Crow urges change in sustainability education
According to Arizona State University President Michael Crow, education on sustainability is stuck in the Stone Age.
Crow addressed the insufficient and historic ways that education is holding back the concept of sustainability, and what ASU is doing differently, at the recent GreenSummit convention put on by ASU student Chris Samila. The convention brought together corporations that have developed innovative research about going green.
"We have to figure out how to help people understand that they have to think in different ways to move forward and we have to create institutions that have the capabilities to do that," Crow said. "Universities have to produce a different kind of knowledge and different kinds of people who actually have some capability to take on these complex issues."
Crow helped develop ASU's School of Sustainability, which opened on the Tempe campus in 2007. The goal of the school, according to its Web site, is to "develop practical solutions to some of the most pressing environmental, economic and social challenges of sustainability, especially as they relate to urban areas."
Robert Horner, a graduate student at the School of Sustainability, applauded Crow on his efforts to take such a large university and develop the program.
"The school attempts to draw in over 100 affiliated faculty from different schools . . . the faculty stay in their departments but being affiliated with the School of Sustainability, they bring their projects in and they're working with people and that's important because sustainability especially recognizes that everything is tied together," Horner said.
However, some students said that while Crow may be talking about educating about sustainability, he could be doing a better job of actually doing it on his own campus.
Crow said ASU's parking fees were increased as part of an effort to encourage more people to take public transportation and that ASU has made a deal with Valley Metro allowing students to ride all buses and the new light rail free of charge. ASU will be reducing parking spaces in the future, Crow said.
ASU student and Engineering and Environmental Consultants Inc. staff engineer Rebecca Sydnor commutes to the Tempe campus from Surprise.
"As a student, the only thing I saw was new buildings going up, tuition and parking going up," she said. "Crow didn't inform the students what his goals were."
Student Melanie Moran said Crow and the university leave students in the dark as far as where their dollars are going.
"The prices keep getting raised and they don't tell us where the money is going or what the reason is for the increase in prices," she said.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/09/11/20080911tr-crowspeech0912.html
The Sustainable Sun Devil
Dear ASU community member: As ASU reconvenes for the start of a new academic year, its students, faculty, and staff have much to be proud in terms of their collective achievements on the critical path toward designing a more sustainable world. Among our recent successes:
- Global Institute of Sustainability researchers are creating integrative solutions to many of the major challenges facing our society, including issues of water, energy, and climate.
- The School of Sustainability is training much-needed sustainability professionals, with enrollment of approximately 50 graduate students and 200 undergraduates plus providing classes for about 70 business students working toward a concentration in sustainability.
- The university has embarked on an ambitious campus sustainability initiative that includes recycling, energy efficiency, solar energy, sustainable food service, and more.
- ASU has provided leadership for the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, which I chair, persuading nearly 600 signatories from across the country to commit to carbon neutrality on their campuses.
To understand and ultimately overcome the sustainability challenges that lie ahead, it is important that everyone stay informed on related local and global issues. Therefore, ASU is proud to announce a unique collaboration with Grist.org, an online news source and leader in reporting on sustainability and the environment (www.grist.org). Grist has offered to leverage its news reporting expertise to produce an e-newsletter specifically tailored for the ASU community. This e-newsletter, called “The Sustainable Sun Devil,” will present environmental and sustainability news briefs covering issues related to the university, state, Southwest region, nation, and world. On Wednesday, September 10, you will receive the first issue of “The Sustainable Sun Devil.” I hope will join me in reading this thought-provoking, informative, and entertaining biweekly publication. As you may be aware, ASU has been recognized and awarded as one of the top sustainability-oriented universities in the nation. This is the direct result of efforts by our students, faculty and staff. To support and advance the idea that individual actions can have big impacts for sustainability, please watch for a new guide to sustainable living called Pocket Change, http://sustainability.asu.edu/docs/gios/ASU-pocketchange.pdf, which will be distributed university-wide. This handy guide, produced by the Global Institute of Sustainability in partnership with University Student Initiatives, offers tips and information about how we can all do our part to advance a better, more sustainable world. Thanks to the excellent work of our university community, ASU is a leader in sustainability education, research, operations and outreach, and there is no limit to what can be achieved by continuing working together to address this critical global challenge. Michael M. Crow
Higher Education and the Global Economy
Earlier this year, the world-renowned Milken Institute held its annual global conference and dedicated a discussion to how higher education can meet the growing demands of the modern global economy.
ASU President Michael Crow served as a panelist and this podcast features an excerpt of his presentation, which outlines the evolutionary history of higher education and the critical intellectual and economic importance of designing new and relevant learning institutions.
President Crow’s remarks conclude with an overview of ASU’s bold and unique approach to building a new, adaptive model for 21st century higher education.
Creating Capital Presentation
Milken Institute
Subscribe via ASU iTunesU
-or- Download to listen
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| ASUPresidentsOfficePodcast137.mp3 | 6.61 MB |
The Greentree Gazette
| attachment | file size |
| Greentree Gazette Michael Crow Article 090108.pdf | 637432 |
The New MyASU
In keeping with Arizona State University’s commitment to innovation and service, the ASU University Technology Office is always looking for new and better ways to facilitate student communications and transactions. As part of UTO’s ongoing efforts to advance 1 to 1 computing across ASU, it has recently re-launched “My ASU”, a re-designed, comprehensive, and personalized web interface to help students easily access a wide range of university services.
This podcast features Adrian Sannier, vice president and university technology officer, who is the architect of ASU’s overall technology plan. He joins us to discuss the process of re-engineering the new “My ASU” site, how student need helped to shape the final product, and how the site will continue to develop in the future along with a counterpart interface for ASU faculty and staff.
Subscribe via ASU iTunesU
-or- Download to listen
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| ASUPresidentsOfficePodcast136.mp3 | 11.35 MB |
