Re-imagining the University in an Era of Polycrisis

Co-hosted by Queen's University / CRC

This session explores the role that higher education can play in addressing the intersecting crises facing humanity. Prof. Jennie Stephens will speak about her forthcoming book Climate Justice and the University, which argues that universities have substantial potential to advance human well-being and promote ecological health. However, in order to unlock this potential, we must collectively reimagine structures and priorities within institutions of higher education. Following Prof. Stephens, Prof. Philipp Pattberg will share his experience as a faculty member who was involved in a successful campaign to pressure the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam to commit to a fossil-free research framework. Finally, two student organizers – Maddie Young and Will Kattrup – from the Campus Climate Network (CCN - a coalition of student-led climate justice groups fighting to have universities cut ties with the fossil fuel industry and its enablers) will speak about the work of CCN and the importance of faculty joining with students in campus activism. The session will be moderated by Dr. Kyla Tienhaara from Queen’s University, Kingston.