Regenerative Collaboration in Higher Education: A Framework for Surpassing Sustainability and Attaining Regeneration

Abstract

Many in higher education seek to define how to respond to our environmental crisis. Our 20th and early 21st century failures to resolve the crisis have revealed that a focus on “sustainability” is inadequate in its goals, methods, and public appeal. Higher education must now advance its contribution to preparing graduates to enact the regeneration the damaged natural world requires. We now must teach the deep “why” of caring for our home planet as our life partner, exceed the standard of sustainability to focus on the more enduring and restorative standard of regeneration, and offer our students knowledge and skills for effective regenerative action. Colleges and universities can define their primary goal as teaching students how to tend the flourishing and regeneration of the life community via an emphasis on regenerative collaboration. Regenerative collaboration consists of principles that can guide higher education into a stage of deep contribution to regeneration of the natural world and human well-being. The framework of regenerative collaboration promotes transformation of academic disciplines, academic departments, and courses and calls for development of practical regenerative skills to be part of every degree program. Regenerative collaboration is a means of enacting higher education’s transition from a knowledge focus to a wisdom and regenerative action focus.