Andrea Hicks, Office of Sustainability

From the Desk of Andrea Hicks

A monthly column from Andrea Hicks, director of sustainability education and research, an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Hanson Family Fellow in Sustainability

There’s something very invigorating about the start of fall semester on campus. Returning students come back from their summer experiences with fresh ideas and perspectives. New students join our campus community, full of enthusiasm and possibility.

This fall, there are also some exciting sustainability events coming to campus. On October 26, the Office of Sustainability and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies will be teaming up to present a Sustainability Symposium, highlighting all of the great work in this area done by students, faculty, and staff on our campus. The symposium will consist of a keynote speaker as well as flash talks and posters from students, faculty, and staff. We are excited to build the sustainability community and highlight the work happening in all three paradigms — environment, economy, and society — across our campus. To submit an abstract to present at the symposium, follow this link. Register for the symposium here.

Speaking of community, this fall we will also debut our new Sustainability Faculty Fellows Program. This program will build a community of scholars to explore the best practices in teaching and research around sustainability. The application link for this program will be up soon, and if you would like to receive an email invitation once it is ready, please drop us a note at info@sustainability.wisc.edu. The group will meet a few times per semester.

Although the campus has been a bit quieter over the summer, our office has been bustling. Our new cohort of student interns have gone through their summer session of training, field trips, and team-building, and they are ready to make the campus a better place for all of us. You can read more about the program here. You can also get up to date on our institutional sustainability efforts by having a look at our annual and semesterly snapshots.

We look forward to seeing you all on campus this fall. As always, if you’d like to collaborate with us, don’t hesitate to send us a note.