Ithaca College

The call for presentation abstracts for the annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) is now open. Abstracts will be accepted until April 23rd. This year’s AASHE conference, titled “Investing in the Future”, will take place October 14-17, 2012 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The conference, which is expected to draw more than 2,000 participants, will draw together a diverse group of campus representatives, from faculty to sustainability officers, presidents to students, to examine the complexity and challenges of sustainability within urban, suburban, rural and international campuses.

Conference presentations will explore the collaborations necessary to approach the campus as a living, learning laboratory for sustainability education, measuring the true values of sustainability, and the necessity for ownership from a diverse group in order to set ideas into action. AASHE 2012 will offer a multi-strand approach where attendees will have the choice to follow one strand or to jump from one strand to another during the duration of the event. These concurrent Session Strands are defined as:   

• Academics: The heart of campus academics are student learning and knowledge production. These sessions include presentations about teaching and learning, programs of student, research, funding, and curriculum programs and activities.
  
• Administration and Planning: Discuss the challenges, success, research and theories of developing and planning sustainability initiatives and policies including (but not exclusively) staffing & human resources; strategic planning, access and affordability; purchasing; and investment and financial strategies.
   
• Collaboration and Partnerships: Examining strategic approaches to building the capacity of partnerships and collaborative ventures with both internal and external entities.
   
• Change Management: Change management is a structured approach to transitioning institutions and individuals from a current state to a desired future state. It is a process aimed at helping all constituents to accept and embrace changes.
   
• Facilities and Operations: Discuss practical applications, research findings and theories about the ongoing evolution of facilities management, including but not exclusively energy; food; landscaping/grounds and waste management.
   
• Engaging Students:  An exploration of innovative ideas for engaging students in campus sustainability efforts. Initiatives may be led by students, staff, faculty, administrators, or even outside organizations. The focus is not necessarily on the initiative itself, but on the strategies for student engagement.
   
• Advanced: This type of presentation allows for in-depth dialogue and provocative group discussion without presenting commonly understood background concepts. Paradigm shifts or a fundamental transformation in institutional culture should be discussed. Presenting innovative and unique approaches where no other case studies exist is encouraged. Sophisticated audience of experienced professionals will be present.

 AASHE offers this additional information about abstracts: Any presentation submitted with a core focus on social justice and diversity, affordability and access, and arts and culture will receive special consideration.

Access the complete AASHE conference abstract submitters packet