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As her sustainability fellowship at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville comes to a close, Connie Frey Spurlock recalls some of the successes, individual gains and projects she helped facilitate over the past three years. 

“I’ve had the pleasure of seeing quite a few students participate in both regional and national sustainability conferences,” said Frey Spurlock, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies. “I have also been able to work with students across disciplines, which pushes me to be more interdisciplinary in my own work.” 

“Related, I’ve been able to work with faculty and staff outside of my discipline as well,” she continued. “This connection with others from across campus has to be the biggest highlight of my experience.” 

Part of her work included supervising the first sustainability literacy assessment of students that was carried out by Victoria Peters, Office for Sustainability graduate intern. 

“Sustainability is relevant everywhere to everyone,” explained Frey Spurlock. “It is something our students need to understand, in order for them to be better informed citizens when they leave SIUE.” 

Frey Spurlock says that although her fellowship at SIUE will end Monday, Aug. 15, she will continue to be actively involved in the ongoing work of sustainability. She expressed her sustainability wishes for the University. 

“I wish that every member of the SIUE community understood what sustainability means,” she said. “I don’t just mean the definition, but rather they know what it means in their work, their personal lives and their local communities.” 

The sustainability fellow also developed a recycling survey with the help of two Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) assistants. 

Frey Spurlock helped spread sustainability work in the classroom and was instrumental in developing the following curriculum: 

• Master of Integrated Studies Sustainability Studies
• Environmental and social justice interdisciplinary studies course
• Sociology of sustainability graduate level course
• Sociology of sustainability as part of the bachelor of integrated studies leadership curriculum 

“We are at or beyond the point where we must educate our students to thrive and flourish in a rapidly changing and increasingly unpredictable world,” Frey Spurlock said. “A postmodern, sustainable education system prepares students to, by habit, understand the interconnectedness of life.” 

Frey Spurlock’s sustainability work contributed to SIUE receiving the silver Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) rating two years ahead of schedule. 

The work of sustainability does not have to be hard, though it can be painful, she explained. “We need a paradigm shift. We have to break free from the constraints of capitalism, patriarchy, and all forms of bias (race, sex, gender, etc.). We have to truly embrace diversity in its many forms.” 

Echoing some of Frey Spurlock’s concern about sustainability is Megan Arnett, a second year graduate student working on a double major in the departments of Sociology and Integrated Studies, with an emphasis in sustainability. 

“As a society, we have become disconnected from the very lifeblood that sustains us both physically and mentally,” said Arnett. “Nature has become an object to be controlled, used and discarded for our personal gain and advancement.” 

 Arnett has worked with Frey Spurlock since 2013 and has also served as her teaching assistant in the interdisciplinary course, environmental and social justice. “Dr. Frey Spurlock has been imperative to my research as a graduate student, and my personal journey as an individual applying the knowledge I have gained through my education to benefit the campus in our sustainable growth and development.” 

“Dr. Frey Spurlock’s fellowship has been imperative in this time of budget crisis to keep sustainability a part of the conversation at SIUE,” added Arnett. “I have seen her work with different students, organizations, departments, staff and administration in an effort to educate and assist those making the connection between education and sustainability. 

“She has used her sustainability fellowship as a bridge to help others incorporate sustainability into their lives in whatever way that might be,” Arnett said. 

Pursuing sustainability and all its implications suits Frey Spurlock, partly because it has become part of her character. “I’m a feminist and critical sociologist who values sustainability,” said Frey Spurlock. 

Photo:
Connie Frey Spurlock