Sustainability Education
A Defining Characteristic of a Dickinson Education
DICKINSON PROVOST NEIL WEISSMAN SPEAKS TO THE ROLE OF ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP
Filmed at the 2012 ACUPCC Climate Leadership Summit, Sponsored by Second Nature
Dickinson prepares its graduates to be sustainability leaders. As students, they develop the competencies and dispositions for creating a sustainable world through knowing and doing: studying sustainability in the classroom and abroad, conducting research, advancing campus greening efforts, practicing sustainable living skills, working in internships, serving communities, and using the campus as a living laboratory in which to act on their ideas. Through these activities of the head, heart and hands, students gain more than knowledge, they gain values, skills and confidence for leading change in the world.
All Dickinson students, whatever their chosen major, will encounter in their future personal, professional and civic lives problems of balancing social, economic and environmental goals in a world of limited natural resources, vulnerable living systems, and vast numbers of people living in poverty and insecurity. To rise to this challenge, our graduates will need competencies and dispositions to:
• Think critically about problems of improving the human condition equitably in this and future generations, while conserving environmental systems necessary to support healthy and vibrant societies;
• Solve problems by applying sustainability concepts and principles;
• Communicate effectively to raise awareness, increase understanding and motivate action for sustainability; and
• Collaborate with others, working with and leading teams or groups to advance shared sustainability goals.
To support these learning goals, sustainability is being woven throughout Dickinson students’ academic, co-curricular and residential experiences. You can learn more about this effort nationally, and what Dickinson is doing to contribute to the American College and University President's Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) by viewing the 2012 Campus Sustainability Day Panel Discussion Web Broadcast for which Provost Neil Weissman was a panelist.