The Center for Sustainable Communities reflects Willamette University’s commitment to fostering  resilient, prosperous, and healthy communities that strike a sustainable balance between resource use, the needs of the environment, and the social, cultural, and economic well being of their citizens. The Center acts as a catalyst and facilitator to bring together the expertise of faculty, passion of students, and knowledge and needs of the community to advance the research, teaching, and practice of sustainability across the region and globe. The social and ecological dilemmas of the 21st Century requires the University to understand that academic excellence in contemporary liberal education must incorporate the rigorous and interdisciplinary analysis of retaining and building sustainable and resilient social, cultural, and ecological systems.  As President M. Lee Pelton has said,

“I believe the Willamette community can agree that sustainability is at the center of what we do as an institution seeking to live by its profound motto, “Not unto ourselves alone are we born.” Whether we are encouraging our students to use their talents to improve the well being of the communities in which they live, or whether we are working to secure the financial soundness of this institution itself, we understand that the choices we make now affect the lives of present and future generations. This is the heart of a liberal education.”

To this end, the Center for Sustainable Communities

  • sponsors and hosts conferences, symposia, and lectures critically examining issues of social, ecological, and economic sustainability;
  • supports faculty and student sustainability research and curriculum development;
  • develops partnerships with government agencies,  non-profit organizations, and the business community that advance the understanding and practice of sustainability; and
  • enhances the opportunities of students, faculty, and citizens for cross-sectoral engagement.

All of these activities are designed to enhance Willamette University’s central mission of research and teaching, advance the critical understanding and adoption of sustainability, and demonstrate the fundamental role higher education must play in resolving the fundamental issues of the 21st Century.