Five professors named Sustainability Faculty Scholars

By Eric Townsend, staff

November 28, 2015

The newest cohort of scholars will participate in a program that helps Elon University faculty integrate sustainability into an existing course.

<p class=”p1″><span class=”s1″>Sustainability Faculty Scholars get a close-up look at the greenhouse crops at Loy Farm.</span></p>
Faculty members from five departments have been selected as the newest cohort of Sustainability Faculty Scholars. 

The new scholars are:

Susan Anderson, Accounting
Dan Burns, English
Jen Hamel, Biology
Katherine Johnson, Public Health Studies
Scott Spurlock, Computing Sciences

Scholars have identified courses they would like to modify to include a sustainability component. Those scholars will gather as a cohort this spring to discuss relevant sustainability resources and pedagogies to help with improving selected classes.

Scholars also participate in field trips and tours to learn more about sustainability in practice. These include tours of campus sustainability initiatives by Elaine Durr, director of the Office of Sustainability, and off-campus facilities such as a LEED Platinum-certified hotel in Greensboro.

To date the program has had 51 faculty members participate from a variety of disciplines. One benefit of the program is that it allows faculty to connect with others outside their department and understand sustainability from different perspectives.

The Sustainability Faculty Scholars Program was developed in 2008 by faculty from the Department of Environmental Studies, the Department of Human Service Studies, and the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning. 

Steve Moore from the Department of Environmental Studies shares information about the solar panels in place at Elon University's Loy Farm.
“I was particularly interested to participate in the Sustainability Scholars program because it gave the opportunity for my students and me to engage in course content from a new and different perspective,” said Beth Evans, an assistant professor of physical therapy education and a current scholar. “I also enjoyed getting to know colleagues from across campus and to learn how they understood and approached the concept of Sustainability in both their professional and personal pursuits.”

Likewise, current scholar Scott Wolter, an associate professor of engineering, said being a sustainability scholar has taught him different but important perspectives of sustainable thinking.

“My sense is that each plays a vital role in developing the mindset for protecting our natural environment,” Wolter said. “I look forward to remaining involved in this program.”

The program is facilitated by Michele Kleckner, the Sustainability Faculty Fellow and senior lecturer in computing sciences, with assistance from the Center for Environmental Studies and the Office of Sustainability. For more information about the program visit the webpage or contact Michele Kleckner. 

 

 

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