Student demand, institutional commitment, and faculty interest are inspiring the integration of sustainability themes into higher education curricula and research agendas. The complex and interdependent nature of solutions for a more sustainable future calls for a multidisciplinary approach.

Institutional support for collaborative endeavors varies from campus to campus. Questions and challenges arise around tenure track and promotional requirements for faculty, funding, budgeting, and academic/disciplinary homes for faculty and students. Additionally, models of integration vary from infusion into courses throughout the curriculum to the establishment of sustainability as a unique academic discipline.

This national conference will explore the ways in which institutions of higher education are adapting to support the collaborative endeavors of faculty and staff and the roles that administrative leaders can play in this evolving arena. Participants will have the chance to learn from the concrete case studies presented and to develop strategies for implementation on their own campuses.

Central questions panelists and workshop facilitators will address throughout the conference include:

•Should sustainability be infused into every academic discipline, or should it emerge as a unique multidisciplinary field?
•In the case of multidisciplinary collaborations across departments, where should faculty be housed and how are funds and time allocated?
•Are multidisciplinary fields rigorous enough to stand up to academic scrutiny or are they less rigorous alternatives to single disciplinary studies?
•Should faculty be rewarded for researching and publishing across disciplines and for securing cross-disciplinary grants? If so, how?
•How is sustainability different than other multidisciplinary fields? Are co-curricular opportunities for applied learning particularly important in this emerging field? Is career development for sustainability different than general career development?

More information at: http://sustainability.wfu.edu/conference/conference-overview/

WHEN: March 22-23, 2010
WHERE: Wake forest campus, Winston-Salem, NC