UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State will be well represented at the 2011 Conference and Expo of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Taking place Oct. 9-12 at the Daniel L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, AASHE’s annual gathering is North America’s largest conference focused on sustainability in higher education. The event is expected to draw more than 2,500 participants from all 50 states and more than 10 countries.
The focus of AASHE’s conference this year is creating sustainable campuses and communities. Penn State is a host institution, along with Alfred State College, Carnegie Mellon, Chatham, Cornell, Duquesne, Frostburg State, Point Park, Portland State, Slippery Rock, University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University.
The following Penn State faculty and staff members are presenting:
-- Sue Barsom, associate director of Center for Sustainability and David Riley, executive director of the Center for Sustainability, will present the paper, “Using S.T.A.R.S. (Sustainability Tracking and Rating System) to transform sustainability pedagogy.”
Barsom also will moderate a panel titled “Getting ‘em right out of the chute: Incorporating sustainability into the first-year seminar,” with panelists Peter Buckland, doctoral candidate in education at Penn State, and Andy Lau, Penn State associate professor of engineering design.
-- Cole Hons, strategic communications director for the Center for Sustainability, will present the paper “Sustainable State: A platform for academic transformation.”
-- Center for Sustainability program manager Jude Simpson and Penn State alumnus Sarah Klinetob will present a poster session titled “Renew Crew Honduras: A Replicable University Service-Learning Initiative for hands-On Experience in Renewable Energy Technology.”
-- Lydia Vandenbergh, program coordinator from the Campus Sustainability Office will present a poster session entitled “Changing Behaviors on Campus through Green Team and Office Certification Programs.”
In addition, Penn State Vice President and Dean of Undergraduate Education Robert Pangborn will represent Penn State at a meeting with the leadership of higher education from other host institutions.
The AASHE 2011 Conference and Expo is sponsored by many sustainable partners including Siemens, Trane, Waste Management, ARAMARK, Domtar, the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Sustainability: The Journal of Record, Izzy+, and Cascade Tissue. More than 120 exhibitors are expected to fill the EXPO Hall.
AASHE is an association of colleges and universities that are working to create a sustainable future. Their mission is to empower higher education to lead the sustainability transformation. AAHSE does this by providing resources, professional development, and a network of support to enable institutions of higher education to model and advance sustainability in everything they do, from governance and operations to education and research.