The flagship course of the Duke Climate Commitment’s educational mission, UNIV 102: Let’s Talk About Climate Change, launched in Fall 2022 with support from the Duke Endowment’s $5 million gift. This course, which aims to alleviate students’ feelings of ecological distress and powerlessness, brought together two co-convenors (Emily Bernhardt, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor, and Norman Wirzba, Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology), 12 Climate Change Faculty Fellows from a variety of disciplines, 14 graduate and professional student discussion leaders, and 150 undergraduate students for a weekly conversation. The first hour of each class was devoted to Drs. Bernhardt and Wirzba interviewing a Climate Change Faculty Fellow on the climate or sustainability topic of that faculty member’s choosing. This interview was followed by an hour of small-group discussions. In its inaugural offering, the class met its full enrollment of 150 students and was received very positively.
Now in its second offering this semester, 10 new Climate Change Faculty Fellows and 14 new graduate and professional student discussion leaders join a new cohort of 150 undergraduate students. Additionally, the course convenors hired a postdoctoral fellow for a three-year term to assist with course implementation. This postdoctoral fellow will also teach a climate- and sustainability-related course during Spring semesters, when UNIV 102 is not being taught. Funding for this postdoctoral fellow comes from an anonymous gift meant to advance Presidential strategic priorities for the university.
Meet the 2022 and 2023 UNIV 102 Climate Change Faculty Fellows.