The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), Eco-American and Second Nature initiated the President’s Climate Commitment, modeled after the US Mayors climate protection agreement. Since 1993 Second Nature has worked with over 4000 faculty and administrators at over 500 colleges and universities to help make the principle of sustainability the foundation of all learning, practice and collaboration. Today, to help higher education move from “simple good intentions” to ”strategic transformative action,” Second Nature is focusing on select activities, such as the on-line clearinghouse for Education for Sustainability information.  

At WSU there is a core faculty group who are actively addressing sustainability issues in their curriculum. The education subcommittee is gradually congregating together the courses that provide learning experiences and discussion on sustainability. Initiating interdisciplinary dialogue brings about new paradigms of action, brings about new training, brings forth new understanding of the cultural realm of sustainable actions through-out the global community. 

Biology

BIO 104      Conservation, Society and the Environment

BIO 315      Environmental Biology

Chemistry

CHEM 106  Chemistry in Our World

CHEM 320  Environmental Chemistry

CHEM 436  Topics in Environmental Chemistry

Economics

ECON 315   Environmental and Natural Resource Economics - Hyle

                     Topics dealing with climate change

English 

ENG 111     College Reading and Writing - Oness    “Sustainability” featured as a topic

ENG 120     Intro to Literature - Oness      Engages “sustainability”  as a theme

Environmental Science Program

 An interdisciplinary program sponsored by the Biology, Chemistry and Geosciences departments.  Students are encouraged to maintain a broad perspective and augment in-depth student with an understanding of the connections among public policy, economics, law and the adjustment to social needs, which can result in the destruction or the preservation of the environment.  This broadly based program is composed of a common set of introductory courses; an in-depth set of option courses in science areas; an individual capstone experience, which involves a real-life environmental problem; and a group seminar course.  Depending on the in-depth option courses that are chosen, students graduate with one of the following degrees:  B.S. Biology-Environmental Science Option, B.S. Chemistry-Environmental Science Option or B.S. Geoscience -Environmental Science Option.

Geoscience

GEOS 100     Minnesota’s Rocks and Waters

Covers topics related to water resources and economic mineral resources

GEOS 102     Resources of the Earth

Covers topics related to economic energy and mineral resources and their relation to science and social policies.

GEOS 108     Geology of the Mississippi River

Covers topics related to water resources, including their relation to agricultural practices in the Mississippi River Drainage Basin.

GEOS 110     Oceanography

Deals with marine resources and how they are managed and impacted by humans.

GEOS 120     Dynamic Earth

Covers a broad range of topics that are relevant to sustainability issues, including:  water resources, soils, economic minerals and energy resources, etc.

GEOS 220     Minerals and Rocks

Covers topics related to the identification, formation, and extraction of economically valuable mineral commodities.

GEOS 240     Watershed Science

Whole course deals with the study and management of water resources and how watershed-scale factors, such as land use, affect water quality and quantity.  Also considers the affect of agricultural practices on soil and water quality.

GEOS 325     Environmental Geoscience

Whole course covers issues of sustainability, resource management policy, etc. from a geological perspective.

GEOS 370     GIS

Covers topics related to the mapping and analysis of geological and water resources relevant to sustainability issues.

GEOS 415     Advanced Geomorphology

Covers topics related to the management of surface water resources.

GEOS 420     Applied Hydrogeology

Course deals with advanced topics of groundwater and surface water resource management and practices.

GEOS 425     Global Climate Change

Course deals with the science of climate change, how the science interacts with policy, and the effects of climate change and policy on resource sustainability.

Global Studies

GS300           Contemporary China

Course deals with the sustainability of Chinese economic growth and the idea of "building a Harmonious society/ Harmonious world" that China is promoting. Sustainability is one of the important components.

Residential College

RESC             “Whose Planet is This?”

RESC 150       “From the Bluffs to the River: Nature and Sustainability”  Borsari and Ripley

The Center for Mississippi River Studies is again the course which includes a 4-day field experience on WSU’s River Explorer. The course also counts toward the contemporary citizenship category of university studies.  

Recreation, Tourism and Therapeutic Recreation

RTTR 203     Recreational Programming

Sustainability of natural resources, facilities and budgets. We also plan and implement Earth Day for the community and surrounding area.   

RTTR 244     Sustaining Self and the Environment: Building a Principled Way of Life 

New course developed to respect self and nature.

RTTR 265     Leisure and Different Cultures

Studies bio-centric cultures and compares them to ego-centric cultures.  

RTTR 302     Adventure Travel and Tourism Development

Concept of class is to create an economy that will protect natural resources not exploit them. Projects include Green Technologies and Political Ecology.

RTTR 339     Wilderness Ethics, Safety and Survival

Students learn how to camp, backpack, canoe, hike etc without leaving a large foot print. Students learn all the steps in Leave No Trace.

RTTR 414     Recreational Leadership

Teaches leaders how to respect and protect areas where they will lead activities.

RTTR 421     Outdoor Education and Interpretive Services

Entire course has opportunities to discuss sustainability and stewardship.

RTTR 426     Recreational Facilities and Area Design

Students apply green technologies in their design of recreational facilities.

RTTR 450 or GEOS 450     Costa Rica Travel Study – Riley and Dogiler

On the travel study trip, the ideas of sustainability are not formally taught but are inevitable parts of discussion every day, in journaling and debriefing sessions. The entire travel study trip looks at impacts of tourism on the local environment of Dominical, Costa Rica. In our discussions, it becomes entirely clear that sustainability is not only environmental, but also social, economic, and cultural.

Sociology

SOC 216          Social Problems - Paddock

Whole course focuses entirely on Social Problems of the Upper Mississippi River. Because present agricultural practices have a very large negative impact on river health, we discuss sustainable agriculture at length and visit two organic farms. 

SOC 216          Social Problems - Chernega

Course has sections on coffee production and fair trade practices, on environmental issues and sustainability, on social sustainability relating to health care systems and inequality. 

SOC 421          Urban Sociology -Chernega

Course touches on economic sustainability issues and has one section in environmental issues of urban life.  

Useful Links:

Sustainability Across the Curriculum - The Piedmont Project at Emory College in Atlanta, Georgia.