Comparing Sustainable Universities between the United States and China: Cases of Indiana University and Tsinghua University

Yonghua Zou, Wanxia Zhao, Robert Mason and Meizhen Li
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Yonghua Zou: School of Public Administration, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, 3 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210046, China
Wanxia Zhao: Institute of Urban Development Studies, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, 3 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210046, China
Robert Mason: Department of Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University, Philadelphia, 19122 PA, USA
Meizhen Li: School of Information Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, 30 Shuangqing Road, Haidian, Beijing 100084, China

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 9, 1-19

Abstract: It is widely accepted that universities can play critical roles in promoting sustainability. In the United States and China, many universities have initiated sustainability programs. Employing Indiana University, Bloomington, the U.S. (IUB) and Tsinghua University, Beijing, China (Tsinghua) as two cases, we examine the conceptualization and implementation of university sustainability programs through a comparison of their respective definitions, goals, organizational dynamics, and strategies. We find that IUB’s sustainability scheme is more detailed and specific, while Tsinghua’s is more general; this is principally attributable to differences in national and local contexts. Furthermore, IUB values the environmental, economic, and social aspects of university sustainability equally, while Tsinghua focuses more on the environmental aspect. In addition, IUB has a more loosely-structured and more inclusive sustainability organizational dynamic while Tsinghua has a more hierarchical one. This comparative study helps us to understand how these two research universities understand and implement sustainability within the respective cultural, political, and institutional contexts of the United States and China.

Keywords: university sustainability; education for sustainable development; green university; Indiana University; Tsinghua University; United States; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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