Higher Education for Sustainability: Cases, Challenges, and Opportunities from Across the Curriculum

Student and employer demand, high-level institutional commitment, and faculty interest are inspiring the integration of sustainability themes into higher education curricula and research agendas. Because moving toward sustainability requires multidisciplinary collaboration, oftentimes, in spite of institutional demand, faculty members seem reluctant to cede control over the curriculum to make possible more innovative curricular developments. This edited collection provides a glimpse at the ways colleges and universities have integrated sustainability across the curriculum. Chapter authors illustrate some of the inclusive and deliberative community and political processes that can lead to sustainable learning outcomes, and some of the obstacles encountered along the way. The research-based chapters provide empirical studies of both traditional and innovative degree programs as well as case studies from professional schools (including schools of engineering, hospitality, and healthcare design). Exploring how sustainability has been integrated into curricula and the wide approaches with which a variety of campuses are making positive steps toward education for sustainability, this much-needed resource provides inspiration, guidance, and instruction for others seeking to take education for sustainability to the next level.

Lucas F. Johnston is Assistant Professor of Religion and Environmental Studies and a Faculty Associate in the Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (CEES) at Wake Forest University, USA.