iSEE Names Levenick Teaching Fellows to Expand Sustainability Curriculum

Urbana, Ill. — The Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) has named its largest and most diverse group of faculty and instructors to be 2021-22 Levenick iSEE Teaching Sustainability Fellows.

Funded by a generous endowment from Illinois Alumnus Stuart L. Levenick and his wife Nancy J. Levenick, this third cohort of faculty and teachers — a record 12 of them — from across the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus will incorporate sustainability into existing classes or create entirely new courses built around sustainability elements.

Associate Director for Education & Outreach Gillen D’Arcy Wood said applications continue to increase each year for the Levenick Teaching Sustainability program — and academic units from across campus continue to show interest in adding sustainability thinking into the curriculum.

“The courses to be developed by this cohort range in focus from sustainability in the Arab world, to carbon capture technology, to green tourism,” Wood said. “Levenick Fellows will meet throughout the year to trade ideas on sustainability education and to benefit from the educational resources and expertise at iSEE.

“Once again, we’d like to thank Stuart and Nancy Levenick for the generous donation. Our Institute’s goal is to incorporate sustainability into as many classes as possible, and we are grateful that we can make progress each year through this program.”

The 2021-22 cohort and the projects they will undertake:

Bryan Endres, Professor of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, adding to the existing “Food Law” course;
Renata Endres, Instructor in Agricultural and Consumer Economics, developing a new course titled “Recreation and Tourism Economics”;
Ali Freter, Interim Director of the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences Study Abroad Program, adding to the existing “First-Year Experience Program” course;
Ramez Hajj, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, adding to the existing “Asphalt Materials” course;
Jiajun He, Teaching Assistant Professor of Mechanical Science and Engineering, developing a new course titled “Carbon Capture and Storage”;
Samantha Lindgren, Assistant Professor of Education, developing a new course titled “Education for Global Sustainability”;
Roman Makhnenko, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, adding to the existing “GeoEnergy Systems” course;
Ripan Malhi, Professor of Anthropology, developing a new course titled “Transforming Science from Colonial to Sustainable Practice”;
Eman Saadah, Teaching Associate Professor of Linguistics in the Arabic Language Program, adding to the existing “Language and Culture of the Arab World” course;
Chadly Stern, Assistant Professor of Psychology, adding to the existing “Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination” course;
Ann Sychterz, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, adding to the existing “Design of Structural Systems” course; and
Roderick Wilson, Assistant Professor of History and East Asian Languages and Cultures, adding to the existing “Intro to Japanese Culture” course.