Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, 6:30 p.m. | Pollak Theatre
The School of Science is pleased to announce that Robin Leichenko, Ph.D., of Rutgers University will make the inagural presentation of the 2025 Climate Crisis Teach-in. Addressing the climate crisis and related challenges provides many opportunities for promoting sustainability transformations. Yet significant questions remain about what such transformations might entail, how to support them, and how to sustain and scale these efforts. This talk explores the practical, political, and personal dimensions of transformation, drawing upon the model of the “Three Spheres of Transformation”. The talk also considers recent efforts to promote sustainability transformations, based upon the speaker’s work with university students and her on-going research on bicycling and non-motorized transportation infrastructure. The talk discusses implications and lessons learned from these case examples for fostering and supporting transformative change.
Leichenko is a distinguished professor of geography as well as dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Rutgers University. Her research explores the economic and equity dimensions of climate change impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation. Leichenko has led or served on climate change assessments for the City of New York, New Jersey, New York State, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The second edition of her book, “Climate and Society: Transforming the Future” (Polity Press, with Karen O’Brien), was released in summer 2024.