2008 Woodie Awards
Faculty "Focus the Campus" on sustainability concerns
Meredith Lippman
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: News
On Wednesday, January 30, and Thursday, January 31, twenty-five Union professors took part in "Focus the Nation," a national "teach in" meant to raise environmental awareness.
"Focus the Nation" involved organizations from around the country that have committed time to discussing environmental awareness, particularly sustainability. Schools and businesses across the nation pledged to take part.
While the event was originally scheduled for January 31 only, Union decided to spread it out over a two-day span. Professor of Geology Jaclyn Cockburn, who helped to organize "Focus the Nation," explained, "We decided to extend [the event] and make it two days because a lot of students don't have class on Thursdays. We wanted to raise as much awareness as possible." This event, Cockburn hopes, will get students, faculty and administration to evaluate "how Union is participating" in sustainability efforts.
Union has been discussing sustainability and working on incorporating sustainability and environmentally-friendly programs into the Strategic Plan, another project Cockburn has been working on. "We are implementing more environmental studies courses. We are offering more of them more often. Starting that discussion [about environmentalism] and creating that dialogue is so important. A lot of people just don't know-we need to increase the numbers."
"Focus the Nation" allows individuals at Union to take part in this discussion and put their heads together to come up with new and creative ways to help the environment. Professor of Biology Jeffrey Corbin explained that "one of the things we're trying to do is expose as many kids as possible to climate change and sustainability. ["Focus the Nation"] takes time out from normal classes in order to discuss how we can prevent climate change from having negative effects, and how we can be more environmentally-aware human beings."
Corbin, one of the main proponents both of "Focus the Nation" and of making Union a more environmentally-friendly campus, sent out "an announcement to faculty about 'Focus that Nation' and followed up with a reminder. Twenty-five professors…agreed to participate."
"Focus the Nation" involved organizations from around the country that have committed time to discussing environmental awareness, particularly sustainability. Schools and businesses across the nation pledged to take part.
While the event was originally scheduled for January 31 only, Union decided to spread it out over a two-day span. Professor of Geology Jaclyn Cockburn, who helped to organize "Focus the Nation," explained, "We decided to extend [the event] and make it two days because a lot of students don't have class on Thursdays. We wanted to raise as much awareness as possible." This event, Cockburn hopes, will get students, faculty and administration to evaluate "how Union is participating" in sustainability efforts.
Union has been discussing sustainability and working on incorporating sustainability and environmentally-friendly programs into the Strategic Plan, another project Cockburn has been working on. "We are implementing more environmental studies courses. We are offering more of them more often. Starting that discussion [about environmentalism] and creating that dialogue is so important. A lot of people just don't know-we need to increase the numbers."
"Focus the Nation" allows individuals at Union to take part in this discussion and put their heads together to come up with new and creative ways to help the environment. Professor of Biology Jeffrey Corbin explained that "one of the things we're trying to do is expose as many kids as possible to climate change and sustainability. ["Focus the Nation"] takes time out from normal classes in order to discuss how we can prevent climate change from having negative effects, and how we can be more environmentally-aware human beings."
Corbin, one of the main proponents both of "Focus the Nation" and of making Union a more environmentally-friendly campus, sent out "an announcement to faculty about 'Focus that Nation' and followed up with a reminder. Twenty-five professors…agreed to participate."
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