Environmental Literacy Workgroup

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Environmental Literacy Workgroup

• February 13, 3009
• Student Union, Room 318

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AGENDA
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AGENDA
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EcoHouse Team Progress Report
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• Updates
• Academic Leadership Model
• Recruitment
• Residence Hall Renovations
• Communications Marketing
• Funding Development

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Academic Component

• Faculty Director
• Responsibilities to include
• Instructor of record for 2-credit course both
  semesters
• Organize speaker series
• Development of curriculum and providing vision
  for scholarly content
• Take leadership role in determining the academic
  atmosphere of the learning community
• Provide a faculty presence
• Possibility of full or part-time GA

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Academic Model

• 2-credit course both semesters
• Fall 1-credit seminar and 1-credit service/
  experiential learning
• Spring 1-credit seminar and 1-credit student
  project
• Options for second credit
• Student project
• Sustainability commitment (service)
• Participation in peri-academic activities
  roughly 20 hours of involvement
• Examples Group hikes, greenhouse tours,
  gardening, CT geology, special lectures, rafting,
  whale watching, etc.

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Recruitment

• Upperclassmen Recruits 14
• Freshmen Recruitment
• Receive information upon signing up for housing
• Presence at Open House, New Student Orientation,
  Husky WOW
• Information on New Husky website

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Residence Hall Hollister

• Normal wear and tear renovations will occur
  before students move in
• Many further renovations to be student directed

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Communications Marketing

• Strategic Communications Meeting December 2008
• Streamlining LC application process
• Incorporating LCs on a larger scale into the tour
  program, orientation, Open House
• How to use LCs as a strategic recruitment tool
• Incorporating LCs into high school recruitment
  through CRM

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Funding Development

• Exploring possibilities of corporate sponsorship
  with the Foundation

Duke Smart Home
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Climate Action Plan Team (CAP-EL Team)Progress
Report
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The Commitment

• Presidents signing the Commitment are pledging
  their institution to eliminate its contribution
  to global warming over time. This involves
• Establishing an institutional structure to
  oversee development and implementation of the
  schools program to comply with the ACUPCC
• Completing an emissions inventory within a year
• Within two years, establish a climate neutrality
  action plan and set a target date and interim
  milestones for becoming climate neutral
• Taking immediate steps to reduce greenhouse gas
  emissions by choosing from a list of tangible
  action options
• Integrating sustainability into the curriculum
  and making it part of the educational experience
• Modified from pg. 6, Overview of the
  Commitment, ACUPCC Implementation Guide

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Environmental Literacy the Climate Action Plan

• Specifically, the Climate Action Plan should also
  include sections that
• Describe plans to make climate neutrality and
  sustainability a part of the curriculum and/or
  other educational experience for all students as
  well as actions to expand research, community
  outreach and/or other efforts toward the
  achievement of climate neutrality this section
  should include subsections on education,
  research, and community outreach.
• - pg. 21, ACUPCC Implementation Guide

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Climate action plan focus areas

• Curriculum Student Educational Experiences
• Undergraduate Education
• Graduate and Professional Education
• Residential Life
• Student Organizations Activities
• Research Efforts
• Community Outreach

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UConn academic plan

• Aspirations and Values in our role as a land
  and sea grant institution, we seek to promote the
  states economic development and social
  well-being by advancing new science, improving
  the cultural fabric, protecting the environment,
  and enhancing the quality of healthcare.
• Themes Our World emphasizes the need to build
  on our strengths in human rights, education, and
  environmental research
• Focused Areas of Excellence emerging areas of
  interdisciplinary excellence grounded in
  traditional academic disciplines will be an
  important factor guiding the development of our
  existing research, teaching, and programs of
  public engagement. These areas of excellence
  encompass The Environment, including the
  environment and human health, the environment and
  sustainable ecosystems, the environment and
  sustainable energy

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Team timeline goals

• Step 1 Feb-March
• Existing Environment How are we doing?
• Develop a summary of existing programs
• Distribute a survey to academic departments and
  colleges
• Identify department representatives on CATF
  workgroups to help identify less obvious
  initiatives e.g. research efforts, new courses
• Work with EL workgroup to identify additional
  initiatives in progress and campus organizations

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Team timeline goals

• Step 2 April-May
• Short Long-Term Goals Where do we want to go?
• Identify gaps and potential opportunities.
• Identify synergies with the Academic Plan
• Review literacy recommendations submitted within
  other universities CAPs
• Incorporate recommendations of other University
  committees task forces (e.g. CLAS)
• Finalize summary and recommend actions

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(No Transcript)
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Environmental Studies Team Progress Report
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Environmental Studies
Interdisciplinary approach to the study of the
environment through the integration of physical,
natural, and social sciences and the humanities.

• Potential Benefits to UConn
• Encourage collaboration across disciplines
• Fulfill student interest in environmental fields
  outside of the hard sciences
• Prepare students for participation in new,
  rapidly expanding fields
• Recruitment

Possible Directions
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Environmental Studies, BA

• Introduction course
• Environmental sciences or environmental studies
• Core courses
• Environmental conservation
• Population, food and the environment
• Agriculture and resource economics
• Society and global perspectives of the
  environment
• Methods in social research
• Concentrations

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ENVS Bachelor of Science
ENVS Bachelor of Arts

• Basic Science Courses
• Economics (ARE)
• Bio
• Statistics
• Chem, Math, Phys.
• Intro to Env. Science (two of)
• Geog, Geol, Marn, Nat Res.
• Upper level Env. Science
• Concentrations (nine to choose from)
• Capstone (Geog, NRME, Geol, EEB?)

• Foundation Courses
• Economics (ARE)
• Bio
• Statistics
• Plus additional credits in relevant basic or
  introductory courses
• Intro to Env. Science (all four)
• Geog, Geol, Marn, Nat Res.
• Upper level Env. Studies courses
• Concentration Env. Studies (Policy?, Literacy?,
  Sustainability?)
• Capstone ?

Linked through EcoHouse and formal seminar series
similar to Teale Lectures -- 2-3 per year,
organized by ENVS majors
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Concerns

• ENVS majors may increase 50 to 100
• Administrative assistance (propose to go from
  half-time to full-time Administrative Assistant
  in ENVS)
• TAs for additional sections
• Additional Co-Director?
• New faculty for ENVS courses
• Propose that new ENVS Studies program be
  cross-college (CLAS CANR) but CANR does not
  offer BA degree option

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Examples of Upper Level Courses for Enviro.
Studies

• Social Science

• Humanities

• ARE 3434 Environment Resource Policy
• ARE 4462 Environmental and Resource Economics
• ANTH 3200 Human Behavioral Ecology
• ANTH 3201 People and the Conservation of Nature
• ENVE 1320 Environmental Debate
• GEOG 3120 Introduction to Human Geography
• GEOG 3320W Environmental Evaluation and
  Assessment
• GEOG 3340 Environmental Planning and Management
• NRME 3245 Environmental Law
• SOCI 3407/W Energy, Environment, and Society
• SOCI 3821/W Social Movements and Social Change

• ENGL 3240 American Nature Writing
• HIST 3204W Science and Social Issues in the
  Modern World
• HIST 3540 American Environmental History
• PHIL 3216 Environmental Ethics
• JOUR 3095 Investigation of special topics
  (Environment)
• JOUR 3045W Environmental Journalism

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Next Steps

• Draft proposal completed by first week of March
• Meeting with Provost March 20
• Possible faculty forum

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AGENDA
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Student Climate Action SummitFebruary 5, 2009

• Summit Results
• Meg provided a 20-min intro presentation
• 20 Students attended
• Mix of freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors
• 70 science majors, 30 other majors
• Brainstormed three topics
• Transportation
• Energy
• Education Outreach

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Environmental Leadership Awards

• Nominations due March 1, 2009!!

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EcoHusky office of environmental Policy updates
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Other updates?
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AGENDA
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Recyclemania

• Ongoing

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Earth day

• April 22, 2009

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Teale lecture series
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Keynote Speaker Dr. Debra Rowe President of the
U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable
Development
Organized by CT Partnership for Sustainability
Education CT Outdoor and Environmental Educators
Association
For further information www.coeea.org
Reduced prices for students scholarships and
group rates