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This course will integrate and apply the foundations of environmental sustainability (the environmental, social, and economic dimensions) to achieve a holistic understanding of environmental issues, practices and problem solving. These three dimensions will serve as the sustainability foundations for the course.Students will learn and apply tools for assessing environmental issues and best practices for working in interdisciplinary teams. Case studies demonstrating sustainability principles will be evaluated through discussion and writing, and students will conduct a team project that addresses and dissects an important issue related to global environmental sustainability.
GES 101 (Foundations of Environmental Sustainability)
Must have completed 12 credits of GES interdisciplinary minor; junior or senior standing. Required field trips.
Dr. Renée Harmon is an instructor in the School of Global Environmental Sustainability. She earned her Ph.D. in Education and Human Resource Studies from Colorado State University, and her dissertation, titled Assessing College Students' Sustainability Literacy: The Development, Use, and Analysis of an Assessment Tool (2019), describes the development and analysis of CSU's sustainability literacy assessment (SLA). Still in use today, the results of the SLA are reported to the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education's (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, also referred to as STARS.
Dr. Harmon has taught college courses for over a decade and has earned awards for her work in online education, including CSU's Best Teacher Award in 2018. Dr. Harmon's research interests include sustainability education, assessment, and literacy; leadership; case-based instruction; and community education. She follows a mastery approach to teaching, with a passion for supporting students' writing and scholarship.