Drexel hosts series of lectures on sustainability

By: Janhavi Purohit & Natasha Pande

Posted: 1/16/09

Drexel Green, along with the Sierra Club and the Mayor's Office of Sustainability in Philadelphia, will be hosting a series of lectures on climate change at Drexel. The lectures are part of a class on climate change taught by professors Robert Brulle and Susan Kilham.

The lectures, ranging in topics from "Climate Change and the Oceans" to "Capitalism and Sustainability" will each feature a lecturer specializing in or relevant to the theme.

According to Susan Kilham, the lectures are designed to appeal to a wide range of students across Drexel and are open to any students interested in attending.

"An increasing number of students at Drexel are taking this class. We've not only got students from environmental science, but from all different majors, even design," Kilham said.

Kilham added that because climate change is an increasingly publicized issue, the goal for the class is to give students their own basis for forming judgments on the situation.

The mayor's office was contacted by Tobey Oxholm, and thus decided to sponsor the lecture series. Brulle, who is associated with the Sierra Club, contacted the organization and garnered their support, Kilham said.

"Drexel Green has been heavily involved as well. They were available to help us advertise more widely," Kilham said.

Brulle said the lecture series is relevant now because of the impact that the study of global climate change and its origins has on Drexel's different colleges and communities. For this reason, Brulle said the heads of each different college would be introducing the lecture related to their own college. For example, the LeBow College will be introducing the senior vice president of Commercial Strategy of the Duke Energy Corporation Jan. 27.

According to Brulle, the involvement of outside organizations is an inevitable step in Drexel's greening efforts.

"Drexel doesn't exist on an island," Brulle said. "We have a lot of community involvement. Drexel University can serve as a Philadelphia metro-wide focus to convey information about sustainability not just to Drexel, but to the wider community."

Brulle cited the example of students at Swarthmore university contacting the organizers and requesting permission to attend the lectures.

Brulle added that by having the mayor's office and the Sierra Club spread information about the lectures, there would be a wider audience for the speakers themselves.

"Drexel is striving to be a leader in the community. While decreasing the academic boundaries, increasing awareness about the solution and impact could help prevent drastic changes in climate," Brulle said.

He said the University is a key component in making Philadelphia green, and that "confluence" of goals between the University and the City result in coordination of efforts between city groups and the school's efforts.

Lectures are planned every Tuesday from 3:30 to 4:50 p.m. in the Mitchell Auditorium of Bossone for the remainder of the winter term.