U-Idaho to Host Sustainability Symposium, Keynote Bill McKibben
Friday, February 25 2011
MOSCOW, Idaho – Registration for the 4th annual President’s
Sustainability Symposium opens Friday, Feb. 25. The three-day event,
which runs March 30 - April 1 at the University of Idaho, includes
lectures, workshops, industry round tables, films and site tours hosted
by sustainability experts.
The event is free and open to the public. Online registration is required at
http://www.uidaho.edu/sustainabilitysymposium.
This
year’s symposium kicks off the evening of Wednesday, March 30, with a
keynote lecture from renowned environmentalist and bestselling author
Bill McKibben. Through books such as “Deep Economy” and “The End of
Nature,” McKibben has informed the public conversation around climate
change and building a sustainable society over the last decade. A book
signing follows his presentation.
The second day of the
symposium, March 31, opens with a plenary session featuring Paul Rowland
of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher
Education, James Eflin of Ball State University, University of Idaho
President Duane Nellis and industry leaders. The session is an
exploration of how the transition to an environmentally and socially
sustainable economy is impacting goals for higher education and
expectations of future graduates.
Following the plenary,
participants can choose from five distinct tracks examining
sustainability issues around the built environment, sustainability
leadership, ecological planning for communities, healthy lifestyles and
food systems, and making change happen on college campuses.
The
symposium wraps up on Friday, April 1, with a day-long workshop on
sustainable community planning led by Randall Arendt – landscape
planner, site designer, author, lecturer and an advocate of conservation
planning – and a variety of walking tours showcasing sustainability in
action around Moscow.
The goal of the President's Sustainability
Symposium is to utilize an intimate symposium setting to provide leaders
in all societal sectors a venue in which to identify, discuss and
understand problems and issues of sustainability and to prepare them to
adapt successfully by seizing opportunities. Previous topics have
included: transition to sustainable energy systems; water resources
management issues in Idaho and the West; and carbon, climate and our
environment.
The University of Idaho hosts a student-run
Sustainability Center funded through student fees, along with a faculty-
and staff-led initiative called Sustainable Idaho. The programs work in
tandem to infuse sustainable considerations into the university’s
culture, curriculum and operations, and create opportunities for student
engagement.
The symposium is sponsored by the University of
Idaho Sustainability Center, Sustainable Idaho, College of Art and
Architecture, and the Environmental Science Program. For more
information and a complete symposium schedule, visit
www.uidaho.edu/sustainabilitysymposium.
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About the University of Idaho
Founded in 1889, the University
of Idaho is the state’s land-grant institution and its principal
graduate education and research university, bringing insight and
innovation to the state, the nation and the world. University
researchers attract nearly $100 million in research grants and contracts
each year. The University of Idaho is classified by the prestigious
Carnegie Foundation as high research activity. The student population of
12,000 includes first-generation college students and ethnically
diverse scholars, who select from more than 130 degree options in the
colleges of Agricultural and Life Sciences; Art and Architecture;
Business and Economics; Education; Engineering; Law; Letters, Arts and
Social Sciences; Natural Resources; and Science. The university also is
charged with the statewide mission for medical education through the
WWAMI program. The university combines the strength of a large
university with the intimacy of small learning communities and focuses
on helping students to succeed and become leaders. It is home to the
Vandals, and competes in the Western Athletic Conference. For more
information, visit
www.uidaho.edu.
About the University of Idaho
The University of Idaho helps students to succeed and become leaders. Its land-grant mission furthers innovative scholarly and creative research to grow Idaho's economy and serve a statewide community. From its main campus in Moscow, Idaho, to 70 research and academic locations statewide, U-Idaho emphasizes real-world application as part of its student experience. U-Idaho combines the strength of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. It is home to the Vandals, and competes in the Western Athletic Conference. For information, visit
www.uidaho.edu.