Office of Sustainability

Education

As an institution of higher education, West Chester University’s primary roles in meeting the challenges of sustainability and climate change are to educate, conduct research, and provide public service. Through these efforts we have an opportunity to instill the knowledge and values of sustainability within our campus and community. At West Chester University, we promote the stewardship of an Earth on which life flourishes into a future of increasing prosperity and opportunity, without reducing the capacity of the environment to provide for future generations of humans and other life. Sustainability requires an understanding of the inter-connected relationship of environmental, societal, and economic issues and resources at both the local and global levels. West Chester University graduates will be prepared to transform their understanding of those connections into a life-long commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible local and global citizenship.

Sustainability 101

Sustainability is dependent on nature and humanity co-existing in interdependence. The Hannover Principles below represent the basic doctrine of a sustainable culture.

Hannover Principles

• Insist on rights of humanity and nature to co-exist.
• Recognize interdependence.
• Respect relationships between spirit and matter.
• Accept responsibility for the consequences of design.
• Create safe objects of long-term value.
• Eliminate the concept of waste.
• Rely on natural energy flows.
• Understand the limitations of design.
• Seek constant improvement by the sharing of knowledge.

William McDonough, Michael Braungart “The Hannover Principles Design for Sustainability” (1992)

Read more about WCU sustainability in WCU magazine Summer - 2010 .

Resources for Teaching Sustainability

Integrating sustainable theories and practices into the curriculum at WCU is critical to expanding sustainable practices. Investing time into educating students, faculty and staff will produce long-lasting results long after alumni have left the campus.Below are materials for teaching about sustainability that have been developed by WCU faculty, staff, students, and affiliated community members.

Written Materials

• Richard Whiteford, Climate Reality Project and community member of the WCU Sustainability Advisory Council, on the urgent need to address rising carbon dioxide levels in the Journal of Earth Science & Climate Change, “Why CO2 Levels should be the Issue of Critical Concern as Opposed to Putting Economic Concerns at the Top”
• WCU Research Guide: A research guide for Environmental Sustainability from West Chester University Libraries
• Dr. Paul Morgan, Professional & Secondary Education, Speeding Toward Paris, Emissions Accomplished?
  “This may be the last best chance to reach a global agreement to reduce emissions enough to avoid overshooting the target of a two degrees Celsius average rise in global surface temperature above preindustrial levels. Beyond that number we invite ‘climageddon.’”

Videos/Films

• TEDx Talk by Dr. Paul Morgan, Professional & Secondary Education How Postmodern Humans Can Wake Up and Find Their Groove.

Courses

Interested in learning more about sustainability? Students have a wide variety of options to choose from at WCU, ranging from formal degree programs to general-interest courses. Sustainability is not centralized in one academic department on campus, so students are encouraged to contact the specific department offering the program of particular interest.

Sustainability Courses

View a full list of all of the Sustainability courses  that West Chester offers.

Sustainability Programs

• Biology - Ecology
• Chemistry
• Education for Sustainability
• Environmental Health
• Geography and Planning
• Earth & Space Sciences
• Physics
• Political Science

Sustainability Ambassadors

Sponsored by SAC, the Faculty Sustainability Ambassadors Program is designed to assist WCU faculty with incorporating sustainability into their courses. Sustainability Ambassadors are appointed in each college to serve as a resource for their colleagues, and to work with the University Sustainability Coordinator to lead workshops and programs on integrating sustainability into the curriculum. The Sustainability Ambassadors for 2015-2016 are:

College of Arts and Sciences:
Ana Sanchez, Languages and Cultures

College of Business & Public Affairs:
Ashlie Delshad, Political Science
Lisa Calvano, Management

College of Visual and Performing Arts:
Martin Dallago, Theater & Dance
Kate Stewart, Art & Design

College of Education:
Jackie Hodes, Counselor Education

College of Health Sciences:
Lynn Monahan, Nutrition

Research

Passionate faculty and students at WCU seek to use their research to understand and appreciate how the natural world and humanity can co-exist. The following faculty are some of those carrying out research in sustainability at WCU:

• Dr. John M. Pisciotta, Dr. Jessica Schedlbauer, Dr. Harry Tiebout - Biology
• Dr. Kurt Kolasinski - Chemistry
• Dr. Cheryl Wanko, Dr. Justin Rademaekers - English
• Dr. Kristen B. Crossney, Dr. Joy Fritschle, Dr. Megan Heckert, Dr. Ives Dewey, Dr. Matin Katirai, Dr. Joan Welch - Geography & Planning
• Dr. Daria Nikitina - Earth & Space Sciences
• Dr. Lynn Monahan Couch - Nutrition
• Dr. Ashlie Delshad, Dr. Frauke Schnell - Political Science
• Dr. Mark Davis - Public Policy and Administration

A list of some other WCU faculty conducting sustainability research can be found here .