Join us for a conversation with Dr. Laurie Adkin that begins by outlining how Alberta’s post‑secondary institutions are connected to the fossil‑fuel industry. We will discuss recent developments at the University of Alberta and reflect on the experiences of climate‑justice organizers at universities.
Speaker: “Laurie Adkin is a professor emerita in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta. She taught political ecology and studying the political economy of climate and environmental policy for more than three decades. She believes strongly that the University of Alberta has many resources to contribute to a just, post-carbon transition in Alberta. To do so, it needs to chart a new course guided by principles of climate justice. For these reasons, she kick-started the CAUA in February 2020.
Dr. Adkin’s areas of research include political ecology, climate change policy, and democratic theory. She has also published work on social movement theory, ecology and political economy, comparative family policy, and the neoliberal restructuring of post-secondary education” (https://apps.ualberta.ca/directory/person/ladkin, https://www.uaclimateaction.ca/laurie-atkin)
Actions
- Learn the governance structure of your university
- Connect with existing campus groups
- Advocate for divestment and reinvestment
- Study past divestment attempts
- Submit formal proposals to the Board or Senate calling for divestment and reinvestment in climate‑just alternatives.
- Collect endorsements from student unions, faculty associations, departments, and community groups.
- Organize delegations to attend Board meetings and ask direct questions about fossil‑fuel investments.
- Demand transparency, insist on public reporting of endowment holdings and donor agreements.
- Use petitions and open letters to demonstrate broad support
- Attend the next meeting of a campus climate‑justice or divestment group
- Send one email to a decision‑maker asking for transparency about fossil‑fuel partnerships
- Share one resource from the teach‑in with a colleague or classmate
- Invite a friend to attend the next event with you
- Connect with other post-secondary groups or clubs that focus on climate and environment
Resource List
Websites:
- Laurie Adkin, PhD, MA, BA Hons – See for published works
- Climate Action Coalition at the University of Alberta
- Divestment Brief @UA
- A Climate Action Plan for the University of Alberta
- Climate Action Coalton @ ualberta (@uaclimateaction) • Instagram photos and videos
Articles:
- Knowledge for an Ecologically Sustainable Future? Innovation Policy and Alberta Universities
- Higher Education – Corporate or Public? How the UCP is Restructuring Post-Secondary Education in Alberta
- Guest Post (Laurie Adkin, Professor Emerita): Divestment campaigns at the University of Alberta confront an increasingly privatized and securitized university “commons”
Books:
- Regime of Obstruction, edited by William K. Carroll
- Higher Education and Green Transitions, Edited by Rómulo Pinheiro