CSUSM Launches New Center to Advance Climate Action and Sustainability

CSUSM Launches New Center to Advance Climate Action and Sustainability

From left to right, members of the "Climate to Action: A CSUSM Student Podcast" team include student Elden Cadena, production engineer, student Saturn Salama, team manager, and faculty advisers K-B Gressitt, women's, gender and sexuality studies professor, and Anne Daab, environmental studies and philosophy professor. Photo by Miguel Mota

Cal State San Marcos recently opened the Climate Action and Sustainability Center (CASC) to provide opportunities for students related to climate change, climate justice and sustainability.

CASC plans to work with faculty and staff to prepare studentswith practical solution-oriented approaches to climate crises and provide hands-on learning experiences within sustainability. One example is a student podcast being produced called "Climate to Action."

Juliana Goodlaw-Morris, director of sustainability and climate justice and the administrative director of the CASC, is excited for the possibilities the center will provide for the campus community as is Dr. Kim Knowles-Yánez, professor in the Liberal Studies Department and faculty director of CASC.

"The CASC is an opportunity to build upon the tremendous work that faculty, students and staff have already invested in climate, sustainability and justice over many years, and to build stronger relationships with our wider community," Goodlaw-Morris said. "This center is also a perfect example of how we, as an institution, are putting into action the core value of sustainability and climate justice, which is a part of our CSUSM strategic plan."

Said Knowles-Yánez: "I welcome this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of establishing a new center charged with taking action and problem-solving for climate change. Please look forward to hearing more about our work on climate change curriculum and research, as well as the on- and off-campus collaborations we will facilitate to help our region meet the needs of climate change and climate justice mitigation, adaptation, and resilience."

The center will engage campus community members and external stakeholders on climate change, climate justice and sustainability initiatives for the region.

The mission of the CASC is to provide "interconnectedness among societies, all living beings and ecosystems by ensuring socially just, ecologically sound, and resilient communities that value diversity, innovation, fiscal stewardship, health and well-being for all by creating a positive local to global impact for current and future generations." The genesis of the center is the Climate Change Faculty Working Group, which faculty founded in 2020, and for which Knowles-Yánezwas chair of the steering committee.

"The Climate Action and Sustainability Center provides recognition and structure for efforts that have been occurring across all disciplines and units," said Dr. Charles De Leone, dean of Graduate Studies and Research, who is responsible for oversight of all centers and institutes on campus, had this to say about the new center. "And the new center could not be in better hands with Kim Knowles-Yánezand Juliana Goodlaw-Morris as its inaugural leaders."

CASC will also serve as a resource for faculty seeking to develop research. The center is hoping to collaborate on fundraising opportunities to expand activities and sustainability efforts.

Biology professor Dr. Darcy Taniguchi drafted the proposal for the center and geography professor Dr. Elizabeth Ridder shepherded the proposal through the campus approval process.

Taniguchi is hopeful the CASC will raise awareness toward climate issues.

"The CASC is an important establishment that will focus on some of the most pressing issues of our time," Taniguchi said. "Its proposed efforts in the areas of climate change, climate justice and sustainability are important and timely for our campus community and beyond."

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