Campus will examine ways to infuse sustainability into education mission through two-day workshop

To facilitate a dialogue about infusing sustainability content into the academic curriculum, SUNY Fredonia is holding a two-day workshop on “Education for Sustainability” for faculty and staff, led by nationally acclaimed expert Jaimie Cloud, founder of the Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education. It begins Wednesday, Jan. 19, at 9 a.m. in the Horizon Room of the Williams Center.

All members of the campus community are welcome to attend the free workshop, designed to enhance the campus’ regular, mandated review of its CCC (College Core Curriculum).

The program runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days, and lunch is included. It is possible to register for just the first day, or both days. Registration is available online.

The most frequently cited definition of “sustainability” comes from the 1987 Brundtland Report, commissioned by the United Nations, which describes it as meeting “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

Ms. Cloud works extensively with educators, administrators, and school boards across the nation to develop and teach core courses through the lens of sustainability. Her goal is to prepare young people for the future and to inspire them to influence the long-term health of their world.

A former global studies school teacher, Ms. Cloud founded the Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education in New York City, which designs instructional units and courses for K-12 and higher education. She has authored several peer-reviewed journal chapters and articles, including, "Some Systems Thinking Concepts for Environmental Educators during the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development," which appeared in Applied Environmental Educations and Communication: an International Journal.

“SUNY Fredonia has made an institutional commitment to sustainability,” said Chemistry Professor Sherri “Sam” Mason, who also serves as the campus’ FACE Center Sustainability Coordinator, and on its Sustainability Committee. “We have embedded that commitment within our administrative operations, and this workshop is an opportunity to envision how we can incorporate it more purposely and more universally into our primary mission of education.”

SUNY Fredonia is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and is a signatory of the Presidents' Climate Commitment. The Fredonia College of Education is currently working with Ithaca College, the New Roots Charter School in Ithaca, and Second Nature, the Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative, to create a sustainability-infused pre-service teacher's education curriculum.

The workshop is sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs, FACE Center, Sustainability Committee and College of Education.