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Sustainability as a Learning Goal How can we imagine and help shape a sustainable future for our world? Yvon Chouinard, the environmentalist entrepreneur and founder of Patagonia, says it well: “Sustainability is more a process than a goal, and we have to keep working at it.” Otis works at making sustainability an educational priority. This issue of OMAG highlights creative approaches to sustainable design, both in our classrooms and in the projects of our faculty and alumni who collaborate across disciplines and borders to devise global solutions to our most serious problems. Otis introduces students to a wide range of real-world challenges and experiences through various collaborative projects, from designing sustainable toys to creating apparel that reduces fabric waste and uses fewer resources. In the studio, students and faculty examine the connections between industry and the environment, focusing on human responsibility for our natural resources. Students learn to challenge conventional practices in design and production while studying methods that promote
sustainability, reduce toxic waste, and protect nonrenewable resources. Foundation student Brad Richardson expresses his learning goals: “I want to develop a design process that incorporates a sustainable sensibility and uses nature as a reference for construction and functional design. I also want to learn about sustainable business practices and manufacturing techniques.” Brad’s goals are shared by many of his peers. Otis’ sustainability minor now has more enrollment than in any other interdisciplinary field at the College. We are particularly excited about launching the Sustainability Alliance at the Scholarship Benefit and Fashion Show in May, with Nike, Patagonia, Eddie Bauer, Disney, Quiksilver, and Todd Oldham as inaugural members. As we expand this alliance, the partners will collaborate with our students to explore and expand sustainable practices in art and design that will impact future generations.
Ilse Metchek, President Hoi, and Creative Space Founder and CEO Tyler Stonebreaker at Google’s YouTube Space LA for 2012 Creative Economy Report event
Samuel Hoi, President
Editor: Margi Reeve, Communications Director Coeditor: Laura Daroca (’03 MFA Fine Arts), Director of Alumni Relations Alumni Relations Coordinator: Shefali Mistry
FPO
Getty Foundation Director Deborah Marrow, California Fashion Association President
Photography: Kristina Campbell, Anne Cusack, Nathan Gulick, Henrik Kam, Gene Sasse, Lee Salem, Coral von Zumwalt Contributors: George Wolfe, freelance writer, Mimi Zieger, freelance writer; Michelle Ghaffari, copy editor Creative/Design: Mark Caneso (’04)