Sustainable Futures 2014-2015

How will the challenges of this century shape your discipline? Your university? Your community?

Faced with issues like climate change, energy scarcity, and a growing population, can we build a better world not just for our generation but for generations to come? Can we pursue happiness without endless growth? Will the 21st century change the way we think about science, healthcare, education, business, politics, leisure, and the arts? What changes can we already see, and what changes do we anticipate? What resources can help students, faculty and community members prepare for the changes that are rapidly coming their way.

This theme will thread together all we have learned from our previous focus on food, water, wellness, home and place, the big sky and civic action. All of these themes have caused us to ponder how we might think more holistically about our lives, putting them in the context of the environment with its finite resources.

Goals for the 2014-2015 Theme Year

  • Raise awareness among students, faculty and community leaders about the challenges of facing a future which will require a much greater awareness of the costs of growth, such as climate change, soil and water scarcity and high energy costs.
  • Promote dialog about possible solutions, including alternatives to the cultural philosophy of growth at any cost.
  • Provide opportunities for the demonstration and examination of sustainable living solutions.
  • Promote discussion about how these solutions will inform future economic development in the community, future career choices for students and future curricular innovations for the university.