SIUE Students Learn about Sustainability up Close and Personal
Incoming Southern Illinois University Edwardsville students are learning about sustainability as part of their Springboard to Success orientation.
Dr. Connie Frey Spurlock, SIUE sustainability fellow and associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies, defined sustainability for the group with a quote from Debra Rowe: “Sustainability is an updated, more accurate understanding of the world that can help us all make smarter decisions.”
SIUE is hosting Springboard to Success orientation programs on campus. Incoming freshman students and their parents attend a two-day orientation and academic advisement event to help prepare them for a successful start of the academic year in the fall.
Frey Spurlock and SIUE Sustainability Officer Kevin Adkins spoke to approximately 400 incoming freshmen last week in two separate sessions. Springboard sessions will continue through July 1. SIUE will present a total of 10 meetings for incoming freshmen.
During the sustainability presentation, students learned about such things as:
- The definition of sustainability
- The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
- SIUE’s Bike Share Program
- SIUE’s Water Bottle Refill Stations
- LEED Certified and Green Buildings on campus
- SIUE’s Student Organization for Sustainability (SOS)
- The University’s Sustainability Literary Assessment
To illustrate the University’s Bike Share Program, Adkins rode into the Morris University Center Conference Center, to the delight of the students.
Frey Spurlock’s presentation also encouraged students to rethink sustainability. In quoting from the Center or Resilience at The Ohio State University, Frey Spurlock told students: “Sustainability is not a utopian end-state. It is an attribute of dynamic, adaptive systems that are able to flourish and grow in the face of uncertainty and constant change. Achieving sustainability will require innovation, foresight, and effective partnerships among corporations, governments, and other groups.”
Photo:
Kevin Adkins rides one of SIUE’s Bike Share bicycles in the Morris University Center Conference Center Room to emphasize a point of sustainability to incoming freshmen.
