Last Spring, Digital Media Master’s student and SLS GRA Michelle Ramirez curated and opened an exhibit in the Kendeda Building called Gender Equality: Reimagining our Future through Art and Technology. Last month, Georgia Tech’s Alumni Office sponsored a reception highlighting the exhibit followed by an SLS-moderated panel discussion with four of the accomplished student artists whose work is featured. We are delighted to share below reflections from several of these students on their participation in the exhibit and alumni event and their passion for SDG 5: Gender Equality. If you haven’t yet had a chance to view the exhibit, we encourage you to visit the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design very soon, while the exhibit remains on display.
Sylvia Janicki
Thank you to Serve Learn Sustain for this opportunity…
As we close out the Fall 2022 semester, we wanted to highlight our student staff, who function as an integral part of our office. SLS could not do the work we do without them!
Lara Bailen (Computer Science)
My name is Lara Bailen, I am an international student from a small town in Madrid, Spain. I am a second-year Computer Science Major with a Film and Media Studies Minor. I am responsible for maintaining and updating the RCE Greater Atlanta and Serve Learn Sustain websites.
Jennie Baker (Environmental Engineering)
My name is Jennie Baker and I am a third-year environmental engineering major. My interest in sustainability grew significantly after…
Looking for an interesting SLS affiliated course to finalize your spring schedule? SLS is pleased to highlight a new elective course being offered by affiliated faculty Kate Pride Brown.
“To understand…any person, his whole life, from birth, must be reviewed. All our experiences fuse into our personality. Everything that has ever happened to us is an ingredient.” So said Malcolm X as he told his life story to the writer Alex Haley. Every person is shaped by the society that surrounds them. When you link together biography (a particular life story) with history (the culture, politics, economics and social forces of a place and time) then you can acquire the “sociological imagination.” This term, coined by C. Wright Mills, encapsulates the best of what sociology has to offer – a perspective that allows us to see the imprint of society on the life trajectory of a single individual. In the Spring 2023 semester, I am teaching a new elective class: “HTS 2813: Special…
Call for Papers Abstract Deadline: December 9th
Gateways journal is pleased to announce our new themed volume, 'Asset-based community development and community-based research: Compatible agents in equitable and sustainable change?'. Contributors are encouraged to critically and creatively explore the interactions between asset-based and relationship-centred community development approaches and research collaborations. A special invitation has been extended to practitioners, leaders, activists and others to submit their own contributions. A supportive process will be followed, helmed by our guest editors, including SLS Director Jennifer Hirsch, and the Gateways Editorial Committee. Publication is planned for late 2023.
Community-university engaged research has been steadily growing in legitimacy and visibility over the past few decades. Globally, there is now a significant and rich body of evidence attesting to the diversity of collaborative and…
The Center for Sustainable Communities (CSC) continues to introduce Georgia Tech students to pressing environmental justice issues burdening the southeast with its fourth Excursion into Justice. This Excursion into Justice was done in conjunction with the EJ Strong Community Managed Risk Reduction Project, led and coordinated by South Carolina's Department of Health and Environmental Control team. Driven to support local low-income and minority groups, academic institutions along with state agencies and community leaders come together to amplify the community’s past and present voices concerning disaster risk reduction. Ultimately, the work completed during the excursion will serve as the basis for an action plan, accurately and justly outlining what needs to be done to prevent and mitigate these disasters.
The latest excursion took place in Lower Richland…
Last week the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of 132 projects in 37 states to receive grants to “conduct ambient air monitoring of pollutants in communities across the country with environmental and health outcome disparities stemming from pollution and the COVID-19 pandemic.” SLS Signature Partner Center for Sustainable Communities (CSC) was one of those recipients. CSC was awarded $498,000 to deploy air sensors in 11 minority communities, located in the region of South Atlanta, Georgia, where there is concern over potential health impacts due to the proximity of these neighborhoods to heavily traveled transportation corridors, and for which there is no existing air quality monitoring capability. The objective of the project is to empower under-resourced communities to collect, analyze, and use the data to draw conclusions related to the causes and effects of air quality.
Garry Harris, founder and president of CSC stated, “the primary goals…
RCE Greater Atlanta is proud to announce the inaugural class of SDG Futures Fellows for the 2022-2023 academic year. The SDG Futures Fellowship, funded by a grant from the Atlanta Global Research & Education Collaborative (AGREC) as well as a donation from Georgia Tech's Center for International Business Education & Research (CIBER), is a student fellowship program, co-developed and co-led by students and staff from Georgia Institute of Technology and Kennesaw State University (KSU). The program was inspired by KSU’s Distinguished SDG Ambassador Program,…
This spring, Kjersti Lukens, program support coordinator for the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, spoke with GT alum Unwanna Etuk (BS INTA '19) about her path to a sustainability-focused career. Unwanna currently serves as a partnership coordinator and research analyst with The Ray, applying her passion for building a better world to her work at a living laboratory for sustainable highways. Read the full interview HERE.
A recent article published by College of Sciences highlighted SLS faculty partner Dr. Teresa Snow and her Scientific Foundations of Health course, which focuses on mental health and wellness for students. Read the full article HERE.
Sign up here for a time to meet with our Partners-in-Residence, or invite them to speak to your class, student group, or colleagues.
SLS is excited to welcome our first ever Georgia Tech Partners-in-Residence – Darryl Haddock, Education Director with the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA), and Garry Harris, President of the Center for Sustainable Communities (CSC). Now, as Partners-in-Residence, Darryl and Garry will spend approximately two days per month on campus, meeting with students,…
In early 2021, SLS announced its new Signature Partner Program aimed to further foster sustainable practices by deepening its relationships with some of its closest community partners. Through other signature programs, such as the Sustainable Communities Summer Internship Program, students can reap the benefits of these ever-growing partnerships through experiential learning and meaningful hands-on work.
SLS currently has three signature partners: the Center for Civic Innovation, a community organization driven to fight inequality in Atlanta and advocate for local policy change; the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, an organization committed to improving the quality of life within the West Atlanta Watershed through the protection and restoration of natural resources; and the Center for Sustainable Communities (CSC), an organization focused on supporting a wide range of sustainability initiatives throughout the Southeast. CSC Founder and President Garry Harris has an…
Research has shown that 40% of solid waste comes from construction and demolition (C&D) projects, and the current building material reuse rate is less than 1% of total C&D waste. Lifecycle Building Center (LBC) is a local nonprofit in southwest Atlanta that diverts usable building materials from landfills and directs them to local communities.
This summer, our Serve-Learn-Sustain interns, Jackie Zong and Taylor Campbell, both worked at LBC on a deconstruction workforce training project and a Community Reuse Toolkit funded through an EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) grant. Both projects were developed using an asset-based community development approach, which was aided by Jay Basset and Dr. Jenny Hirsch. In short, rather than looking at problems within the community, we identify and mobilize existing, often unrecognized, community assets that can benefit local residents. Jackie and Taylor also supported daily…
The application for the SDG Futures Fellowship, a program created by RCE Greater Atlanta Student Interns, has opened. We’re happy to announce that the SDG Futures Fellowship has been awarded the AGREC grant of $10,000 and will receive additional monetary support from the Georgia Tech Center for International Business Education and Research center in Scheller. The program will run from October 2022 - April 2023. The fellowship will be co-led by Georgia Tech and KSU with involvement from RCE GA community partners. There will be in-person and virtual events and workshops, with some open to the public (so stay tuned for those).
WHO CAN APPLY?
Any Youth (17-29) from any of the 11 RCE GA Affiliated HEIs interested in Sustainable/Professional Development are invited to apply. Our goal is to select 1 - 2 fellows from each HEI. Young professionals interested in transitioning to sustainability…
Below, WAWA interns Roxanne Raven and Megan Jermak share the focus of their work at WAWA this summer. Janelle Wright, Climate and Equity Program Coordinator at WAWA supervised Megan and Roxanne’s work.
Roxanne Raven, City and Regional Planning, ’23, shares “I worked on forming and implementing WAWA’s community outreach plan regarding their new green infrastructure updates and getting a better sense of the community’s vision for their space and the Bush Mountain and Oakland City Neighborhoods. I also design a comprehensive maps for the areas WAWA stewards, including the trails of the Outdoor Activity Center and the Sandy, Proctor and Utoy Creek watersheds.
Megan Jermak, Civil and Environmental Engineering, ’25: This Summer I worked with the current cohort of the Atlanta Watershed Learning Network (AWLN). Noteworthily, I helped design and publish our summer newsletter. Additionally, I helped plan for the design and construction of outdoor classrooms by Georgia Tech…
In March 2022, Serve-Learn-Sustain (SLS) began co-leading an exciting new project, “Public Interest Technology (PIT) for First-Year Engineers,” in collaboration with the Writing and Communication Program (WCP). Under the supervision of the project’s co-principal investigators, Andy Frazee, the WCP’s Director, and Ruthie Yow, an SLS Service Learning and Partnership Specialist, four Marion Brittain Fellows, Lee Hibbard, Mike Lehman, Renee Buesking and I, Suchismita Dutta curated interdisciplinary courses that allowed undergraduate students at Georgia Tech to collaborate with four community partners who are working towards fostering more sustainable communities in Atlanta. These courses offered our first-year engineering students a unique platform to explore themes like sustainable community engagement in Atlanta, the contested future of Atlanta’s most endangered sites, pre and post apocalyptic experiences and the politics of global hunger alongside generating difficult yet timely…
Dr. Stepanov joined the faculty of Georgia Tech’s School of Modern Languages in August 2021. We are thrilled that she is working with Serve-Learn-Sustain, and excited to share more about her teaching and research. This semester, Dr. Stepanov is teaching two SLS-affiliated courses: ARBC/FREN/ SWAH/WOLO 3420A, “Introduction to Africa,” (taught in English) and a new course, FREN 4813A/8803B, “In-Humanity: Cruelty/Literature/Media,” (taught in French).
If you’re interested in analyzing how literature, media, and policy each operate in their own, distinct ways to portray and define violence against people and place, then “In-Humanity: Cruelty/Literature/Media” is the course for you! This class is broken up into various categories of violence (war, massacre, genocide, ecological collapse) via literature, diverse media, and policy. We’ll be reading a novel, a graphic novel, short stories, and excerpts from theoretical texts, as well as looking at photographs and…
A new term and Phase II registration is upon us! We hope you’ll seize the opportunity to register for one or more of the courses described below—one of which is brand new, co-taught by SLS’s own Service Learning and Partnership Specialists!
If you are contemplating a minor, take a close gander at the SLS-affiliated Sustainable Cities Minor! The minor in Sustainable Cities emphasizes sustainability, community engagement, and social justice. It provides students with a deep learning experience that integrates classroom learning and real-world, community-based project experience in creating sustainable communities, with a focus on the built urban environment. You can learn more about the minor, and all the details on how to integrate into your present course of study, by visiting SCARP’s…
This summer, I participated in the Sustainable Communities Summer Internship Program as the SLS iGniTe intern. In this role, I was the Team Leader for two sections of the SLS-affiliated Sustainable Communities GT 1000 class, assisted with planning SLS events for iGniTe students, and created sustainability-related materials for GT 1000 students. A major focus of my work this summer was teaching incoming first-year students about opportunities that Serve-Learn-Sustain provides inside and outside of the classroom, particularly as it relates to SLS’s work with community partners in the Atlanta area. Throughout this experience, I learned how Georgia Tech students can incorporate sustainability and community partnership work into their classes and extracurricular activities. Not only was I able to teach this to incoming first-year students, but I better learned how I can do this myself.
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An article recently published by the School of Literature, Media, and Communication highlighted SLS affiliated faculty Hugh Crawford and his Spring 2022 course LMC 2050: A Cultural History of Trees
When Georgia Tech announced that the iconic white oak tree in front of Tech Tower would be removed during the winter break due to disease, tree enthusiasts across campus and Atlanta mourned its loss. Although its exact age was unknown, the 103-foot-tall tree appears in campus photographs dating back to 1888 — just three years after the Institute was founded.
Hugh Crawford associate professor in the …
SLS Service Learning and Partnerships Specialist Rebecca Watts Hull recently contributed to a NAFSA article entitled "Goalkeeping on a Global Scale." The article highlights the importance of SDGs as an essential part of preparing students across multiple disciplines for a challenging—and necessarily global—future. Read the complete article HERE.