Sustainability will be a major theme at this year's SU Showcase on April 21. To build
on this theme, Syracuse University and the SUNY College of Environmental Science
and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) will host a daylong series of events in the Life Sciences
Complex focused on bringing attention to the issues of and solutions for climate
change.
Held in conjunction with SU Showcase, the first-ever
Sustainability Showcase will
feature student presentations on ideas for sustainable products and designs in
architecture, engineering, industrial and interior design, landscape architecture and
sustainable enterprise. Students studying industrial and interaction design and
interior design in the College of Visual and Performing Arts will present their
responses to the "Break the Oil Addiction" challenge from Metropolis Magazine, held
in January. Teams from sustainable design courses in engineering, architecture and
landscape architecture will also present their innovative designs. And students in the
"Sustainable Enterprise Partnership" course will offer insights into the life cycles of
everyday products.
Additionally on April 21, SU and SUNY-ESF will host the second annual Focus the
Nation Teach-In on Climate Change Solutions from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Life
Sciences Complex. Professors from SU and SUNY-ESF-including several
internationally known experts on climate change-will lead discussions on
sustainability issues relating to government, architecture, business, science and the
role of media. Environmental justice issues will also be the focus both of a panel
discussion on religion and science and of a film showing and discussion on rising sea
levels in impoverished regions.
A full schedule with updates on times and locations is available at
http://focusthenation.syr.edu. For more information on SU Showcase, visit
http://sushowcase.syr.edu/.
Focus the Nation is a national initiative centered on the three most essential pillars for
today's youth to embrace solutions to global warming: education, civic engagement
and leadership. The first Focus the Nation Teach-in took place in January 2008 on
more than 1,000 campuses throughout the United States. The Syracuse event
attracted some 600 participants for standing-room-only discussions.
These events are sponsored by the University Sustainability Action Coalition (USAC)
and SU's Office of Academic Affairs. For more information, contact Rachel May at
enspire@syr.edu.
