Will Focht

editor of "Education for Sustainable human and Environmental Systems: From Theory to Practice"

December 12, 2018

Will Focht is associate professor emeritus at Oklahoma State University. He served as director of several organizations within OSU including the Environmental Science Graduate Program, Undergraduate Certificate Program in Environmental Studies, Graduate Program in Fire and Emergency Management Administration, Institute for Sustainable Environments, and Oklahoma Water Resources Research Institute. He holds a doctorate degree in Environmental Science and a master’s degree in Political Science from OSU, a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Vanderbilt University, and a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Ohio University.

He serves as a co-chair of the Sustainable Human and Environmental Systems Roundtable and previously served as an associate editor of the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, President of the National Institutes for Water Resources and Chair of the Curriculum Task Force of the National Council for Science and the Environment’s Council of Environmental Deans and Directors.

He has co-edited a book published by MIT Press entitled "Swimming Upstream: Collaborative Approaches to Watershed Management," edited two journal issues, and published 11 book chapters, 21 journal articles and seven articles in refereed conference proceedings.

The goal of Sustainable Human and Environmental Systems education is to prepare students to facilitate social learning in communities that builds knowledge of, capacity for and commitment to sustainability to facilitate the emergence of sustainable societies.

The SHES approach to sustainability education relies on complexity-based systems thinking that transcends disciplinary boundaries. This book provides a comprehensive guide to the SHES approach, including its rationale and theoretical foundation, its pedagogy and practical applications in curricula, and ways to support the approach through institutional administration.

This book will be of great interest to academics and students of education, environmental sciences and studies, sustainability and sustainable development, natural resource management, conservation, environmental policy, environmental planning, and related fields in higher education. Educators can use this book as a guide to SHES pedagogy, curriculum design, sustainability, environmental studies, sustainable development and sustainable well-being. Administrators will find the book useful in establishing, evaluating, staffing and promoting programs based on the SHES approach.

URL: https://library-dep.okstate.edu/news/celebratingbooks/2019-honorees/will-focht

Last Updated: 29 January 2019