Joliet Junior College offers new sustainability course

JOLIET – Students at Joliet Junior College are getting an introduction to sustainable and environmental concepts in a new course this fall semester.

Called “Introduction to Sustainability,” the course covers sustainable food, water and shelter, renewable energy technologies, sustainable business practices and green career exploration.

The course is in line with the community college's past sustainability initiatives, which have led to facility improvements, grant awards and students competing in national recycling contests.

Maria Anna Rafac, a JJC professor, is teaching the course this semester. She said the students – including nursing, biology and environmental science majors – have spent time looking at how sustainability relates to their future careers and their lives.

Sustainability not only covers environmental practices, but also economic and social equity.

“We believe if we could start the conversation now, then our students will be prepared for the major changes that are happening,” she said.

The course, also called SET 100, came about as a main objective of the Integrating Sustainability Through Technical Education project.

JJC was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation’s advanced technological education program for the project, stated Laura Cotner, JJC professor and coordinator of the architecture studies, engineering and construction management technical program, in an email.

“The SET 100 class is a general education course for all students across campus and is being used as a basis for further development of additional curriculum in the broad field of sustainability,” Cotner stated.

The ultimate goal of the project is to infuse the concept of sustainability in all areas of study, she stated.

“With the inaugural offering of the SET 100, JJC is on the path to ‘greening’ their curriculum for the benefit of the students and the community in which we serve,” Cotner stated.

Rafac said the students are infusing what they learn in the class with their career aspirations or personal life through topics such as water conservation. Some students, she said, didn’t realize how much water they wasted when brushing their teeth or taking a shower.

She said sometimes people think major water issues happen elsewhere in the world when they are occurring locally, such as in Flint, Michigan, which has been impacted by a lead contamination water crisis.

“All we’re doing is training people, making them aware and hopefully making these better choices,” Rafac said.

Students in the class come from diverse backgrounds and they’re all realizing how sustainability issues impact their lives, she said. She said sustainability is about more than just the planet, it’s about people and profit.

“We want to find a sweet spot where we consider all three of those things,” she said.