Tue. Oct. 27 – A Greener Education
Dr. Mara Donaldson

Sustainability in the Liberal Arts: Good for the Planet, Good for the Student
12.p.m. in Patterson Bay, Laird Hall

Sustainability, understood as an action plan in response to climate change, is becoming a comprehensive and transformative model for liberal arts colleges throughout the United States.  In this presentation and discussion we’ll look at several of these models and talk about the opportunities and challenges colleges face in making sustainability a defining characteristic of a liberal arts education.

Sacralizing the Secular:  Bill McKibben and the Ethics of Sustainability
4 p.m. in Patterson Bay, Laird Hall

Bill McKibben has been a prophetic voice for climate change for more than thirty years.  As a writer, environmentalist and climate change activist, he has inspired college students across the country to become involved in environmental studies courses, campus sustainability initiatives, and more recently in divestment from fossil fuel protests.  In many ways their passion and commitment to education and change makes them, in the words of a colleague, “the most religious students on campus.”  Yet, this new religiosity is not tied to a particular religious tradition; many, in fact, are critical of religion; they are “spiritual, not religious.” In this presentation, I will talk about some of the reasons for McKibben’s influence, the impact these students are having on transforming their living and learning environments, and several of the challenges and controversies involved in this new, “engaged spirituality” movement.

Mara E. Donaldson (Wilson, ’71) is Professor of Religion at Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA.  Her areas of expertise include Religion and Modern Culture, Religion and the Arts, and Environmental Ethics.  She has served on the Center for Sustainability Steering Committee and the Sustainability Investment Task Force. She is currently working on an essay about Bill McKibben’s influence on college students.

Supported by the Global Citizens Fund, proud sponsor of Confronting Climate Change