January 25, 2024
Spring course to focus on efforts to realize the UN Sustainable Development Goals
The Population Health Initiative and the Office of Global Affairs are partnering again to offer a one-credit General Studies course, “United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Global Goals, Local Actions” (GEN ST 297A), on Tuesdays from 1:30 to 2:20 p.m. during spring quarter 2024 in Condon Hall 139.
This one-credit (graded as credit/no-credit) course will introduce undergraduate students to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, research at the University of Washington that aligns with those goals and the role the goals play in improving local and global population health, societies and the environment. Yen-Chu Weng of the UW’s Program on the Environment is the lead facilitator of this course.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are “an urgent call for action by all countries in a global partnership that provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet through strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests” (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs).
Adopted by the UN member states in 2015, the 17 SDGs encompass topics ranging from poverty, health and inequality to climate, land, water and global partnerships. Achieving the SDGs requires not only interdisciplinary collaboration, but also expertise from multiple sectors: higher education, businesses, civil society organizations and governments.
This seminar will invite experts and scholars from the UW and the Seattle region. Each lecture will include an overview of the selected SDGs, case studies based on speaker’s expertise and programs in the Seattle regions that are working towards realization of the SDGs.
| Date | Speaker | Topic | Unit |
| 3/26 | Yen-Chu Weng Arti Shah Gayle Christensen Anita Ramasastry |
Introduction and Overview | Program on the Environment Population Health Initiative Office of Global Affairs |
| 4/2 | Kristie Ebi | Climate Action (SDG 13) & Partnerships (SDG 17) | Global Health |
| 4/9 | Mine Metitiri | End Poverty (SDG 1) and Good Health and Wellbeing (SDG 3) | Global Health |
| 4/16 | Ali Mokdad | Good Health and Wellbeing (SDG 3) & Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10) | Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation |
| 4/23 | Julian Marshall | Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10) & Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11) | Civil & Environmental Engineering |
| 4/30 | Kathleen Artman Meeker | Quality Education (SDG 4) | Education |
| 5/7 | Dargan Frierson | Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7) | Atmospheric Sciences |
| 5/14 | Rachel Chapman | Gender Equity (SDG 5) | Anthropology, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies & Global Health |
| 5/21 | Alison Horn | Quality Education (SDG 4) | Riverways Education Partnerships |
| 5/28 | Jeffrey Walters | Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6) | UWT School of Engineering & Technology |
Registration opens February 9, 2024. Please contact the Population Health Initiative with any questions.