University of Kentucky
ER-5: Sustainability Course Identification

Sustainability has been variously defined and popularized over the past two decades. The most well-known and quoted of definitions defines sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs" (Brundtland Commission Report). Others have defined sustainability more simply as "equity extended into the future" (Herman Daly). Still others have seen the transition to sustainability as associated with "moving from linear to cyclical processes and technologies" (Karl Henrick-Robert). More ambitious and encompassing is the definition of sustainability that see it as a "local, informed, participatory, balance-seeking process, operating within its Sustainable Area Budget, exporting no harmful imbalances beyond its territory or into the future, and thus opening the spaces of future opportunity and possibility" (UK Center for Sustainable Cities). http://sustainability.uky.edu/policy

2 Phases Phase 1- In the first phase we used search terms and the 2010-2011 Bulletin to create two lists: Potentially SF and Potentially SR. The sustainability-focused list was generated by searching our entire course catalog for the term “sustaina”. If any form of the word appeared in the course title or course description, then that course was added to the list. The sustainability-related list was generated in the same way, however for this list we searched the catalog for this list of search terms independently: • Environment • Ecologic/Ecology • Natura+Resource • Conservation • Economic • Community • Community+development • Social • Societ • Societal+development • Global • Cities • Bioregion Phase 2- Independent review of the results of phase 1 by the ER subcommittee of the PSAC to determine which courses are included on which list using the above definition as the guiding criteria.