Mathis Wackernagel

Mathis Wackernagel, president of the Global Footprint Network, an international sustainability think tank, will be the keynote speaker at a Cal State San Bernardino symposium on Thursday, Nov. 14, exploring what global citizenship means in the 21st Century.
 
The symposium will also focus on how higher education is contributing to educating global citizens. It will be from 2-4 p.m. at the auditorium (CGI-103) of the university’s newest building, the Center for Global Innovation (CGI). The symposium follows the CGI’s formal ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m.
 
The event will feature a panel discussion with Breena Coates, professor, global strategy; Kevin Grisham, associate professor and chair, geography and environmental studies department; Helen Martinez, executive vice president, Associated Students Inc.; Rafik Mohamed, dean, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences; and Ahlam Muhtaseb, professor, communication studies. Tatiana Karmanova, dean of the College of Extended and Global Education, will serve as the panel moderator.
 
Wackernagel is co-creator of the Ecological Footprint and has worked on sustainability with governments, corporations and international nonprofit organizations on six continents and has lectured at more than 100 universities. He previously served as director of the Sustainability Program at Redefining Progress in Oakland, Calif., and ran the Centro de Estudios para la Sustentabilidad at Anáhuac University in Xalapa, Mexico.
 
He has written and contributed to more than 50 peer-reviewed papers, numerous articles, reports and various books on sustainability that focus on embracing resource limits and developing metrics for sustainability, including Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth; Sharing Nature’s Interest;  Der Footprint: Die Welt neu vermessen; Ecological Footprint: Managing Our Biocapacity Budget; and WWF International’s Living Planet Report.
 
Wackernagel’s awards include the 2018 World Sustainability Award, the 2015 IAIA Global Environment Award, being a 2014 ISSP Sustainability Hall of Fame inductee, the 2013 Prix Nature Swisscanto, 2012 Blue Planet Prize, 2012 Binding Prize for Nature Conservation, the 2012 Kenneth E. Boulding Memorial Award of the International Society for Ecological Economics, the 2011 Zayed International Prize for the Environment (jointly awarded with UNEP), an honorary doctorate from the University of Berne in 2007, a 2007 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, 2006 WWF Award for Conservation Merit and 2005 Herman Daly Award of the U.S. Society for Ecological Economics.
 
He was also selected as number 19 on the en(rich) list identifying the 100 top inspirational individuals whose contributions enrich paths to sustainable futures (www.enrichlist.org). John Elkington identified Wackernagel among the “Zeronaut 50” Roll of Honor, i.e., leading pioneers who are driving the world’s most significant problems to zero. From 2011 to 2015, Wackernagel was also the Frank H. T. Rhodes Class of 1956 Visiting Professor at Cornell University.
 
Wackernagel completed a Ph.D. in community and regional planning with William Rees at the University of British Columbia, where his doctoral dissertation developed the Ecological Footprint concept. He also earned a mechanical engineering degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
 
Founded in 2003, the Global Footprint Network is an international sustainability organization that is helping the world live within the Earth’s means and respond to climate change. The network is headquartered in Oakland and has engaged with more than 50 countries, 30 cities, and 70 global partners to deliver scientific insights that have driven high-impact policy and investment decisions. The goal is to create a future where everyone can thrive within the limits of the planet.
 
Global Footprint Network develops and promotes tools for advancing sustainability, including the ecological footprint and biocapacity, which measure the amount of resources humans use and how much we have. These tools aim at bringing ecological limits to the center of decision-making.
 
Located across from the John M. Pfau Library, the Center for Global Innovation (CGI) is the new home of the College of Extended & Global Education. It provides much needed classroom space. At 71,000 square feet and a cost of $55 million, the three-story structure is the first building on campus to offer classroom space since the opening of the College of Education building in 2008. Along with administrative offices, CGI has 24 classrooms designed to accommodate collaborative learning, reconfigurable multi-purpose rooms and casual study lounges.
 
It also has a 250-seat auditorium and retail food services. With a large patio at the entrance, global gallery and a terrace on the third floor, CGI provides space for gathering and collaborative learning as well as opportunities for indoor and outdoor hosting of special programs.
 
For more information, contact the CSUSB Office Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit Inside CSUSB.