Rawlins Annual Report2009-2010 Academic Year

Rawlins Professorship

• The Jack Rawlins Professorship of Environmental Literacy was established in the College of Natural Sciences in 2002– The Endowment

• Actually working capital from dividends $18-24,000

• Pushnik appointed to Professorship Fall 2004– Previously held by Dr. Roger Lederer

Rawlins Professorship Defined

• Partnership between Rawlins Endowment and College of Natural Sciences to Promote Sustainability Education– Partnership is defined by the trust document

• Source: Rawlins Trust III Document• Purpose

– To Support a Faculty Position• Responsible for educating all students, regardless of their

major, on sustainability using an interdisciplinary approach• In addition to other teaching duties within home

departments:– Biological Sciences– Science Education

• Mission– Expose all Chico State students to a variety of

learning experiences about the current state of the environment and how they can act to reverse the decline.

Rawlins Commitment

• Fund a portion of a full-time professorship– Environmental Literacy Course (ENVL 105)– Ambassador to the campus and community

• Financial resources to promote sustainability education for students– Visiting speakers– Workshops– Training– Research

• Rawlins Environmental Research Fellowship

College of Natural Sciences Commitment

• Fund a portion of a full-time professorship– Environmental Literacy Course (ENVL 105)

• Financial resources to promote sustainability education for students– General Education Science Courses based on

Sustainability• NSCI 101 and 102

– Research• Center for Ecosystem Research• Center for Nutrition and Activity Promotion

– Outreach• Gateway Science Museum • Museum without Walls

External Financial Resources

• 2010: Nature Education and Sustainability Tour. California Parks and Recreation Office of Grants and Contracts (Pending) $1,521,600

• 2010 Educating for a Sustainable Future: Attracting and Retaining STEM majors: Educating for a Sustainable Future. NSF (Pending) $200,000

• 2009 Integrating Sustainability across the curriculum. Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CELT) Impact Grants $5,500

Rawlins Advisory Committee

By-Laws – adopted by committee on 2/21/2007

– Mission: Advise and support the professor of environmental literacy, whose focus is to prepare all students of all majors, across the various campus disciplines, to deal with a world environment, which is being continually diminished by the loss of species, disappearance of habitats, and degradation of air, water, and soil. 

 

Rawlins Advisory Committee

Role as Defined in By-Laws – The Board will advise the professor of

environmental literacy in all areas, including the allocation of funds and the continued development of university programs and curricula focused on sustainability. 

– The Board will act as a liaison with the community ensuring that these members represent the diverse aspects of the Chico community.

New Sustainability Curricula Directly Resulting from the Rawlins Professorship

• General Education Requirements– California Education Code Title 5: All students

must complete a course in both Physical and Biological Sciences with active laboratory investigation

– Specific Courses offered: • ENVL 105 (GE Area E: Lifelong Learning)• NSCI 101 (GE Area B1: Physical Sciences)• NSCI 102 (GE Area B2: Life Sciences)

Environmental Literacy 105

• This course introduces students to the issue and practices of environmental literacy. – Environmental literacy is the capacity to

perceive and interpret the relative health of environmental systems and to connect the environment to human physical, mental, and social health. • Students are encouraged to recognize that their

lives depend upon the environment, and that their personal decisions affect the environment.

ENVL 105 Course Structure

• Our emphasis is ensuring an understanding that humans are part of nature and not separated from it.

• Concepts that are integrated:– System Thinking– Physical and Geological Systems– Biological Systems and Energy Flow– Social, Economic and Political

Systems– Education Systems

NSCI 101: Introduction to Earth’s Environment

• This course focuses on the principles and scientific thought processes as they relate to climate change, air and water resources, and ecosystem alteration. – The Earth's physical environment is the

primary focus, although a portion of the course covering ecosystems bridges physical and biological interrelatedness of the global environment.

– Problem solving skills and skills in analyzing environmental issues are emphasized.

NSCI 102: Introduction to Living Systems

• An integrated study of the nature and interactions of living things and their environments. – This course is an introduction to the

processes of evolution and speciation, ecology and ecosystem processes, organismal physiology and cellular biology with an emphasis on how these processes are shaped by the environment.

– The course is primarily for students without a strong background in high school biology or chemistry.

Student Enrollment in NS Environmental Courses

2003

-04

2004

-05

2005

-06

2006

-07

2007

-08

2008

-09

2009

-10

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

ENVLNSCI 101

NSCI 102 Total

ENVL

NSCI 101

NSCI 102

Total

University-wide: New General Education Curriculum

• GE Design Process– Sustainability as an element of general education:

horizontally and vertically through the curriculum– Sustainability thread resulting in inter-disciplinary minor

• Potential student impact across the University:– 3,000 new freshman students enroll every academic

year• Sustainability-related courses offered:

– In 06-07: 150 Green courses offered– In 09-10: 214 Green courses offered

• Additional support for GE Design curriculum:– NSF grant pending written by Pushnik– CELT funding out of the Provost’s office

New NS Curriculum Since 2004, linked to the Rawlins Professorship Activities

Since Partnership began:• Majors in College of

Natural Sciences have steadily increased– Environmental Sciences

• 19% growth in Majors over the past few years

• Options – launched in 2007:

– Applied Ecology– Atmospheric Sciences– Earth Resource

Science– Hydrologic Sciences

• Graduate Programs in College of Natural Sciences– Professional Science Masters

in Environmental Sciences– 13 Majors in 2008-10

• Founded in 2007• Advising Patterns

– Environmental Biotechnology

– Natural Resource Management

– Sustainable Development and Technology

– Global Change (initial discussion with Environmental Sciences)

• BA/BS Degree Program

Reaching Beyond the Natural Sciences to Build a Faculty Sustainability Teaching Community

• Searching for kindred colleagues– Sustainability Mixers and Summits– Created a Virtual Faculty Unit

• Self-assembled from across many disciplines (65 faculty)

• Development of new collaborations and potential courses

• Workshops for course design and implementation (Jumping through the Hoops)

Train the Trainer Workshops

• Individual Institutional Workshops– CSU, Chico (1 a year for the past 6 years)– Butte College (3 during the past 5 years)– Folsom Lake College (1 with a follow-up scheduled)– Sierra College (3 in the past 4 years)– Yuba College– Cramer Creek School, Missoula MT

• UC/CSU/CC Conference Workshops– UC Santa Barbara 2005, 2007 – CSU, Channel Islands 2006– CSU, San Luis Obispo 2008

Student Sustainability Workshops/Activities

• SCORE Certification Workshop– Students completed a sustainability audit for the City

of Chico• SCOOP

– Students conducting consultations with offices across campus about sustainable practices

• Green Campus – Students addressing campus energy needs and

consumption• Net Impact

– Business students addressing Climate Change• Ecological Footprint Boot Camp

– Students learn how personal lifestyle impacts the environment

University-wide: New Curriculum Since 2004• Curriculum changes that were encouraged

and partially supported by the Rawlins Professorship:– Majors in other colleges:

• Masters in Geography (College of Behavioral and Social Sciences)

– Option» Environmental Policy and Planning

– Minors in other colleges:• Managing for Sustainability (College of Business)*• Environmental Studies (BSS)

Visiting Rawlins Speakers: Open Public Lectures• University-Community events

which were publicized through a variety of media outlets

• 2003: David Orr – 2,500 in attendance • 2004: Steve Schneider – 2,000 • Percy Schmeiser-750 • Ricky Ott- 400• 2005: Lester Brown - 3,000+ • Mathias Wackernagel 500• Charles Moore 500• 2006: Paul Hawken – 3,000+• Sandra Steingrabber-700• 2007: Dennis Hayes – 1,200• 2008: David Orr – 2,000• 2009: Elizabeth Kolbert – 1,500• 2010: Orville Schell and David Brashears-

800

Rawlins Environmental Research Fellowship and Internships

• 2007: Taylor Bass– Project SEED

• 2007: Max Kee – The Cause/GRUB– Community Gardening– Microloans for energy retrofits for students

• 2008: Melissa Dalzell– Sustainable education for children in Kenya

• 2008: Ashley Gunther, Elise Watkins, Emilie Johnson, Jessica Mindt and Katelyn Davis – Energy Conservation Awareness Campaign

• 2009: Rebeka Funres– Sustainable Communities

• 2010: Scott Ellis – City of Chico Climate Action Plan Education

Outreach

Rawlins Professorship: Additional Service to the Community

• Our Earth Advisory Board: Association of Climate Change Officers Duke University 2010

• Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness (CLEAN) Advisory Team NSF 2010

• National Organizing Committee: Signs of Change: The Third Nation Teach-In on Global Warming 2009-10

• Program Reviewer for the National Council Accrediting Teacher Education (NCATE) for Environmental Education 2009-2010

• City of Chico Sustainability Taskforce 2005-Present• Focus the Nation, Organizing Committee, 2008-2009• California State Environmental Education Initiative, Curriculum

Reviewer 2005-2009• California State Environmental Education Initiative Taskforce 2004-05 • National Science Foundation Proposal Review Panel for Scholarship in

Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM). 2007-2009

• Institute of Sustainable Development Technical Advisory Committee, CSU Chico

Fiscal Accounting

• Cash Money Market Account $21,723.41• Expendatures

– ASSHE Meeting Expense (Pushnik) 1,150– Rawlins Internship (Ellis) 964– Student Tickets to UPE 2,160– Rawlins Keynote (Rowland) 885– This Way to Sustainability Conference 521

» $16, 043

Vision: Where should we go from here?

• Focus on General Education– Greatest potential impact on students’ education

• Build on existing course and collaborations– Help faculty develop sustainability courses and

increase cross campus offerings• Develop degree programs

– Begin the process of creating degrees in different disciplines across the University

• Work with community– Solicit and address the needs of our Northern

California Service Area • Continue efforts to secure external funding to

further Rawlins efforts

Summary Activities Map