New partnership between the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF) and the Association for Promoting Sustainability in Campuses and Communities (APSCC), working in India to promote the Talloires Declaration at higher education institutions.
The Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF) is the Secretariat for signatories of the Talloires Declaration (1990), which has been signed by over 400 college and university presidents and chancellors worldwide. ULSF supports sustainability as a critical focus of teaching, research, operations and outreach in higher education through publications, research, and assessment.
RECOMMENDATIONS of ULSF
University presidents must take action to focus university attention on environment, population, and development issues. They should:
1. Use every opportunity to raise public, government, foundation, and university awareness by publicly speaking out on the importance of environmental concerns.
2. Seek large increases in the funding of interdisciplinary, environmental research. Research funds are often earmarked for traditional disciplines, resulting in the continuing compartmentalization of problems and solutions. The funding available for research on population, environment, and sustainable development is a tiny fraction of that available for basic science, defense, and aerospace.
3. Encourage outstanding scholars who engage in research and teaching on environmental topics, and help them lead other scholars in this direction.
4. Establish programs in all major disciplines to teach about environment, population, and sustainable development in the context of these disciplines.
5. Work with faculty to change tenure and promotion requirements to reward interdisciplinary work on environment, population, and sustainable development issues.
6. Set aside funding and create positions for interdepartmental and interschool faculty who will research and teach population, environment, and sustainable development topics.
7. Appoint a special adviser, an environmental programs dean, or faculty group to promote environmental programs within the university.
8. Encourage multidisciplinary thinking with the use of internships, capstone and integrating seminars, work study, and case studies.
9. Establish a university environmental policy to engage faculty, staff, administration, and students in activities such as energy and water conservation, and recycling. Encourage vendors who supply schools with products and services to act in an environmentally responsible manner when manufacturing their products and delivering their services.
10. Develop cooperative programs with universities in other countries to promote faculty and student exchanges, collaborative research, and education programs that develop international understanding.
11. Establish multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary structures, such as “centers of excellence” for research, education, and policy development within the university.
12. Establish partnerships with primary and secondary schools to enhance the capability of their faculty in teaching about population, environment, and sustainable development issues.