Universities and the Sustainable Development Future

Universities have a choice: to contribute unthinkingly to critical trends that are leading to social, economic and ecological disruption and volatility, or to knowingly participate in forging a future where risk is minimised and systemic wellbeing for all is pursued as the guiding value. By underlining the urgency, meaning, and practicability of the task, this thorough and comprehensive book can make a major contribution to bringing sustainability to the centre of higher education’s attention and effort - where it surely must belong.
Professor Stephen Sterling, Centre for Sustainable Futures, University of Plymouth, UK.

This book expands the conceptual design and utilization of the evaluations of education for sustainable development (ESD) and transnational sustainable development (TSD). Important concepts include capacity, stakeholder inclusion, systemic change, outcomes, and impacts. If utilized by educators, evaluators, researchers and practitioners, the information in this book will enhance evaluation, ESD, TSD, our species, and the planet.
Dr. Debra Rowe Sustainable Energies & Social Sciences, Oakland Community College

As the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development takes its first steps, this timely book asks a critical question: how can we know what kind of impact universities are making on fostering sustainable development around the world? By taking a big picture view of our environmental context, Koehn and Uitto put forward a framework that universities and their stakeholders will find enormously valuable for making evidence-based decisions about how best they can achieve impact.
Anne-Claire Hervy, Associate Vice President for International Development and Programs, Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU)

This book is a valuable contribution to the small but growing literature on the environment and evaluation. It is uniquely accessible to the non-technical reader and should be read widely.
-Saraswathi Menon, Former Chair, United Nations Evaluation Group

Today there is growing international recognition of the importance of education for sustainable development in light of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the global community. This timely and pragmatic publication provides us with insights into how universities already make and can make significant future contributions to sustainable development. The book will be of enormous value to academics and senior administration in higher education institutions around the world.-Matthias Barth, Professor of Education for Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lueneburg

Universities and the Sustainable Development Future is truly breaking new ground in the fields of sustainable development, higher education, and evaluation for three reasons. It constitutes the first systematic study on the topic. Second, it provides tools for assessing the contribution of universities to sustainable development. Third, it forces to think about the overall nature and role of universities in connection with the big issues of the years ahead. Considering how essential universities are for the training of the professionals and citizens of tomorrow, and considering how sustainable development is key for the future of the planet, the issues tackled in this book are of outmost urgency.
Jean-Marc Coicaud, Rutgers School of Law, Rutgers University

Universities must play a key role in ensuring that our society becomes sustainable economically, socially, environmentally, culturally and politically. It is my earnest hope that sustainable development occupy the centerpiece of all university programs of teaching, research, and outreach, and especially for student activities, be they classroom study, extra-curriculum activities, or internships, to develop our young people dedicated and committed to sustainability. Therefore, this book by Peter Koehn and Juha Uitto is so important. I would even venture to suggest that the title should be Universities for Sustainable Development.
Ryokichi Hirono Professor Emeritus, Seikei University