March 29th, Biology Seminar Series: Sustainability Symposium
As we enter April, sustainability becomes a hot topic with international Earth Day celebrations on the fore. The University of Massachusetts, Boston, took the lead with a Sustainability Symposium sponsored by the Biology Seminar Series at the school. Dr. Ivanova presented alongside the Dean Cash of the John W. McCormick Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, and Dr. Michael Tlusty of the UMB School of the Environment. The Symposium provided a comprehensive look at sustainability.
Dean Cash discussed the science-policy interface by revisiting his disseration and the interactions among salience, credibility, and legitimacy during the policy process. This delicate balance is essential for policy acceptance and complex because of the different perspectives of the actors involved.
Dr. Ivanova examined sustainability efforts across US universities in comparison with UMass Boston. She worked on developing the sustainability programs at William and Mary and Yale linked here. She suggested ways to improve the UMB effort and implored students, staff, and faculty to look in, look out, and look around to build a culture of sustainability at UMass Boston. To close out the symposium,
Dr. Michael Tlusty presented setting stones for food sustainability. He noted the amount of food waste and suggested accessible ideas to personally start food sustainability. These included eating at home, selecting, certified products, and choosing frozen fish over fresh. This event ended with a panel to discuss the presentations and ideas to moved forward.