Energizing Liberal Education

Overview & Synopsis

Colleges across the country are hosting on-campus renewable energy projects. The general assumption is that trade schools, community colleges, or technology-oriented universities with large engineering departments make the most appropriate sites for training future leaders in renewable energy innovation. While it makes sense to take advantage of existing strengths when developing new initiatives, the authors argue that nearly all schools offer interesting avenues for energy education and that renewable energy projects provide important opportunities for advancing liberal education. To demonstrate frequently overlooked synergies, they explore how liberal arts colleges, a subset of higher education institutions rarely assumed to be leaders in the field of energy technology, deliver unique prospects for researching, developing, and expanding the use of renewable energy and for promoting educational initiatives associated with on-campus and community projects. They highlight place-based examples from Swarthmore, Middlebury, Pomona, Amherst, and Williams Colleges. (Contains 2 notes.)