President Anderson to Participate in The Salzburg Global Seminar's Sustainable Futures Academy

Alfred State President Dr. John M. Anderson has been invited to travel to Salzburg, Austria, to participate in The Salzburg Global Seminar's Sustainable Futures Academy. He is one of a select number of higher education and sustainability leaders to take part in a special planning meeting from Jan. 31-Feb. 4.

“I am honored to be a member of this esteemed group of leaders,” Anderson said. “Being invited to attend this seminar speaks volumes about the strides Alfred State has made in the field of sustainability.”

The purpose of the meeting is to design a Sustainable Futures Leadership Academy to be offered in collaboration with global partners. The goal of the Academy will be to advance the capabilities of senior higher education leaders in driving sustainability into the core business of their institutions (teaching, research, operations, and community outreach). Institutions of higher education have a great potential to bring sustainability to the forefront at the theoretical, philosophical, and practical level.

The group hopes to create a program that is responsive to the interests and needs of higher education leaders of both developing and developed countries and to develop a business model and governance structure that allow for adaptive collaborative partnerships around the world.

Per the organization’s Web site: “Bringing leaders from different sectors, different countries, different cultures, and different experiences together will always have a positive effect. The energy and the confidence as well as the experience of the people who come to this platform will contribute in a meaningful way to some of the great challenges of our time.”

The first pilot program to be developed will focus on executive leadership development for sustainability because there is a profound lack of targeted sustainability programs for executive leaders in the higher education sector. Additionally, executive leaders represent a high impact group that can have a substantial multiplier effect on a variety of higher education arenas, including operations, teaching, research, and community service.