As global engineering education projects and programs are initiated, too often social outcomes and long-term impacts are assumed to be positive. This is particularly true for sustainable development projects, which often have an inherent assumption of positive transformation through engineering solutions. We argue that a focus on technical…

It is now widely understood that societies must rapidly decarbonize to avoid the worst impacts of future climate change. To contribute to this urgent effort, academic libraries should develop an understanding of the carbon footprint resulting from their activities. This article shares the results of an effort at the Penn State University Libraries…

Drawing on six years of experience teaching Political Science classes with field experiences in the Dominican Republic, I discuss the design and implementation of effective sustainable development projects. What started as a one-off field experience has grown into a long-term relationship with the coffee growing community of El Naranjito, which…

Active involvement of multiple stakeholders is vital to ensuring effective implementation of education innovation. The ground-breaking collaboration described in this article addressed barriers to education through effective cross-sector collaboration among civil society, business, and government stakeholders.

Purpose: A coalition of students, professors, administrators and operational staff at Lafayette College designed an environmental module to integrate in-class curricular education with out-of-class environmental engagement. The purpose of this study was to improve the ethos of sustainability across campus. Design/methodology/approach: The research…

Recent advances in gas and oil drilling technology have led to dramatic boomtown development in many rural areas that have endured extended periods of economic decline. In Pennsylvania's Marcellus gas fields, the recent development of unconventional shale gas resources has not been without controversy. It has been variously framed as a major…

What began as a professor's classroom illustration to encourage students to take climate change seriously sparked a student movement that transformed Eastern University into a leader in environmental stewardship and social responsibility. How did this happen at an evangelical university in a conservative coal state that, at the time, was producing…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze those US colleges and universities that are participating in the Green Power Partnership (GPP). GPP is a voluntary environmental program initiated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2001 to help increase the use of green power (electricity produced from solar, wind,…

Colleges across the country are hosting on-campus renewable energy projects. The general assumption is that trade schools, community colleges, or technology-oriented universities with large engineering departments make the most appropriate sites for training future leaders in renewable energy innovation. While it makes sense to take advantage of…

The University Green program of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) is an urban forestry partnership between four universities and their surrounding communities. The program offers excellent strategies for fostering improved college-community relations and stewardship by students and residents alike. University Green aims to improve the…

Gannon University, located in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania, created a middle level teacher preparation curriculum focused on sustainability. After reviewing the literature about learning, teacher preparation, and barriers to campus greening, the article describes how Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) was integrated into the middle level…

There is no doubt that eProcurement technology has turned cumbersome paper-based processes into highly connected online systems. The most basic parameters of eProcurement range from shopping for or sourcing goods, to creating purchase requisitions and getting them approved, to placing orders with suppliers, to receiving invoices--all…

Westmoreland County Community College focused on enhancing success for first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students testing into two or more developmental courses. The project progressed from a planning objective, to a program on a sliding-scale budget, to becoming sustainable in five years. Results include improved retention and enhanced data…

In 2003, the Allegheny Intermediate Unit received a grant under the National Science Foundation's Math and Science Partnership program to establish the Math Science Partnership of Southwest Pennsylvania (MSP). The MSP brings together regional K-12 school districts, institutions of higher education, and intermediate units with the goals of…

Numerous studies have demonstrated that university students are capable of contributing to sustainable development while improving their academic skills. Unfortunately for many institutions, the expense of sending large cohorts of students on international service learning trips is prohibitive. Yet, students remain enthusiastic and well equipped…