Sustainability Studies News

On September 19, Michael Mann, distinguished professor of Atmospheric Science at Pennsylvania State University, will give a talk titled “A Return to the Madhouse: Climate Change Denial in the Age of Trump” in Eberly Auditorium.

IUP and the Falk School of Sustainability have entered intoan articulation agreement in order to help IUP students as they considergraduate school. The agreement allows IUP students to take a seven-week field course, in the summer before orafter their senior year, with Chatham at asignificant discount.

With the support of the Sustainability Studies Program, a group of students devised a media outreach proposal for a newly opened sustainable restaurant in downtown Indiana, including a “pay-it-forward” initiative, which purchases meals for individuals with financial need throughout the Indiana community.

Jeremy Bailey will present a review of the issues faced by urban landscape professionals seeking to make cities more sustainable and livable, and will examine the solutions to these categories. Please join us on Tuesday, April 3, at 6:00 p.m. in Room B10 of the Humanities and Social Sciences Building.

The Sustainability Studies program at IUP announces a guest lecture on Friday, March 30, by Megan Styles of the Environmental Studies Department at the University of Illinois–Springfield. Styles will discuss how campus sustainability efforts can be driven by a “green fee.”

In this follow-up to An Inconvenient Truth, public and private moments with Al Gore offer insight into his message that “the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion.” The film will be shown on March 2 in the Humanities and Social Sciences Building, followed by a panel discussion.

The Sustainability Studies Program is excited to feature Abigail Adams (Anthropology) in the Faculty Spotlight Speaker Series on Thursday, November 16, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in HSS 126.

Neil Donahue, Lord Professor of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University, will present information related to his research on fine particles and their connection to climate change and health effects, on November 9 in Eberly Auditorium. Sponsored by the Sustainability Studies Program, Science Inspires Series, and Sigma Xi.

The Sustainability Studies Program is excited to announce a talk by Maria Wheeler-Dubas, science education outreach coordinator in the Research and Science Education Department at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, on Wednesday, October 25.

As of May 2017, Chris Jeffords (Economics) and JonathanWarnock (Geoscience) assumed the leadership responsibilities of theSustainability Studies program and minor.

An all-day conference to promote sustainable employment strategies in rural Pennsylvania is planned for April 21, 2017, at the Rustic Lodge. Presenters will include area entrepreneurs and municipal leaders, as well as experts from local universities and nonprofit organizations.

Jonathan Warnock (Geoscience) will discuss climate change, an issue of much public concern and debate, on Tuesday, April 4, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. This talk will present an overview of how Earth’s climate works and why it is changing.

Dana Driscoll (IUP English professor and certified permaculture designer) and other local residents are creating a “Permaculture Guild,” a group of people who come together to learn from each other, share, and grow towards more resilient and sustainable living.

Visit the front lines of the transition away from fossilfuels with a screening of the award-winning film “After Coal.” Join theconversation with elected officials, community leaders, and the producer of thefilm on Friday, February 3.

IUP studentsinterested in making the planet a healthier, more harmonious place are signingup for IUP’s newest minor program of study, Sustainability Studies. Started just over a year ago, partially inresponse to rapidly growing job opportunities in this field, the programalready boasts 19 minors.

Please join Erin Conlin (history) on Wednesday, October 12, in a discussion of her current research on pesticide exposure. This talk is part of the newly created Sustainability Studies minor.

Danielle Lewis, a geography major and sustainability studies minor, served as session chair and presented her research at the annual American Association of Geographers Conference held in San Francisco, April 5–9, 2016. Danielle's presentation was titled “Japanese Knotweed in Correlation to Nitrogen within Soils Effect on Plant Species Diversity: Case Study of Blairsville, Pennsylvania.”

Maren Cooke, founder of the Pittsburgh Sustainability Salon and board member of Transition Pittsburgh and Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP), will give a free public speech on Thursday, April 21, 5:30 p.m., at the Brown Hotel.

BA Harrington, co-director of the Wood Center at IUP, and assistant professor of Woodworking in the Department of Art, will discuss “Sustainability Harvest-to-Use in the Wood Center at IUP” in Sprowls Hall 118A on Wednesday, April 6, at 6:30 p.m.

On Thursday, March 31, all are invited to a free public presentation by the executive director of CELDF, Thomas Linzey, to hear more about the growing struggles of Pennsylvania communities in protecting their environments from industrial waste and pollution.

Please join us for a film screening of “This Changes Everything” on Friday, February 26, in the Humanities and Social Sciences auditorium. The event will begin with a keynote talk about climate change activism and policy at the local level by Peter Buckland of Penn State’s Sustainability Institute.

Please join Hilario Molina (Sociology) Monday, October 5, for a discussion of his current research on environmental discrimination and how the “poor” are excluded from sustainability.

The Sustainability Studies Colloquium Series continues on Thursday, April 2, with its fourth and final event—a guest lecture by Professor Greta Gaard from 6:00–7:30 p.m. in Eberly Auditorium. Please also join us on April 3 for coffee and conversation with Gaard in Nicholson Library, Leonard Hall.

The Sustainability Studies Colloquium Series continues on Friday, February 27, with its third event: a faculty workshop on transdisciplinary collaborations and pedagogiesin sustainability studies led by Tina Lynn Evans, PhD, in the Breezedale Alumni Center library.

The Sustainability Studies Colloquium Series continues on Wednesday, November 12, at 5:00 p.m. with its second guest speaker, Joylette Portlock, PhD, president of Communitopia, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that focuses on climate change communication.

The Sustainability Studies Colloquium Series opens on October 16 with its first guest speaker, Molly Steinwald, a photographer and ecologist with a backgroundin using the visual arts for environmental education and sciencecommunication.