Weaving Equity and Sustainability into the Fabric of Higher Education: The University of Utah Experience

Abstract

Sustainability is an idea that is celebrated, loathed, or deemed entirely useless given its many meanings and approaches. While scholars broadly agree it must include merging ecology, economy, and equity, there remain serious challenges, such as how each dimension is weighted, integrated, and presented. Definitional issues and disciplinary foundations are another chronic problem even as the number of sustainability programs in higher education continues to grow. At the same time, colleges and universities across the country are reaffirming their commitment to equity education, recognizing the critical importance of graduates' abilities to speak across differences and bridge ethnic divides. This article offers consideration of how a systems thinking assessment tool, designed to match those created by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, might support general education requirements while advancing both sustainability and equity. In this article, we share a rubric and strategy designed to clarify definitional issues and make the inseparability of equity and sustainability explicit at institutions of higher education.

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