Ideas That Matter Events
2025-2026: Climate Change and the Individual
Annual Multicultural Cook Out
Thursday, Sept 4th, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM, Roemer Arboretum (*Rain Location is Multicultural Center in Blake A)
Free Food, Games, Prizes, Nature Walks, Community, Tabling, Music Campfire!
Hosted by Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Sustainability
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Faculty Roundtable: What (if any) is the role of the individual in addressing Climate Change?
Friday Sept 5, 2:30 PM, Milne Library Multipurpose Rooms
- Moderated by Dan DeZarn, Director of Sustainability
- Jim Allen (Psychology), Karleen West (Political Science), Sohrob Aslamy (Geography & Sustainability Studies), Amanda Lewis-Nang'ea (History), Jennifer Gúzman (Anthropology), Jenny Apple (Biology), Byeong-Hak Choe (Data Analytics, Economics), George Marcus (Physics & Astronomy), Lytton Smith (English)
- Refreshments served, chance to chat with panelists afterward
Powerlands Screening | Wednesday, September 17
September 17, 2025 in Milne Multipurpose Room 4:30 - 7:00 PM
- Description: A young Navajo filmmaker investigates the displacement of Indigenous people and the environmental devastation caused by global corporations
- Hosted by Karleen West, Professor and Chair of Political Sciences/International Relations, and Michael Oberg, SUNY Distinguished Professor of History (Native American Studies).
Harding Lecture: Jeff Vandermeer, September 24, 2025
- The annual event celebrating Thoreau scholar Walter Harding's legacy at Geneseo will be given by climate fiction author Jeff Vandermeer, author of the Southern Reach series: Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance, as well as many other novels. He is a leading author in the New Weird genre and has been hailed as "one of the most remarkable pracitioners of the literary fanastic in America."
Native Tree Walk - Dr. Brian Hoven, Dr. Jim Kernan, & Dan DeZarn, September 2025
- Join Biology, Geography, and Sustainability experts on a walk around campus to identify what tree species we have, which ones we don't and why, the importance of native trees and biodiversity in our ecosystems.
Rochester Reads - Soil by Camile Dungy - October 9th Author's Keynote and Book Signing (virtual and in person keynote options)
- Annual city-wide reading and events with the goal of "deepening understanding, engage thoughtfully with important issues, and connect with one another through a shared experience.
- Attend the Keynote and Book Signing at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester (must get tickets, but they are a suggested donation) or watch the keynote via zoom (must get tickets too!).
Native Tree Identification Exhibit - Dr. Brian Hoven, Dr. Jim Kernan, & Dan DeZarn, October 2025
- Learn to identify native species in this curated exhibit
- Location and times TBD
President's Annual Sustainability Lecture - Dr. Jonathan Foley, Thursday, October 23rd | 4:00 PM | Newton 202 | Reception in ISC Atrium
- Jonathan Foley, PhD, is the Executive Director of Project Drawdown and has been a leading scientist and science communicator for decades and will be discussing ways to have a positive impact.
- Project Drawdown is the world's leading resource on climate solutions. They are a trusted, science-based, and independent guide for effective climate action across the globe. As a U.S.-based nonprofit organization, our mission is to help the world stop climate change—as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible.
Extreme Energy Workshops (I & II) - Dan DeZarn & Meg Reitz, October 2025
- Part I - Join Dan DeZarn, Director of Sustainability, and Meg Reitz, PhD, Associate Director of Residence Life (and Geologist) as they discuss why and how we started using fossil fuels and how our extraction and use has changed over the past 300 years.
- Part II - In this presentation and discussion, we look toward how to power our livelihoods using renewable energy resources and the role that individuals play in that transition
Rochester Academy of Sciences (RAS) Presentation - Dr. Mark Abrams, November 1, 2025 | "Native Americans, Smokey the Bear, and the rise and fall of eastern oak forests"
- Stay tuned for location and other details!
CAS Sustainability Initiatives
- posters and presentations TBD during 2025-26
College Buildings Sustainability Tour -- Dan DeZarn and Steve Schunk, February, 2026
- Learn about sustainable design in college buildings, including dining halls, Doty, and Milne Library
- Features include rainwater collection, geothermal heating, energy efficient windows, and more
Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Lecture - Shannon Jackson, PhD, April 2026
- Read Dr. Jackson's biography
- Lecture topics on Ecology, Democracy, and Video Across the Arts
Community Connection
The Microclimate Project & Poet/Tree Festival, Dr. Lytton Smith
A year-long project to increase scientific literacy around climate change and encourage individual and community action through helping members of the public write and share short creative pieces (around 180 words maximum) that are rooted in one or more verified scientific facts they want others to know.
Dr. Smith will work on campus and with 3-5 partner sites to develop materials to educate and share creative pieces, culminating in a festival in April, 2026.