CEJS Fellowships 

The Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability (CEJS) is pleased to announce our 2015-2016 Faculty and Student Fellows. Over the course of the year, fellows will present their work at CEJS Socials while exploring topics ranging from the Arts to Snow Leopards. We are also accepting applications for our 2016-2017 fellowships until January 4, 2016. Apply today!

August 2016 Conference - Call for Papers 

Seattle University's biennial conference returns in 2016. Come listen to some of the brightest minds in Environmental Justice and Sustainability as they present on a wide variety of issues. The conference will take place from August 7-9, 2016. View the Call for Papers and browse the July 2015 special issue of the journal Interdisciplinary Environmental Review which features papers from our 2014 conference.

Supporting Safe Water Around the World

As the United Nation's 2015 deadline for achieving its Millennium Development Goals is upon us, there has been good progress on the human right to safe water, and Seattle University faculty are lending a hand. In May, former CEJS Fellow Dr. Mike Marsolek worked with faculty from Kathmandu University to provide access to safe water in the wake of the devastating Nepal earthquake. In July, CEJS Director Phillip Thompson and his team of students continued their water projects in Thailand. In August, our CEJS partners from Haiti Tec provided access to safe drinking water for a school in Port au Prince. If you would like to help support these and other CEJS projects, please click here.

Catholic Heritage Lectures Series

The annual Catholic Heritage Lectures Series began on October 15 with a keynote speech by Sr. Ilia Delio, OSF, entitled “Are We at Home in the Cosmos? Creation as Gift and Challenge.” On February 4, 2016, Dr. Christiana Peppard will discuss the interaction between human beings and the Earth. Father Jose Ramon Villarin will speak on April 7, 2016, to address how we may find hope in what seems like a bleak environmental landscape. Read more.

Celebrating Food Day at SU

Students, staff, and faculty gathered together on October 26, 2015, to celebrate Seattle University’s Annual Food Day. Featured speakers included SU students Mara Orenstein and Emma Thordsen from Food with Spirit, Dan Albert from Farmbox Greens and Dani Turk from Food Lifeline. Read more.

Nicaraguan Fair Trade Coffee

Earlier this year, Seattle University received designation as a fair trade university from Fair Trade Colleges and Universities USA. Professor Emeritus of Chemistry Dr. Susan Jackels, Associate Professor of Economics Dr. Quan Le, and students of Global Business Club led the effort. They worked in conjunction with the University of Managua, Nicaragua, and a Nicaraguan coffee cooperative called the Central de Cooperativas de Servicios Multiples Aroma del Café (CECOSEMAC). Read more. 

Faculty Focus - Professor Carmen Gonzalez

SU Professor of Law Carmen Gonzalez's op-ed entitled “UN Goals Fall Short of Francis’ Vision” was published in The Catholic Reporter on the same day that Pope Francis addressed Congress. In addition, Professor Gonzalez's new book "International Environmental Law and the Global South,” was published by Cambridge University Press. You can buy the book here and get 20% off using the coupon code IELAW15. 

Zambia Kilowatts for Humanity Project

It is hard to fully appreciate the extent to which electricity simplifies our lives until the power goes out and we are unable to illuminate our homes, use our microwaves, and charge our cellphones. However, about 1.2 billion people worldwide do not have access to electricity. Members of Seattle University’s Electrical and Computer Engineering department have founded the non-profit organization, KiloWatts for Humanity, to help bring power to rural villages around the world. The organization’s most recent project has been to install microgrids that power energy kiosks using solar panels in Filibaba, Zambia. Read more.

Upcoming Events

February 4, 2016: Catholic Lecture Series with Dr. Christiana Peppard, Assistant Professor of Theology, Science and Ethics at Fordham University. Dr. Peppard will discuss Catholic social thought and connections between ecological destruction and social injustice.

March 7, 2016: CEJS Winter Social with Prof. Eric Wehrly and Prof. John Gardiner. Join us for food, drinks, and philosophy as CEJS Faculty fellows Prof. Wehrly and Prof. Gardiner present their research.

August 7-9, 2016: CEJS Conference “Just Sustainability: Hope for the Commons.” Come and connect with researchers, businesses, and communities that are bringing Environmental Justice and Sustainability issues to the fore of public discourse.