GIVING COMMUNITIES "BIG MICROPHONES"

This year, Campus Compact recognizes Robin Saha, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Montana, as the 2016 Thomas Ehrlich Civically Engaged Faculty Award Recipient.

Saha’s engaged scholarship sits at the intersection of environmental justice, health and policy, emphasizing advocacy for marginalized communities. His nationally recognized work shed light on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and has been cited in Fortune Magazine, the Boston Globe, and the Huffington Post.

Using Geographic Information Systems, Saha has worked to establish quantitative methods for assessing racial and socioeconomic disparities in locations with environmental hazards. Dr. Saha, in partnership with Robert Bullard and other nationally recognized leaders in the field of environmental justice, published a 20 year update of the landmark report Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States, which catapulted issues of environmental justice to the forefront of national conversation on systems of inequality. Their findings revealed the nation’s hazardous waste facilities continue to be concentrated disproportionately in minority and low-income communities, and highlighted the need for continued attention to the problem.

Dr. Saha’s scholarship is grounded in partnerships with communities that inform his teaching, research, and activism. Saha consistently engages his students in real-world environmental problems and connects them with affected communities. He has been a consistent advocate for the importance of community-engaged scholarship within the University of Montana System by creating opportunities for both faculty and students to promote community engagement through his role as a founding member of UM’s Service Learning Advisory Board and through his contributions to the creation of a Climate Change Studies minor known for its engaged curriculum.

"I believe that community engagement is vital to social justice, which is a core value of my work, because one cannot be of true service to those whose basic needs are not met without engaging and collaborating with affected communities. To approach social justice any other way is to risk being paternalistic. I have never given up–and never will–on the promise of a fair and just society where all people can thrive, not just survive, and I have dedicated myself to helping to achieve environmental and social justice for all." (Dr. Robin Saha)

Dr. Saha’s career has included work with a wide variety of communities ranging from rural tribal communities in Montana to urban settings in Michigan. When asked to describe a particularly impactful moment in his career, he talked about sharing the stage with grassroots leaders of a small, former smelting town called Opportunity, Montana. Opportunity is a community lying entirely within a Superfund site, classified by the Department of Health and Human Services as “any land in the United States that has been contaminated by hazardous waste and identified as a candidate for cleanup by the EPA because it poses a risk to human health and/or the environment.” Opportunity faces arsenic contaminated soils and groundwater, and is located next to a major waste repository for Superfund cleanups around the state of Montana. The community of Opportunity was concerned about the safety of their well water, dust blowing in from the repository, and contaminated soils in their own back and front yards.

"We were able to share the stories of the people of Opportunity at the National Summit of Mining Communities. Our panel was titled, “Give Opportunity a Chance: A Superfund Community’s Struggle for Justice, Health, & Safety”, and my students were in the audience as part of a class field trip. It was gratifying to see and hear community members, who often aren’t comfortable speaking in public, tell their inspiring stories of struggle and triumph in the face of injustice on a national stage. There’s no substitute for hearing their stories in their own voices–the unmistakable power and authenticity of direct experience. I tell my students that it’s important to find ways to give members of disproportionately impacted communities big megaphones—it was so great to see them use it so well!" (Dr. Robin Saha)

As a result of Saha and his students’ efforts organizing and partnering with the community, significant environmental management improvements were made to address the community’s health, safety and quality of life concerns.

For more on Dr. Robin Saha, see his page on the University of Montana’s website, and learn more about the Thomas Ehrlich Civically Engaged Faculty Award here.
_____________________________________________________________________
 This piece was reprinted in its entirety from the Campus Compact blog.

MONTANA PROFESSOR ROBIN SAHA WINS NATIONAL EHRLICH AWARD

Dr. Robin Saha, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Montana has been selected to receive the 2016 Thomas Ehrlich Civically Engaged Faculty Award. More about Saha's work and this prestigious award can be found on the Campus Compact website.

The Ehrlich award is made annually to recognize one faculty member and up to four finalists for exemplary leadership in advancing student civic learning, conducting community-based research, fostering reciprocal partnerships, building institutional commitments to engagement, and enhancing higher education’s contributions to the public good. The award is named in honor of Thomas Ehrlich, former chair of the Campus Compact board of directors and president emeritus of Indiana University, and is generously sponsored by the KPMG Foundation.

“In my experience, civic engagement makes all types of academic endeavors – whether in teaching and learning or carrying out research — relevant and meaningful to all involved,” stated Dr. Saha. “I especially enjoy enhancing the capacity and commitment of students, our future leaders, and community and university partners to work collaboratively to effect positive and lasting change. This type of civically engaged work illustrates the constructive and vital role academic institutions can play in our communities”

“I am thrilled that Campus Compact has the opportunity to recognize Robin Saha’s exemplary work,” said Campus Compact President Andrew Seligsohn. “Professor Saha demonstrates every day that there need be no distinction among teaching, research, and service to the public. His scholarly practice engages students and community members in knowledge creation and action to challenge environmental injustice and produce a more equitable society. We can all learn from Professor Saha’s career.”

“KPMG is proud to support Campus Compact and the Ehrlich Award, and we offer our deepest congratulations to Robin Saha and the four finalists,” said Bernard J. Milano, President of KPMG Foundation. “Campus Compact’s programs and thought leadership continue to advance progress in pursuit of higher education’s public purposes. We applaud their work and the work of their member campuses, the best of which is exemplified by the 2016 Ehrlich Award winner, Dr. Saha.”

In addition to being a leading scholar in the environmental justice movement, Dr. Saha has spent his career integrating partnerships into his pedagogy, research, and community activism. Saha consistently engages his students in real-world environmental problems and connects them with affected communities. Beyond his work in the classroom, Saha has also advocated for the importance of community-engaged scholarship within the Montana University system. He works to create opportunities for both faculty and students to promote community engagement, including being a founding member of UM’s Service Learning Advisory Board, as well as being involved in the creation of a climate change studies minor known for its engaged curriculum.

Saha’s deeply engaged scholarship sits at the intersection of environmental justice and health policy, emphasizing advocacy for marginalized communities. His nationally recognized work shed light on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and has been cited in Fortune Magazine, the Boston Globe, and Huffington Post. He has also been recognized for his local community-based participatory research, involving empowering disenfranchised communities to take active roles in data collection and advocacy to achieve significant environmental management improvements.

“Robin is an incredibly insightful and community-engaged professor,” remarked Andrea Vernon, Executive Director of Montana Campus Compact and Director of Academic Enrichment – Civic Engagement at the University of Montana. “His research and teaching, and the work of his students, have had profound impacts on the health and well-being of people in the most rural and underserved areas of Montana. Robin also contributes to the leadership and development of community engaged scholarship throughout the state and beyond by inspiring and supporting colleagues to do this work.”