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Creating a Sustainable University and Community through a
Common Experience
Omar S. López, Ph.D.
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
Pittsburgh, PAOctober 12, 2011
Common Experience in Sustainability
Texas State University – San Marcos
6th largest university in Texas
34,000 students (32% minority)
97 undergraduate, 89 masters, 9 Ph.D. programs
Ranked 16th in the nation for the number of
degrees granted to Hispanic undergraduates
Hispanic Serving Institution
Common Experience in Sustainability
Common Experience
President Denise Trauth launches Common Experience in 2004,
an initiative designed to cultivate a common intellectual
conversation across the campus.
"Early on, the vision was to connect entering students to a
shared conversation," Trauth says, "but it quickly grew to
include upper-level classes, student support services, campus
activities, performing arts and the San Marcos schools and
community."
Common Experience in Sustainability
What is the Common Experience?
The Common Experience brings students together to:
Read and engage with a powerful text
Explore related themes in University Seminar classes
Write responses and reactions to the text in writing courses
Participate in related symposia with scholarly panels
Hear renowned and respected speakers address the topic
See films related to the Common Experience theme
Explore the experience by way of the fine arts
Engage in informal discussions in residence halls and coffee shops and
Extend the exploration via the avenues of their own choosing.
Common Experience in Sustainability
Who participates in theCommon Experience?
First-time entering students enrolled in University Seminar (US) 1100 Summer Reading program initiated during orientation Common Experience website
Faculty and staff
San Marcos Community
Others interested in participating in a broad intellectual consideration of a
different world-scope topic each year
Topics emerge from the competitive ideas of faculty, staff, and students
which provides a dimension of ownership and increased involvement
Common Experience in Sustainability
2010-2011 Common Experience:Sustainability: Science, Policy, & Opportunity
While sustainability clearly concerns natural systems on which life depends, it simultaneously engages quality of life issues that include personal accountability and social, economic, and political considerations. Engaging sustainability on this broader basis must include these considerations:
What exactly do we want to sustain and why?
What current and future needs are we working to meet?
Common Experience in Sustainability
Common Experience Goals
Engage all students as effective change agents in our
sustainability challenges
Transformation from apathy to caring involvement
Increase students’ awareness that their daily decisions
affect the quality of life of people around the globe
Common Experience in Sustainability
Common Experience Objectives
Provide opportunities for students to learn and practice how to be:
Environmentally responsible Socially responsible Economically responsible Active citizens in a global economy
Common Experience in Sustainability
Common Experience Context
The campus as a living lab for sustainability practices and skill
building, provides the models and opportunities for practicing
the changing of behaviors, values, and identities.
A community of learners. A community of real life problem solvers.
Common Experience in Sustainability
2010-2011 Common ExperienceSustainability: Science, Policy, & Opportunity
The Book: No Impact Man, Colin Beavan
What does it really take to live eco-effectively?
For one year, Colin Beavan swore off plastic and toxins, turned off his
electricity, went organic, became a bicycle nut, and tried to save the planet
from environmental catastrophe while dragging his young daughter and his
Prada-wearing wife along for the ride. Together they attempted to make
zero impact on the environment while living right in the heart of Manhattan,
and this is the sensational, funny, and consciousness-raising story of how
they did it. With No Impact Man, Beavan found that no-impact living is
worthwhile — and richer, fuller, and more satisfying in the bargain.
Common Experience in Sustainability
Non-Course Common Experience Activities Competitions Demonstrations Discourses Events Exhibits Fairs Featured Speakers Film Screenings Theme Weeks
Common Experience in Sustainability
Inquires regarding the content of this presentation
can be directed to:
Omar S. López, Ph.D.
(512) 341-0351
