate Change" is the final installment in a combined seminar series and symposium to analyze the challenges of designing and implementing anthropogenic climate change policy at local, state, national, and international levels.
A full description of the series can be found at: the Rock Ethics Institute website. A downloadable flyer for the series can also be found at Climate Policy Flyer (pdf).
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