| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 50.60 |
| Liaison | Laurie Husted |
| Submission Date | June 14, 2011 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Bard College
ER-5: Sustainability Course Identification
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Laurie
Husted Sustainability Manager Bard Office of Sustainability (BoS) |
Has the institution developed a definition of sustainability in the curriculum?:
A copy of the institution's definition of sustainability in the curriculum?:
SUSTAINABILITY at BARD
short definition: "Ensuring that human opportunities for self-realization do not decline over time. Needs and opportunities for self-realization depend on access to: food, housing, clean air and water, security, political freedom, health care, education, electric power, transportation, relationships with other species and with well functioning ecosystems"
Long definition: "Sustainability, on institutional, local, regional, national or global scales, means assuring that human opportunities for self-realization do not decline over time. Why might current social processes be unsustainable? In the 21st century, human consumption and population growth faces resource limits and threats to critical ecosystem services: climate stability, fresh water, air quality, oil, fisheries, biodiversity, forests, top soil, arable land.
The study of sustainability is inherently interdisciplinary, involving underlying scientific processes, ethical and aesthetic questions, and social relationships: the 3E’s (environment, equity and economy). At the same time, for the college to become a model of sustainability will require students, faculty and staff to engage with both the campus and community as laboratories, seeking ways to reduce our ecological footprint, while enhancing our economic stability and social well-being.
In the context of higher education, students, as future leaders and citizens, must think critically about the concept of sustainability itself and how engagement with the term requires understanding different socio-economic contexts and power relationships. “Human opportunities for self-realization” depend on access to food, housing, clean air and water, security, political freedom, health care, education, electric power, transportation, productive interactions with other species, and with well-functioning ecosystems. These relationships are complex: sustainability is a contested idea that may be challenged and redefined by biophysical and cultural realities on an increasingly crowded and increasingly affluent planet."
Has the institution identified its sustainability-focused and sustainability-related course offerings?:
A brief description of the methodology the institution followed to complete the inventory:
1) A review of course listings for the last three years
2) A faculty survey
Does the institution make its sustainability course inventory publicly available online?:
The website URL where the sustainability course inventory is posted:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.