For Immediate Release

Contact: Kevin Hovland
202.387-3760 ext. 431
Hovland@aacu.org

Association of American Colleges and Universities and
Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future
Announce New Partnership

Partnership to Advance and Disseminate New Campus Innovations Designed to
Foster Commitment to and Knowledge About Actions for
Sustainable Development

Washington, DC - November 30, 2004 - To coincide with the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and the Association of University Leadership for a Sustainable Future (ULSF) recently announced the launch of an historic partnership. Together, these two organizations will act as a catalyst and incubator for new ideas, campus-based innovations, research, and collaborations to advance student and campus commitments to sustainable development.

"Bringing together the resources, experience, and perspectives of these two organizations will help move this urgent work forward in exciting ways," said ULSF Senior Fellow Debra Rowe, who is facilitating the partnership.

AAC&U is entering into the partnership as part of its ongoing, multi-project initiative, Shared Futures: Global Learning and Social Responsibility. The partnership further advances AAC&U's strategic goal of helping campuses provide all college students with an "education for a world lived in common." "Taking global learning seriously means engaging students with the most pressing intellectual, ethical, and civic questions of our time, notes AAC&U Senior Vice President Caryn McTighe Musil. "In exploring education for sustainable development we hope to demonstrate the relevance of liberal education to the real-world challenges we all face in the 21st century."

The activities of the partnership will begin at AAC&U's upcoming annual meeting, Liberal Education and the New Academy: Raising Expectations, Keeping Promises, scheduled for January 26-29, 2005 in San Francisco, California. Participants at the meeting will have the opportunity to learn about how issues of sustainability can inform and enrich the college curriculum and strengthen liberal education outcomes such as critical thinking, integration, and global awareness. Participants will also have the opportunity to help shape the future activities of the partnership.

For more information about the partnership, contact either Kevin Hovland at AAC&U (Hovland@aacu.org) or Debra Rowe at ULSF (dgrowe@oaklandcc.edu).