WEST CHESTER, PA — Every Wednesday at 12 p.m., West Chester University’s Office of Sustainability (OoS) offers a look at how WCU scholars, students, and staff explore and apply principles of environmental, social, and economic sustainability in their research and on-campus work. At 50 minutes each, these Sustainability Research and Practice Seminars introduce an array of topics related to sustainability in easily digestible segments. Free and open to both campus and community, they are presented via Zoom (link below) or in person in Sykes Student Union 255 A/B.
Walt Cressler, professor and science and health librarian in the WCU University Libraries, is a regular attendee and says the presentations “exemplify the uniqueness of the University experience: participation in an exciting exchange of knowledge and ideas that address some of the world’s most pressing issues, but on a practical and personal scale.”
The series, now in its 13th semester, has featured “more than 100 researchers and practitioners from among WCU’s faculty, staff, and students representing every college at the University and most academic departments,” notes Brad Flamm, OoS director. Invited guests from other universities also present.
“The Sustainability Research and Practice Seminars have contributed to an invaluable archive of documents and videos on the Francis Harvey Green Library’s Digital Commons site that researchers from around the world have accessed,” adds Flamm.
These programs are co-sponsored by the Office of Sustainability along with the Office for Research and Sponsored Programs and the Sustainability Council’s Scholarly and Creative Activities Committee.
The complete schedule is below. Unless otherwise indicated, speakers are WCU faculty members. NOTE: There will not be a seminar during spring break week, 3/15/22.
For more information, visit wcupa.edu/sustainability or write to sustainability@wcupa.edu.
Zoom Link: https://wcupa.zoom.us/j/98607753162
Passcode: 878376
February 1
- John Pisciotta (Biology): Sustainable and Organic Beekeeping in Chester County
February 8
- Jacqueline Alnes (English): Milk Diets, Grape Cures, and Bananas Galore: An Examination of Past and Present Wellness Culture Turned Sour
February 15
- Jen Maresh (Biology): Saving the Eastern Gray Whale: How Science, Industry, and the Public are Coming Together to Protect a Critically Endangered Species from Oil & Gas Activities
February 22
- Joshua Filer (Senior Student, Finance): Student Advocacy as a Catalyst for Sustainable and Social Change
March 1
- Sari Steuber and Skip Shuda (from Transition Town Media): What do Transition Towns Bring to the Table?
March 8
- Yingying Lyu (Geography and Planning): Walking Culture in China
March 22
- Cassandra L. Reyes (Criminal Justice): Something Fishy about Crime: How to Teach Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Oceans, Seas, and Resources for Sustainable Development in an Animal Cruelty Criminal Justice Elective Course
March 29
- Omosehin Moyebi (Health): Urban Mass Transit: New York State and the MTA Sustainability Initiatives on Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction
April 5
- Brent Ruswick (History): What’s in a Name? The Politics of Commemoration from the un-naming of the Alexander Graham Bell dorm at RIT to the Samuel Schmucker controversy at WCU
April 12
- Kurt Kolasinski (Chemistry): Energy Input and Economics of Silicon in Energy Storage and Generation
April 19
- Paul Sylvester (Early & Middle Grades Education) and Michael Di Giovine (Anthropology) in conversation with Bradley Flamm (OoS): Offsets and the Path to Carbon Neutrality in Higher Education and Study Abroad
April 26
- Aliza Richman (Sociology): The State of Sustainability at WCU: Key Insights from WCU’s First Sustainability Census
Learn more about WCU’s sustainability initiatives and activities.
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