On Thursday, March 27th CECE and the Office of Sustainability hosted the Sustainability Symposium where we celebrated the depth and breadth of sustainability scholarship on campus. Faculty from across campus participated in three panel discussions sharing the relationship between Sustainability and The Civic Life, Community Building, and Service. Megan Litke, Director for the Office of Sustainability, served as moderator for each panel.
The panel discussion on Sustainability and the Civic Life— featuring Maggie Stogner, Simon Nicholson, and Rosalind Donald— focused on the need to challenge the framing of sustainability by increasing the number and breadth of the stories we share.
The second panel, Sustainability and Community Building featuring Thurka Sangaramoorthy, Anne Claus, and Nicole Darnall, discussed the need to increase collaboration across different groups by focusing on reciprocity, community buy-in, and finding common interests.
The final panel, Sustainability and Service with Anastasia Snelling, Garima Sharma, and Julie Gonzalez, discussed how service and impact are how sustainability becomes real. The panelists also underscored how critical building trust with community partners is.
One common theme throughout each panel was the importance of fostering hope through creating human connections. Each panelist touched on how hope can keep the movement going.
The symposium ended with a Campus Sustainability Tour highlighting the different ways American University incorporates sustainability into daily operations.
Featured Experts
Megan Litke
Simon Nicholson
Maggie B. Stogner
Rosalind Donald
Thurka Sangaramoorthy
C. Anne Claus
Nicole Darnall
Garima Sharma
Julie A. Gonzalez
