1. Interdisciplinary Thought Thinking big, thinking small, or not thinking at all Monty Hempel Center for Environmental Studies University of Redlands

2. Techies, Talkies, Tweenies, and Transies or

3. Disciplinary Boundaries

4. Monty Hempel, University of Redlands Deans and Department Chairs “People have problems and universities have departments, and that’s the problem.” “People have problems and universities have departments, and that’s the problem.” --Russ Mawby, President Kellogg Foundation --Russ Mawby, President Kellogg Foundation

5. Current Educational Structure http://www.wikipedia.org/

6. Micro-Specialization Increasing Disciplinary Environmental Studies/Science Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies Higher Education

7. Comparative Advantage Disciplinarity Comparative Advantage Specialized knowledge leads to most productive use of factors and generates the greatest wealth; therefore the greatest social good. David Ricardo 1772-1823 Adam Smith 1723-1790

8. The fragmentation of knowledge and resulting chaos are not reflections of the real world, but are artifacts of scholarship -- E.O.Wilson

9. The Interdisciplinary Mission: Making sense out of a fragmented world Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

10. Human-influenced Ecosystems Understand interactions between complex environmental systems and even more complex human social systems One response: Focus on Understanding interacting systems at multiple scales of space and time.

11. Elephant in the Wild

12. Elephant in the University

13. The Six Blind Men of Indostan (The Blind Men and the Elephant) American poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) Reductionist Method: breaking things into smaller and smaller pieces until each piece can be accurately analyzed.

14. The Benefits of Cross- Disciplinary Collaboration

15. How Interdisciplinary Programs Are Viewed in Most Universities?

16. Cross-Disciplinary Evolution multidisciplinary - researchers in separate disciplines work independently within their own disciplinary perspective, to address a common problem interdisciplinary - researchers work jointly, but from each of their respective disciplinary perspectives, to address a common problem transdisciplinary - researchers work jointly using a shared conceptual framework that draws together discipline-specific theories, concepts, and approaches, to address a common problem (Rosenfield, 1992) Firm boundaries Permeable boundaries No or blurred boundaries Source: Dan Stokols, 2004

17. Disciplinarity inter - prefix. [Lat. < inter]inter - prefix. [Lat. < inter] between, among, within trans - prefix [ Lat. < trans] across, beyond, through

18. Interdisciplinary Starts with disciplines and looks for lines of interest that connect them. Transdisciplinary Starts with complex problems and looks for new conceptualizations that transform understanding of theory and practice.

19. Arguments for Transdisciplinarity The problems we face transcend the disciplinary knowledge we practice.The problems we face transcend the disciplinary knowledge we practice. Universities should be communities of scholars – incubators and testing laboratories of ideas – not confederations of turfdoms.Universities should be communities of scholars – incubators and testing laboratories of ideas – not confederations of turfdoms. It’s not either/or! We need disciplinary, interdisciplinary, AND transdisciplinary programs in Higher Education.It’s not either/or! We need disciplinary, interdisciplinary, AND transdisciplinary programs in Higher Education.

20. A Cautionary Tale: The Interdisciplinary Program Builder The captain of the javelin team who won the “toss” and elected to receive.

21. Monty Hempel, University of Redlands Barriers to Transdisciplinary “Courtships” Depth over BreadthPromotion & Tenure Faculty RecruitmentNeed for a Core Curricular IncoherenceCertification

22. Advantages Advantages of Transdisciplinary Collaboration Greater Explanatory Power Increased Capacity for Synthesis (not just analysis) Better Integration of Science, Management, and Policy Methodological Pluralism Promotes Coupling of Models Builds Foresight Capacity

23. Disadvantages Disadvantages of Transdisciplinary Collaboration Labor Intensive – Educationally DemandingLabor Intensive – Educationally Demanding Cooperation Hard to Sustain (turfdoms)Cooperation Hard to Sustain (turfdoms) Administratively ComplexAdministratively Complex Breadth vs. Depth TradeoffsBreadth vs. Depth Tradeoffs Diffuse vs. Focused Conceptual ModelsDiffuse vs. Focused Conceptual Models Few Professional Incentives (tenure hurdles, less rewards for team contributions)Few Professional Incentives (tenure hurdles, less rewards for team contributions) Weak or Negative Incentive Structures!

24. NEEDED: A Science of Integration

25. Science ManagementPolicy Politics Ethics Economics Env. Context History, Literature, Psychology, Geog., Sociology, etc.

26. The Redlands Approach The Redlands Approach Center for Environmental Studies Facilitating Interdisciplinary Work 1.Tenure-Track Faculty lines in Natural Science, Social Science, and Humanities 2.Conceptual Framework: Sustainability (Ecol/Econ/Equity) 3.Tools of Integration: GIS – spatial literacy 4.Heuristics: Ecological Footprint Analysis 5.Team Research: Design Studios & Policy Clinics 6.Experiential Learning: “Glocal” Program (community service learning plus travel courses and study abroad) 7.Setting Examples on Campus: Green Buildings/Design

27. Buildings that Teach Lewis Hall Center for Environmental Studies

28. Disaster Preparedness

29. Teaching is the art of assisting discovery Mark van Doren

30. Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Serving the Campus Sustainability Community Photo and design credit: Mithun Architects+Designers+Planners

31. Mission: Promote sustainability in all sectors of higher education - from governance and operations to curriculum and research – through education, research, dialogue and action. Vision: campuses modeling sustainability in all learning, operations, and outreach Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education

32. About AASHE Higher education association, serving U.S. and Canada. Membership-based, member-driven Serves all sectors of higher education Professional home for sustainability coordinators Goal - umbrella organization for campus sustainability community

33. Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Resource Center Sustainability policy bank and assessment tools Specialized resources for academics, operations staff, sustainability professionals Publications (articles, reports, fact sheets, news, books) Directories Speakers Bureau

34. Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Professional Development and Networking Conference (Oct 4-7, 2006, ASU) Workshops & trainings Interest groups, discussion lists, conference calls, web seminars, other networking opportunities Task forces – energy, curriculum Professional home for sustainability coordinators, practitioners

35. Military Budgets FY 2006* United States492 Billion (US Dollars) Russia 65 China 56 United Kingdom 49 Japan 45 France 40 Germany 30 Saudi Arabia 19 India 19 Italy 18 All other countries, combined142 World Military Expenditures975 * not including latest requests for Iraq & Afghanistan; Russia and China data for 2003 Source : Lester Brown, Plan B 2.0 (Norton, 2006, p. 258)

36. Equity -- 2006 The wealth of the world’s 3 richest people is more than the combined income of the world’s 550 million poorest. Over 800 million people do not get enough to eat every day. There have been 26 international conferences on poverty and hunger in the past 30 years.

37. Describing the Unknown Chimaera Pup

38. Future Directions

39. The Home Computer of 2004! Popular Mechanics, 1954 (Hoax!)

40. Means ResilienceGuiding concepts: Resilience and Sustainability (study both uses and limitations) Core faculty that includes natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities Core courses that combine science, policy and management Design Studios and Policy Clinics Buildings as “adjunct faculty members” Integrative Technologies (e.g., GIS)

41. EVST 100 – Introduction to Environmental Studies EVST 102 – Environmental Geography - Ecological Literacy PHIL/REL –Environmental Ethics (REL 122 or PHIL 330) EVST 110 – Introduction to Spatial Analysis & GIS EVST 250 – Environmental Design Studio I EVST 300 – Environmental Colloquium (Econ/Policy/Mgmt/Sci.) EVST 475 – Capstone Senior Project (minimum of 6 units) EVST (1) – Practicum (Choose one): Environmental Study Abroad, Biosphere 2 Semester, EVST 330, 350, 385, 485, or approved Travel Course Core Courses (all degree tracks)

42. Resilience Resilience for engineersResilience for engineers : “the rate at which a system returns to a single steady or cyclic state following a perturbation.” Resilience for ecologistsResilience for ecologists : “the amount of change or disruption that is required to transform a system from being maintained by one set of mutually reinforcing processes and structures to a different set of processes and structures.” --The Resilience Alliance

43. Ecological Resilience focused on persistence, adaptiveness, variability and unpredictability measured by the magnitude of disturbance that can be absorbed before the system changes its structure by changing the variables and processes that control behavior --The Resilience Alliance

44. Approaches to the Science of Sustainability Reductionist Monodisciplinary Single target/objectives Expert interventions Separates science from management Decisions based on burden of proof Hierarchy/rule-based, one path to “Truth” Predict and Explain Holistic Inter- and transdisciplinary Synthesis of multi-objectives Humility about intervening Treats management as an experiment Decisions based on precautionary principle Networking/collaborative, adaptive/flexible Envision and understand Traditional Science Integrative Science

45. Discovering patterns within patterns GIS Monty Hempel, University of Redlands GIS is a “macroscope” for studying the Earth. --Jack Dangermond

46. Discovering patterns within patterns Linking points lines and polygons Area Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

47. What is a GIS? An integrative technology that uses a computer based mapping and information retrieval system for assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information, i.e. data identified according to their locations. A set of convergent tools for “drilling” into complex systems and revealing an organized set of thematic layers all linked by geography Monty Hempel, University of Redlands ESRI, Inc.

48. Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

49. Increasing rate and magnitude of change; increasing scale and complexity of interactions Realization that most data has a spatial component (location-based, “geo-referenced”) Faster, more powerful, and cheaper computers (and resulting flood of digital data and “Infoglut”) The internet! Shift in emphasis from thinking about data to thinking about relationships; from micro-analysis to synthesis Foresight and inventiveness of key researchers and entrepreneurs (e.g., Roger Tomlinson and Jack Dangermond) The Confluence of “Streams” Carrying GIS Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

50. Human Disturbance of Terrestrial Ecosystems Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

51. Our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors. - Jonas Salk Sustainability Resilience GIS Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

52. Human activities (fishing) Freshwater habitat (water quality, quantity & timing) Estuarine habitat (water quality, mixing processes) Ocean habitat Climate change (altered water cycle) Human activities (resource & land use) Human activities (aquaculture, development) Climate change (sea level rise & ocean mixing) Health & Viability of PNW salmon Integrated Watershed Analysis Climate change