1. Developing Resilient Communities through Campus-Community Collaboration Craig R. Mosher Luther College Decorah, Iowa Introduction A key strategy for climate change is campus–community collaboration (M’Gonigle & Starke) To develop resilient, sustainable communities (Ausubel); as demonstrated at two small liberal arts colleges. The assumption that campuses can isolate themselves behind walls, is giving way to a more systemic, interdependent model involving cooperative community development efforts. Campuses and communities transformed into collaborative living/learning laboratories (Senge) through: Student internships Student-faculty action research Service learning projects Outreach to communities Developing sustainable resilient communities Providing learning experiences This work challenges schools to redesign the campus, curriculum, and graduation requirements to include cooperative (work-study) education models, action research, internships, and service learning (Curley) in order to truly collaborate with our host communities. Students and faculty work with communities to develop creative sustainable solutions to local problems. Methodologies Action research Internships Service learning Cooperative Education model Paradigm shift underlies work Holistic – All are one Systemic – All is interconnected Intuition and rationality Steady state economics Cooperative ways of thinking Intuitive leadership models Theory U (Scharmer) Synchronicity (Jaworski) Can advance student learning and resilient sustainable community development across the cultural divide between town and gown. Organization Development Processes Learning organizations (Senge) Principles of self-organization Chaos theory (Wheatley) Biomimicry (Benyus) Guide the development of innovative campus-community collaborations. Processes are more Participatory Value-based Transparent Inclusive Less hierarchical in structure Eco Model of Partnership Shared values Mutual benefits Communication & Trust Power, Leadership, Decisions Learning Organizations Assessment –> Improvements Barriers to Overcome Communication Power struggles Conflict Cultural differences Elements of Success Agreement on values & mission Transparency Realistic solutions Empower community reps Cooperative Education Require for graduation Learning by doing (Dewey) School arranges placements Common in Engineering Antioch College–coop education YES!Illustrations by Jem Sullivan College-Community Collaboration Two Examples: Oberlin Project – Oberlin College Plan: 90% renewable electric Oberlin E. College St. project: housing, retail & office space Green Arts Block – museum & performing arts building Radical efficiency improvements & LEED building standards Local foods initiative Encourage green businesses Multiple partners and funding Luther College – Decorah, Iowa Luther Center for Sustainable Communities o Interns with City, businesses, Green Business Council o Greening Churches workshops o Internships in local churches Winneshiek Energy District Decorah Sustainability Plan Exploring: joint district heating, landfill gas, community solar