Logo for Middlebury Middlebury Middlebury

Energy2028

Education

Forest research

Classes, research, speakers and trainings, conferences, field trips—integrating Energy2028 and climate change into the educational experience happens on all levels and across disciplines.

“Middlebury will engage faculty, staff, and students across all of its schools and programs in educational and research opportunities that will help influence the plan’s execution and its continued evolution. Middlebury faculty will lead in making immersive, experiential education an essential part of Energy2028. Opportunities will include cross-disciplinary experiences in classrooms, labs, in the field, and with community partners, encouraging students to address today’s most challenging problems in meaningful ways and to understand the trade-offs inherent in energy decisions.”

Tackling this priority has taken shape in many ways, including the launch and ongoing commitment to the Climate Action Program. While we work to make climate change engagement exciting, fulfilling, unavoidable, and cross-cutting, we encourage faculty, staff, students, and community members to tap into existing opportunities, and suggest and highlight ways in which we can do more.

In some ways the broadest set of goals, the commitment to educational opportunities hits at the core of the intention behind Energy2028—that we not only make practical institutional changes to lower our carbon impact but that we also engage the entire academic institution to drive positive change on the climate crisis.

Some key examples are below, but it is in no way an exhaustive list. Crucial work is being done around campus on many levels by faculty, staff, and students through student orientation, student-led campaigns, classes, events, alumni coordination, and more. A great description of the importance of all of this work can be found in Jon Isham’s Open-Source Learning for 2020 and Beyond. Learn more in our MiddWay Report [link].

In the Classroom

  • Each year, faculty are covering climate and energy topics in depth in hundreds of classes, especially through our Environmental Studies program and courses offered by its affiliated faculty and our Franklin Environmental Center scholars and artists in residence
  • Every April, we participate in a global climate teach-in. In 2024 60+ faculty brought climate change into their classes during the same week
  • Faculty often bring Energy2028 questions directly into their syllabi.
  • Faculty, staff, and students (including the SGA and Environmental Council) continue to work to promote integration through curricular proposals and certifications
  • EXAMPLES:
    • Julia Berazneva’s climate change economics class surveyed the entire school about climate and Energy2028
    • Frank Van Gansbeke’s students make annual recommendations about Energy2028 impacts
    • Ben Cotts’ 2024 First Year Seminar focused on understanding energy systems on and off campus

Research

  • Faculty receive funding through the fund for strategic initiatives and the Vermont Center for Behavioral Science Research on Climate and the Environment
  • Faculty and students conduct campus-based social and natural science research and showcase results at conferences and the Spring Symposium
  • EXAMPLES:
    • Dan Suarez and former students published a paper on the pedagogical challenges and needs around climate change
    • Students, faculty, and staff have partnered on the Living Building Challenge to see how we can holistically approach our built environment

Storytelling

Experiential Learning

Everyone at Middlebury recognizes the importance of addressing the climate crisis, and offices and departments are rising to the occasion in many ways. The Innovation Hub, Center for Careers and Internships, Center for Community Engagement, Rohatyn Center, PRISM Center and AFC, to name a few, integrate climate change, justice, and Energy2028 into many of their programs. We’ve highlighted some specific initiatives below but examples can be found throughout the Middlebury experience. See more on the SEA website.

  • Climate Action Program: Launched in summer 2020, the Climate Action Program supports a cohort of Fellows, organizes events, funds student projects and travel, and generally works to improve integration of climate action efforts across curriculum and career development spaces. [photo]
  • Middlebury Coast and Climate Semester: undergrad students spend a semester at the Middlebury Institute at Monterey diving into all angles of the climate crisis
  • Beyond Bretton Woods: led by Frank Van Gansbeke and Jon Isham, this initiative organizes events, publications, classes, and internships surrounding how to shape our international financial systems in the face of the polycrisis. Highlights include our hallmark event in May 2024.
  • Sustainability Solutions Lab: Students in the Sustainability Solutions Lab address Energy2028 goals through paid internships. In the summer of 2020 SSL students created an art contest and turned the winning submissions into information posters about Energy2028 that were given to every first-year student for their dorm rooms. In 2024, we launched the EcoReps program to provide peer-to-peer learning and community building opportunities.
  • Funding
  • Career and Alumni:
  • Student groups are consistently at the forefront of issues related to climate and justice, and they continue to push the College in key ways. Some areas of focus include.
    • Curriculum development
    • Middlebury banking options
    • Justice integration and transparency
    • Dining options
    • Learn more and get involved! [link]

Study Away/Abroad

Events

Energy2028

Middlebury College
energy2028@middlebury.edu