Introduction

This chapter introduces the theme of this book-sustainable universities and colleges-and highlights the need for institutions of higher education to increase their attention on and their actions to advance sustainability in their respective societies. It surveys and highlights the breadth and diversity of that sector but forwards the imperative that at least five university/college elements need to be sustainability-focused if those institutions are to lead society toward advancing sustainability values. Those aspects are sustainability-oriented Research, Outreach (to communities), Operations, Teaching (curriculum), and Students (and other stakeholders), summarized by the acronym ROOTS. This chapter also highlights the excellent submissions of multiple author sets representing many different countries, cultures, disciplines, and orientations, segmented into sections on sustainability systems/strategy, stakeholders, management/business, and education. The chapter closes with a set of questions and topics that readers and others interested in sustainable universities and colleges could explore to advance the achievement of sustainability in the higher education sector.