FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. COC-08-031
September 13, 2007
Sustainable Development Committee Hosts Book Discussion The College of the Canyons Sustainable Development Committee will kick off their fall semester lineup of environmentally informative events with a discussion of the book "Planet U: Sustaining the World, Reinventing the University," by Michael M'Gonigle and Justin Starke. The discussion, which will be led by COC faculty member and Sustainable Development Committee (SDC) member Alene Terzian, will take place Tuesday, September 18, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. in Hasley Hall room 232. Described as an easy, but extremely useful and informative read, "Planet U" reviews the roughly 900-year-long modern history of the university, while also examining several North American and European environmentally-themed campus initiatives. The authors of "Planet U" contend that colleges and universities are at the forefront of the sustainability movement, but also question their ability to properly equip and prepare students to deal with this generation's more serious societal questions, including conservation and long term sustainability. The book goes on to suggest that colleges and universities need to begin playing a more serious role in the sustainable development movement, and begin focusing on a mission to create models of local and global innovation around questions including: how institutions of higher education can help society become a post-automobile and energy saving society; how colleges and universities can help the cities they reside in become more sustainable; and how colleges and universities can be better governed to promote sustainability, "We think this book is going to be a good start to this season of discussion," said SDC Chair Jia-Yi cheng-Levine about the semester's lineup of events, which includes book discussions, film screenings, panel discussions and a student sustainability project contest. "This book will help the reader realize higher education's role in the sustainable development movement, while also examining examples of what some colleges and universities have done to reinvent curriculum with a sustainable development theme and create a network of support for the movement." For more information about the College of the Canyons sustainable Development Committee or the September 18 book discussion of "Planet U: Sustaining the World, Reinventing the University" please visit www.sdcommittee.com or contact Jia-Yi Cheng-Levine at (661) 362-5806. | 
