Penn State Global recognized for sustainability by the Forum on Education Abroad

The original version of this release was published on the Forum on Education Abroad’s website and can be found on the forum's website. The version below has been slightly modified.

Penn State Global has been selected as the recipient of The Forum on Education Abroad’s first Award for Advancing the U.N. SDGs through Education Abroad.

Penn State Global partners with the University's academic units and the Sustainability Institute to implement curricular integration, programmatic updates and operational changes to continue its mission of advancing the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs.

“It has been a pleasure to work with the Penn State Education Abroad staff for all people’s and our planet’s health and happiness,” said Peter Buck, academic programs manager in the Sustainability Institute. “When we work together, we can accomplish beautiful things, and so can our students and faculty.”

Penn State Global incorporates the SDGs into all areas of its work, including:

• Investing in faculty development workshops and a new sustainability scholars award for students.
• Including the SDG icon on online program pages related to the curriculum and activities of that study abroad program.
• Making informed marketing and promotional decisions on reduction of plastic waste and shipping impacts and prioritizing local vendors for all material and catering needs.
• Featuring one SDG at each weekly staff meeting and including reference to sustainable practices in all job postings.

Penn State Global partners with many units across campus in pursuit of sustainability-focused programming. One such unit is Ag Sciences Global, in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

“We are happy to be in collaboration with Penn State Global to advance the U.N. SDGs through study abroad programming,” said Ketja M. Lingenfelter, assistant director for student global engagement in Ag Sciences Global. “Our courses focus on specific SDGs and build these into the curriculum. We are partnering with our international hosts, Penn State Global and the Penn State Sustainability Institute to create carbon-conscious travel options and are providing students with project and volunteer opportunities both locally and abroad to lower their carbon emissions related to international travel."

The Forum’s Award for Advancing the UN SDGs through Education Abroad honors member institutions and organizations whose education abroad programs promote economic, environmental and social sustainability. By recognizing members who have made significant progress towards the SDGs, the forum seeks to inspire the field to contribute to a more sustainable future for all.

Penn State Global was selected by a subcommittee of the Advancing the SDGs Working Group, chaired by Natalie Cox of Campus France, and will be acknowledged as the inaugural award recipient during the forum’s 18th annual conference, “Globally Interconnected: New Opportunities and the Challenge of Change,” which will take place on March 21-25, 2022, in Chicago and online.

“The U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals represent a powerful framework for learning about and empathizing with the safe, just and equitable advancement of our global society,” said Roger Brindley, vice provost for Penn State Global. “As Penn State strives to offer a breadth of accessible learning abroad opportunities, we’ve found it most important to establish clear linkages between our global educational experiences and the SDGs. This effort has also encouraged Penn State Global to find new and creative ways to weave sustainable practice and consciousness throughout our education abroad enterprise across the commonwealth.”

For more information, visit the Forum on Education Abroad's website, or contact Kate Manni, director of Education Abroad, at kaf29@psu.edu.