Developing Resilient Communities through Campus-Community Collaboration
Craig R. Mosher
Introduction
A key strategy for climate change
is campus–community
collaboration (M’Gonigle & Starke)
To develop resilient, sustainable
communities (Ausubel); as
demonstrated at two small liberal
arts colleges. The assumption that
campuses can isolate themselves
behind walls, is giving way to a
more systemic, interdependent
model involving cooperative
community development efforts.
Campuses and communities
transformed into collaborative
living/learning laboratories
(Senge) through:
• Student internships
• Student-faculty action research
• Service learning projects
• Outreach to communities
• Developing sustainable
resilient communities
• Providing learning experiences
This work challenges schools to
redesign the campus, curriculum,
and graduation requirements to
include cooperative (work-study)
education models, action
research, internships, and service
learning (Curley) in order to truly
collaborate with our host
communities.
Students and faculty work with
communities to develop creative
sustainable solutions to local
problems.
Methodologies
• Action research
• Internships
• Service learning
• Cooperative Education model
Paradigm shift underlies work
• Holistic – All are one
• Systemic – All is interconnected
• Intuition and rationality
• Steady state economics
• Cooperative ways of thinking
Intuitive leadership models
• Theory U (Scharmer)
• Synchronicity (Jaworski)
Can advance student learning and
resilient sustainable community
development across the cultural
divide between town and gown.
Organization Development Processes
• Learning organizations (Senge)
• Principles of self-organization
• Chaos theory (Wheatley)
• Biomimicry (Benyus)
Guide the development of innovative
campus-community collaborations.
Processes are more
• Participatory
• Value-based
• Transparent
• Inclusive
• Less hierarchical in structure
Luther College
Decorah, Iowa
Eco Model of Partnership
• Shared values
• Mutual benefits
• Communication & Trust
• Power, Leadership, Decisions
• Learning Organizations
Assessment –> Improvements
Barriers to Overcome
• Communication
• Power struggles
• Conflict
• Cultural differences
Elements of Success
• Agreement on values & mission
• Transparency
• Realistic solutions
• Empower community reps
Cooperative Education
• Require for graduation
• Learning by doing (Dewey)
• School arranges placements
• Common in Engineering
• Antioch College–coop education
•
YES!Illustrations by Jem Sullivan
College-Community Collaboration
Two Examples:
Oberlin Project – Oberlin College
• Plan: 90% renewable electric
• Oberlin E. College St. project:
housing, retail & office space
• Green Arts Block – museum &
performing arts building
• Radical efficiency improvements
& LEED building standards
• Local foods initiative
• Encourage green businesses
• Multiple partners and funding
Luther College – Decorah, Iowa
• Luther Center for Sustainable
Communities
o Interns with City, businesses,
Green Business Council
o Greening Churches workshops
o Internships in local churches
• Winneshiek Energy District
• Decorah Sustainability Plan
• Exploring: joint district heating,
landfill gas, community solar