Abstract
The objective of The Sustainable University is to share UK-based experiences with counterparts throughout the world, knowing that ‘many issues, barriers, opportunities, and possibilities are common across higher education systems’ (p. xx). The book compiles the products/content of a workshop organized by the Center for Sustainable Futures (CSF) at Plymouth University, which was held in June 2011 with participation by representatives of 11 UK universities.
The motivation beyond sharing good content is to draw attention to the breadth of integration and correlating changes that need to happen within the higher education enterprise. As so clearly stated:
…the global higher education system as a whole remains maladapted to the conditions that we face … (and with some irony) … ever since the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment, education has been held to be a key agent of change throughout a series of high-level agreements and declarations … but it remains largely part of the problem… (p. xxii)
The editors hope to ‘raise the debate and assist the learning and change process…’ (p. xxii).
The book provides a wealth of content calling for structural modifications to the current habits of mind and content exploration embedded in dominant curricular structures, organizational models and the very ‘Estates’ [campuses] that embody in their physiography—as a ‘hidden curriculum’—the lessons of (un)sustainability.
The 14 chapters put forward thematic material organized in three parts: Context, Aspects and Institutional Change. The chapter narratives are amplified with selected Box excerpts—making for an ease of organizational overview, quick extraction of key points and topical searching for short-form descriptions of best practices. Every chapter in the book contains extensive referencing. The materials are globally sourced and reflect the state of literature from every sector of developed and developing nations.
Part I: Context
The first three chapters identify the many challenges and responses available within the operations of a campus (estate), the challenges facing education for sustainability given the emphasis in most institutions on a ‘market model for higher education’ and the need to approach these challenges from a global perspective.
Much of the framing of the transformation needed in higher education is set in place by the review of ‘alternative future scenarios’ in Chapter 1; with the goal of creating ‘a more secure, safe, and sustainable world’. An example of systemic institutional change is presented in a case study citation of Plymouth University.
The inherent disservice resulting from linking sustainability too strongly to questions of economic growth is highlighted in Chapter 2. The author argues for a broader view of the many social movements and the need to seek value beyond the monetized market.
The argument for considering social movements as a key element in reframing higher education with the focus on the broadest possible global scale of potential impact is covered in Chapter 3.
Part II: Aspects
This segment of the book uses seven chapters to detail the elements of the idealized sustainable university.
Chapter 4 addresses the importance of a regionalized focus in which universities operate as context-specific Regional Centers of Expertise (RCE); these are envisioned as a worldwide network of information-sharing and facilitating bodies. And a subtext argument covers the importance of interdisciplinarity with a focus on developing ‘Communities of Practice’ (COP).
Chapter 5 draws on experiences at Bournemouth University and on the HEFCE Leadership, Government and Management Project, with emphasis on creating ‘enabling environments’ for building cultures in which every member of an institution is empowered to contribute to the sustainability transition.
Chapter 6 provides case studies from Brighton and St. Andrews Universities and uses these as a vehicle to explore the meaning of community within a university, emphasizing values with which to confront the challenges of sustainability. Values comprise the foundation for a ‘virtuous circle’ of governance and formal adoption/implementation of sustainability through leadership and active participation by all members of the university.
Chapter 7 examines pedagogy and curriculum and addresses the distinction of formal, informal and hidden curricula which exist in every institution—in its course offerings, its degree programmes and the physiography of its campus (estate). Research and engagement are added measures of emphasis.
Chapter 8 examines sustainability research with the charge of leading a transformation of researchers, research participants and the very definition of what research ‘might be’. The chapter includes a listing of 10 practical recommendations for promoting sustainability research.
Chapter 9 examines the student experience, drawing on Edinburgh University as a case study environment. The student-led activities and the citation of the Transition University Initiative frame the chapter presentation.
Chapter 10 examines the role of stakeholder well-being, and calls for inclusion of this metric in existing ranking and strategic plan initiatives within higher education.
Part III: Institutional Change
This segment of the book presents four chapters on: whole system thinking, bottom-up cultivation of sustainability within the university community, the exploration of a model Green Academy, and notes on how to take forward the substantive arguments of the text.
Chapter 11 captures Bradford University’s Ecoversity Project as a case study in the whole systems approach. Four distinct chronological phases of Ecoversity development are covered including initial efforts, role of management, the importance of the campus (estate), and the role of democratic collaboration in the emerging changes to higher education. A list of 10 pointers is provided for those interested in adopting the Ecoversity experience for their home campus (estate).
Chapter 12 uses Kingston University as a touchstone for presenting the importance of grassroots effort, establishing shared vision, communicating well and fostering ‘fun’ in the process, all of which were so fundamental to the success in this story. Also outlined are the key barriers and opportunities which can be found at most institutions.
Chapter 13 presents the Green Academy, an institutional change programme funded by the UK Higher Education Academy, which enjoined eight participating higher education institutions. The challenges and opportunities compiled from the experience of all eight institutions are summarized.
Chapter 14 enables the editors to put forward themes, visions and frameworks for rethinking and reorienting the current practices of colleges and universities. ‘Transition’ is emphasized with highlights on the importance of students and staff. The reader is invited to become engaged in the ‘extraordinarily urgent, important, exciting and rewarding task’ of closing the gap between higher education’s practice and potential.
The Sustainable University has value for all constituents of the higher education landscape: internally, the administrators, staff, faculty and students and externally, the various governing bodies, the publics and near–surrounding communities within which each academic campus (‘estate’) sits.
The book is modestly illustrated. There are no photographs and only a small number of graphics. However, the use of shaded pages and boxed features adds to the variety of material presentation and facilitates chapter-by-chapter scanning—both as preview and review.
The strength of this book lies in the currency of the content, the breadth of issues raised, the legitimacy of material tied to proven experience of the universities cited and the selective intervention of the editors, not only by carefully locating their own chapters of expertise but also their provision of introductory, advisory and summary annotations. Moreover the book offers a solid grounding in the history of the sustainability charters, agreements and declarations, a realistic assessment of traditional curricular silos and models of practice capable of leading to integrative cross-disciplinary curricular options.
All in all, this is a remarkable addition to the literature on the still-emerging, constantly-transforming and otherwise difficult-to-define sustainable university. The citation of real-world experience and the networking of efforts in the UK context are insightful. And although the authors’ call for a faster pace of academic adaptation could be more forcefully argued, the content presented is of high value and in readily accessible form.