GRADUATION GIVES US TIME TO THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE
Over the last two weekends, the University of San Diego celebrated commencement for thousands of our graduates and their families. As students crossed the stage to receive their diplomas, I thought about whether we did all that we could at the university to prepare our graduates to be ethical leaders and responsible citizens. In other words, did we do all that we could to prepare them to address humanity’s most urgent challenges? Of all the urgent challenges they will face upon leaving our campus, there is one I know is on the mind of most of our graduates: How do we address the global climate crisis?
We are currently in the midst of a record drought across California, coming off of the world’s sixth-warmest year on record in 2021. Perhaps not surprisingly, young people are deeply concerned about environmental issues and social justice, including when it comes to deciding where they go to college as well as where they would like to work upon graduation.
When it comes to admissions, it is clear that climate change is on the minds of prospective students and their families.
For example, in the latest Princeton Review “College Hopes & Worries” report, 74 percent of students and parents surveyed said a college’s environmental commitment would affect where they go to school. Our students of today are tomorrow’s workforce. They are setting the tone for what companies should be thinking about when integrating corporate social responsibility into all aspects of their enterprise. In fact, 77 percent of Generation Z respondents in a Deloitte and Network of Executive Women survey said it is important to work at “organizations whose values align with their own.” Universities can lead by example by connecting the dots between social justice, climate change and sustainability in every facet of higher education.
To connect with students’ values, a growing number of universities nationwide have pledged a variety of actions to protect our living planet, ranging from net-zero emissions in their facilities to divestment from fossil fuels in their endowments to the reduction of waste, water and energy use on campus. But pledges alone will not prepare our students to grapple with climate change. Our commitments must be reflected in our institutional values, our research and teaching across all disciplines, and concrete actions that provide solutions while instilling young people with the sense that they can make a difference.
Given their impact within the communities where they are anchored, universities are well positioned to benefit their neighboring communities. At the University of San Diego, we have embraced our role as an engaged, contemporary Catholic university as well as an anchor institution responsible for the “care for our common home” in the ways we operate and do business in the community. Our investment policy aligns our investments with the university’s commitment to social justice and a healthy planet. We aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 across our facilities through a combination of energy efficiency, renewable energy and reduction of polluting emissions. Likewise, our procurement policy supports local businesses, prioritizing those that are eco-friendly as well as veteran, women and Black, Indigenous and people of color-owned companies.
All universities must truly commit to the lifelong success of our students and take bolder action to ensure our students inherit a brighter future. This means support and encouragement for innovative, real-world academic experiences to develop a future workforce of entrepreneurial problem solvers. By embracing our campus as a living lab, where students propose solutions for a more sustainable campus and surrounding community, our students are better prepared to enter San Diego’s burgeoning blue and green workforce. Current students and recent alumni are at the forefront of greener, more socially just and more community-focused enterprises.
As students graduate and enter a new chapter in their lives, one of the most important things we can do for younger generations is to provide them with the intellectual, ethical and practical tools to act on their knowledge to make a difference for a more just and sustainable world. There is growing recognition that climate change is a major source of anxiety about the future among young people. As educators, we are obligated to instill our students not only with understanding of the challenges at hand, but also with hope and a sense of agency that they can make a difference.
Harris