Environmental Sciences: Connecting to the Community
PKAL 2002 Summer Institute - Cluster I
May 29 - June 1, 2002

Workshop Abstract

Environmental Science: Connecting to the Community will focus on building and sustaining undergraduate environmental studies/science programs that make connections to the campus and to the local and the global communities. The intent to help students make connections between real world problems and what they are learning in the classroom and lab is a major theme in many current efforts to strengthen undergraduate programs in mathematics and the various fields of science. Nowhere are connections between theory and practice more important than in undergraduate ES program. Recognizing that students and non-students understand and act in an ‘environment' that is colored by social and cultural factors is leading institutions toward a holistic focus on sustainability in its educational mission. This is where the next generation of leaders can begin to understand the environmental implications of behavior and decisions across a wide arena of human activity. Perhaps more than any other contemporary field of study, Environmental Science crosses numerous disciplines–– from the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences and the arts.

Sessions for this workshop include:

• Creating Environmental Learning Communities
• Educating for Sustainability in the 21st Century
• Facilitating Learning Across Boundaries: The University of Arizona's Community Environmental Leadership Program
• Biosphere 2: Connecting the Local to the Global
• Preparing Students for a Global Workplace

Workshop Planners

Howard Drossman, Workshop Leader, The Colorado College
Diane E. Austin, University of Arizona
Deborah Bodolus, Hampton University
Benjamin Cuker, Hampton University
James Eflin, Ball State University
Louis J. Gross, University of Tennessee Knoxville
Charles Wood, Columbia University's Biosphere 2

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