The final 2009-2011 Fellows and Mentors workshop was held at the Emory Conference Center Hotel in Atlanta Georgia on May 23-25, 2011.

Primary goal of the workshop was to evaluate the 2009-2011 program and improve it for future Fellows. Other goals included sharing research by Fellows, and group discussions about academic life. 

Opening Remarks

After a welcome reception (4-6pm), Emory anthropology professor Peggy Barlett gave opening remarks entitled “Emerging Paradigms of Sustainability.”  Barlett, whose field work took place in rural Georgia as well as Costa Rica and other Latin American countries,  is a frequent speaker and workshop convenor on sustainability in higher ed with AASHE and other environmental/sustainability groups, says this about her current work:

“My current interests focus on sustainability in higher education as a tangible arena in which to understand and enact sustainable development more generally. Living in Atlanta, until recently one of America's "most livable cities," I have watched it become the poster child for sprawl.  Like many U.S. cities, Atlanta struggles to achieve clean air, clean water, affordable housing, good public transportation, and a way of life that supports a flourishing society while recognizing the earth’s finite living systems of which we are a part. Sustainability—what Aldo Leopold called a land ethic—is a complex paradigm shift emerging in many parts of the world, envisioning a different future for agrarian and industrial society.  Sustainable approaches work to reverse damage to biological life support systems, to sustain healthy livelihoods, and to increase social equity and participation in decision making. I particularly enjoy the ways that, sometimes quite invisibly, today’s sustainability movement builds on several generations of anthropological work on viable lifeways in human history and around the world.”

Learn more about Dr. Barlett at http://www.anthropology.emory.edu/FACULTY/Barlett/index.html.

• Agenda

Please contact Elizabeth MacNabb at emacnabb@centre.edu or 859-238-6234.

Links:

Emory Conference Center Hotel 
Emory Inn 
Directions to the Emory Inn and
    Emory Conference Center
Green Initiatives at the Conference Center

Travel, Conference and Carbon Emissions:

Using the TerraPass calculator, ACS Programs in Sustainability and the Environment  has purchased carbon offsets for the 2011 workshop and its estimated attendees (driving and flying). 

The brainchild of a University of Pennsylvania professor and his students, TerraPass makes this claim:

“100% of our carbon offsets are verified annually against broadly accepted standards by independent third party verifiers. Our primary standards are the latest version of the Voluntary Carbon Standard (issued in 2008) and the Climate Action Reserve. We believe these standards ensure that you receive the highest quality offsets available. We publish full details of our supported standards.”