Sustainability is becoming a frequent topic on Ohio University’s campus.
So frequent, in fact, that the University College’s Common Experience Project has taken sustainability as its new theme, in hopes that it will extend beyond freshman year classes.
Sustainability was chosen as the focus because it can be applied to many different area of study across campus, said David Descutner, dean of University College and executive vice provost for Undergraduate Education.
“It turns out faculty are already (teaching sustainability) across campus,” Descutner said.
Albert Rouzie, associate professor of English and director of Composition, said that he and Descutner also wanted the project’s topic to relate to Athens’ local environment.
“My particular interests are situating this more in our region and our area,” Rouzie said.
Originally, the Common Experience Project was a program for freshmen in the University College through which faculty members would select a summer reading book, and several freshman requirements in the class would focus on topics from the book.
University College officials hope that, unlike previous years, the broader topic will allow them to extend the theme into all four years of study.
“Just focusing on first-year students is too restrictive, because if we came up with the right theme, it should have relevance for all four years of students,” Descutner said.
The project will continue to play a part in basic freshman courses, including English 1510 classes and Communication Studies 1300.
Carrie Goldstein, an undecided freshman in the University College, said she enjoys the extended theme of sustainability in her plant biology class. She added that learning about sustainability has influenced her life, from choosing the products she buys at the store to considering a profession involving sustainability.
“I think I have a pretty clear picture of what sustainability is now. I didn’t when I came,” Goldstein said. “It would be cool to have that integrated into a profession.”
The Advisory Committees are also looking to expand the project by involving different lectures from other teachers and service learning opportunities.
The project will not only involve different colleges across campus but could expand to OU’s regional campuses.
The campuses participated heavily in the Kanawha Project, a project that encourages environmental literacy of the region and sustainability, said Descutner.
“The Kanawha Project is the foundation of our relationship with regional campuses,” said Loraine McCosker, coordinator of the Common Experience Project. “My goal is that each student from Ohio University graduates with some understanding of their connections to energy systems, to their concepts of sustainability (and) to their impact to the environment."
The project will include regional faculty members to get different perspectives.
“The single mistake that we made was we didn’t involve faculty in the selection (of previous year's themes),” Descutner said. “We want this to be really overseen and driven by faculty.”
Descutner said he hopes the topic of sustainability will drive the Common Experience Project for the next four years at least. He said he believes the topic is very fitting for OU and its faculty, who will confront environmental topics in the future.
“We want (students) to understand what the issues are and how you can think productively, insightfully about the issues, because they’re again going to be part of your lives the rest of your life,” Descutner said.
dk123111@ohiou.edu
