The Liberal Arts, the Campus, and the Biosphere

Where does the campus fit into the biosphere? What role should universities play in the struggle to save the environment? Although critics, such as Allan Bloom, have recently accused liberal arts institutions of failing to educate college youth properly, few have addressed the question of how colleges and universities might make students more aware and responsible about their place in the natural world. In this article David Orr offers a rationale for incorporating environmental concerns into the curricula of higher education and suggests examples of curricular innovations, including programs for restructuring the ways colleges procure food, deal with waste, and use energy. Orr shows us how a focus on the ecosystem of the college campus can broaden students' visions of the natural world in which they live.