Over the past two years I have had the opportunity to teach two Vertically Integrated Projects (VIPs) at Georgia Tech--one focused on sustainable public health and food security issues (HumaniTech) and another that advances human-wildlife conflict mitigation strategies (Tech4Wildlife). Through both classes I became involved with Serve-Learn-Sustain (SLS) to help connect my students to other like-minded community members on campus that were working towards a sustainable future. Over the past several semesters I have continued my involvement in SLS as it has provided valuable benefits for my students.
During the Fall 2021 semester, I had the opportunity to participate in a Faculty Learning Community (FLC)…
After a wonderful weekend a few weeks ago on February 4th - 6th, we wanted to share our experience and reflections about the ABCD short course. In partnership with the School of City and Regional Planning, Serve-Learn-Sustain offered a short course on the basics of Asset-Based Community Development. “ABCD,” as it’s known, was founded by John McKnight and Jody Kretzman, who as local organizers and community researchers in Chicago, came to believe that existing deficit-focused frameworks for development missed what fundamentally animates and defines communities: their assets. Students of many ages and backgrounds attended the course, from undergraduates, to graduate students, to community partners outside of Georgia Tech.
To start off the weekend on Friday, we met in the Kendeda building to learn more about the basics of ABCD and participate in activities and discussions with other students in the class. It was very cool to hear the stories and experiences from diverse…
The term social innovation (SI) has been around for 35 years, and yet we are still defining what it means. In this series of collaborative blogposts brought to you by the Institute for Leadership and Social Impact (ILSI) and Serve-Learn-Sustain (SLS) we will dive into the definition and practice of SI, make an inventory of SI related programs, courses, and resources on campus, and will discuss some great examples of SI in action at Tech and in our communities.
Our first segment will attempt to answer the question many of you interested in learning more about social innovation might be asking yourselves ‘ where do I start’ and our answer is get involved and here are some suggestions to how:
- Take a course this spring that explores SI:
- MGT 4803: Social Impact Exploration and Design: this workshop series introduces you…
In the third of our series on social innovation, Dori Pap, managing director of the Institute for Leadership and Social Innovation sat down for a conversation with alumna Susan Davis (Biol'91), her co-lead in this spring's Social Impact course (a series of workshops for Ideas to Serve program participants.) Susan has many decades of experience with global development program evaluation, and she is a big proponent of talking openly about failures - so we can learn from them, and hopefully avoid them in the future. See that full conversation here.
Interested in our full Social Innovation series? See the first two posts:
- Post 1: Social Innovation – Where Do I Start?
- Post 2: …
Georgia Tech’s Serve-Learn-Sustain (SLS) and Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) are collaborating to expand professional development initiatives to incorporate sustainability and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the curriculum—at Georgia Tech and beyond.
SLS and CTL recently accepted thirteen faculty members to serve as Sustainability/SDG Education Teaching Fellows during the spring semester. The program builds upon Serve-Learn-Sustain (SLS) Fellows and Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Teaching Fellows Programs. The SLS Fellows Program fosters interdisciplinary learning communities by bringing together diverse faculty, staff, and graduate students to examine and apply key themes related to sustainable communities. CTL Teaching Fellows Programs bring together a diverse group of interdisciplinary faculty to engage in conversations about teaching.
The spring 2022 Fellows Program advances creative uses of the SDGs and sustainability…
SLS launched the application for the Summer 2022 Sustainable Communities Summer Internship two weeks ago, and the application process is open through Friday, February 4th. This internship program provides student interns with practical experience in supporting solutions for sustainable communities through real-world experience with community partners in Atlanta and throughout Georgia. Please see our website for additional information and the application. This week, we are pleased to share another reflection from a Summer 2021 intern, Jonathan Yun.
Jonathan Yun, B.S. Aerospace Engineering
Partner: The LIFE School
I had the opportunity to intern at The LIFE School, a small pre-K to high school in…
SLS launched the application for the Summer 2022 Sustainable Communities Summer Internship last week, and the application process is open through Friday, February 4th. This internship program provides student interns with practical experience in supporting solutions for sustainable communities through real-world experience with community partners in Atlanta and throughout Georgia. Please see our website for additional information and the application. This week, we are pleased to share reflections from two 2021 interns.
Gabrielle Oliverio, M.S. City and Regional Planning
Partner: City of Atlanta, Mayor's Office of Resilience
In Summer 2021, I interned with the AgLanta Team in the Atlanta Mayor’s…
With a new semester underway, this is a terrific time for faculty to get reacquainted with the SLS Teaching Toolkit and to explore the NEW tools added over the past year. As you seek out opportunities to learn more about pressing issues such as climate resilience and racial inequality and identify ways to incorporate these real-world challenges in your courses, the resources and lessons in SLS’ Teaching Toolkit can help.
Instructors with a specific topic in mind may want to begin by using the search function on the Teaching Toolkit home page. You may also find it useful to browse relevant categories, listed on the right-hand side of the home page, to find relevant tools and resources that have been recently added. And don’t forget to refer to the…
In just a few days, the 5.5 years I’ve spent at Georgia Tech as an undergraduate and graduate student will be coming to a close. The ritual end-of-college tasks are nearly complete – I've solidified an exciting job, taken my last final, and purchased my regalia. All that’s left to complete the deed is to walk across the stage this upcoming Saturday. I'm excited for a new chapter, but can't avoid the feelings of nostalgia that accompany the closing of 5.5 years (a fair chunk) of my life. As I reflect on the opportunities and challenges that are an inevitable aspect of the college experience, I realize that the experiences that shaped me the most were sparked from leaps of faith into new and unfamiliar territories. One of those leaps includes a 1-credit hour student-led project that sparked my interest late in my 3rd year, which played a significant role in my personal and professional growth.
When setting up my schedule for the Spring 2020 semester, I was looking for an…
In November, Dori Pap from GT’s Institute for Leadership and Social Impact (ILSI) published the first of four blog posts that we are writing on Social Innovation, “Social Innovation – Where Do I Start?,” sharing a multitude of ways that students can learn about the topic, inside and outside the classroom. In this December post, we explore the question – what is Social Innovation, anyway?
Many people, when they think of social innovation, think right away of one or two models. The first is the business model, which has profit generation as the first priority and social impact as the second. For example, many people are familiar with Tom’s Shoes, which became famous in 2006 for giving away a pair of shoes for free every time a pair was bought. The second is the philanthropic model, also grounded in the success of global businesses, through which large foundations, such as the Gates Foundation, MacArthur…
During the 12th Global RCE (Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development) Conference last month, two RCE Greater Atlanta regional sustainability education network initiatives — Building Effective ESD in Higher Education through Multi-Institutional and Community Collaboration and EQUINOX: Catalyzing Community-Centered Scholarships and Partnerships — were announced as 2021 RCE award winners.
Both projects are part of the RCE Greater Atlanta’s Higher Education Learning Community. The Effective ESD project is led by Georgia Tech’s Serve-Learn-Sustain, and EQUINOX is led by Kennesaw State University faculty. Established in 2012, the Global RCE Award celebrates projects and programs in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) that connect local and global education and action through the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), advance transformative and community-…
Climate talks in Glasgow have recently concluded, and the COVID-19 pandemic rages on. Communities- and the country- are responding to decisions in high profile court cases that embody the clarion call: Black Lives Matter. The forces that reshaped our lives, work, and studies in 2020 are still at work upon our institution and our society in 2021. So as many of you seek to take positive action through educating yourself on racial injustice, global economic tumult, and ways to combat climate change, this is a good moment to survey the offerings of SLS-affiliated courses in Spring 2022. Several courses affiliated with SLS embrace an aspect of one or more of those themes; great places to discover those courses are in the Social Justice Minor, the Sustainable Cities Minor,…
Congratulations to Chris Burke, GT’s Executive Director of Community Relations, for being chosen as one of five fellows from across the nation to participate in the 2022 Anchor Fellows Program run by the national Anchor Institutions Task Force. The program prepares fellows “to successfully navigate the engagement of anchors in their local communities” and strengthens their abilities to help their anchor institutions “build and maintain the commitment and infrastructure to sustain a comprehensive commitment to democratic local engagement.” Read the full announcement here.
At this point, you may be asking yourself – what is an anchor institution, anyway? Anchor Institutions are place-based (unlikely to move) “powerful collaborators [with local communities] in economic, educational, and civic renewal efforts” (Harkavy et al 2014:99) that have a strong self-interest in ensuring that the places where they are…
Each Fall Semester, Georgia Tech-Lorraine students take learning outside the classroom and into the community with the Serve-Learn-Sustain France program. Students who have completed the intermediate level (French 2001-2002) or are at the advanced level (French 3000-4000) can participate in this unique program taught in French, deepening their knowledge of French language and culture through experiential learning focused on sustainability. This year’s program is led by Dr. Stéphanie Boulard, Associate Professor of French in the School of Modern Languages and Faculty Affiliate of the Atlanta Global Studies Center. After working with Dr. Boulard on sustainability topics in the classroom, students use their new-found knowledge and cultural savoir-faire to participate in service-learning projects in collaboration with several local organizations.
Read more about this exciting program…
This summer, SLS intern Husdon McGaughey worked with high school students from Clarkston in the Youth Participatory Action Research Institute (YPAR), a month long program focused on empowering youth by teaching them research and community advocacy skills. YPAR is a partnership between History and Sociology professor Allen Hyde, Serve-Learn-Sustain, and Upper 90, a Clarkston community organization. Hudson highlights his experience as a summer intern in a recently published article in the Saporta Report.
The Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business (“Center”) at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business launched on October 21, 2021 the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact (“Compact”), an inclusive and collaborative initiative focused on galvanizing climate action in Georgia. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Atlanta Gas Light, Autodesk, Better Earth, Cox Enterprises, Delta Air Lines, Eversheds Sutherland, Goodr, Google, Interface, Norfolk Southern, Southwire, The Coca-Cola Company, TK Elevator, UPS, and YKK Corporation of America are founding members of the Compact.
Presented by Serve-Learn-Sustain and the Center for Teaching and Learning, in partnership with School of History and Sociology (through a grant from the Gertrude and William C. Wardlaw Fund in support of the Conference on Human Rights, Changes and Challenges).
Faculty are invited to join Serve-Learn-Sustain (SLS) and the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) for the Liam's Legacy Inclusive Teaching Symposium. As educators, we all share in the responsibility to create inclusive learning environments. Even if the content we teach doesn't…
Georgia Tech Passes SACSCOC Fifth-Year Interim Report, Receives Commendation for Serve-Learn-Sustain
Recently, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) accepted Georgia Tech's Fifth-Year Interim Report and commended the Institute for the success of the Serve-Learn-Sustain program. The Institute also received a commendation from the accreditation body “for the exceptional execution” of its Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), known on campus as Serve-Learn-Sustain (SLS). In her letter to Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera, SACSCOC President Belle S. Wheelan commended SLS as “an ambitious integration of inspirational aspects of institutional mission with a complex and yet thoughtfully designed implementation to reach as many students as possible,” further noting that the program “inspired a closer dialogue among faculty regarding research and instructional practices, and thus serves as a model of how a QEP can transform an academic culture.” Read the full article about the report …
Each summer, SLS hosts an Internship Program, placing students in internships with community and government organizations, focused on gaining real world experience in sustainability and community engagement. This week, we highlight Michelle Ramirez (Digital Media) who interned with SLS as our Sustainable Communities Graduate Fellow.
This past summer I served as the Sustainable Communities Graduate Fellow at Serve-Learn-Sustain. Over the course of the summer, I wrote a Teaching Tool that highlights local and global examples of advancing the Sustainable Development Goals so that professors can integrate these case studies into their curriculum. Additionally, I supported the summer iGniTe program by providing logistical support, and I even had the chance to attend, record, and edit the Global Grower’s Farm Tour which was a highlight of the…
Each summer, SLS hosts an Internship Program, placing students in internships with community and government organizations, focused on gaining real world experience in sustainability and community engagement. This week, we highlight Peyton Warrick (Environmental Engineering) who interned with Hope for Youth (HYPE), and had the opportunity to serve on a Zoom panel that HYPE held in partnership with Women of Color in Tech and the General Assembly on the "Importance of Mentorship for BIPOC Youth."
I had the pleasure of interning with HYPE (Hope for Youth Inc.) this summer. HYPE is a nonprofit that focuses on educating and empowering girls of color to become future leaders of the tech industry. I interned as a teaching assistant,…