Dr.
Gretchen Renshaw spoke on sustainability and the Wind Ensemble’s SUSTAIN
Concert
CONWAY,
Arkansas (June 24, 2024) — Hendrix College Associate Professor of Music and
Coordinator of Assessment Dr. Gretchen Renshaw on May 20 was the invited
presenter for Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), a United
Nations-supported organization focused on the advancement of sustainability in
business and management education. Attending the hour-long virtual presentation
were Dr. Isabel Rimanoczy and other academics from the United States, Mexico,
Brazil, and Germany.
Renshaw
presented on the SUSTAIN concert, which occurred in
November 2023 and featured the Hendrix College Wind Ensemble (led by Renshaw),
Jazz Band (led by Dr. Barry McVinney), and Printmaking students (led by Professor
of Art Melissa Gill). Renshaw developed the SUSTAIN concert around the twelve
Sustainability Mindset Principles (SMPs), created by Dr. Rimanoczy, which
encourage what Rimanoczy calls “a particular way of thinking and being that is
expressed in actions for the greater good.” Each piece of music connected to
and evoked one or more of the SMPs, and printmaking students created prints
based on the ways each piece of music related to their respective principles.
The idea for
the concert came when Renshaw attended the three-day Sustainability Mindset
Workshop, hosted by the Associated Colleges of the South and led by Rimanoczy.
“In talking with other professors who came from a variety of disciplines, so
many ideas started ‘sparking’ in my mind about how we could use band music to
carry the message of the SMPs to Hendrix and beyond,” said Renshaw.
“The climate
crisis impacts us all, regardless of background,” Renshaw said. “Sometimes it
can feel so huge that efforts on that level of the individual person may feel
futile.” Through conversations about SMPs and the development of sustainability
mindsets, Renshaw believes we can create a global movement and change the
future of the planet. “Music provides a way to connect to our own emotions and
to our own humanity, and that opens the door for some really powerful change.”
Renshaw plans
to bring back the SUSTAIN theme for another concert in March of 2025. “Although
I didn’t realize it when I was first creating the SUSTAIN concert, what we have
now is a framework to do as many iterations of this concert as we want!” said
Renshaw. Renshaw hopes to bring people together from across campus and in the
greater Conway community for the next iteration of this interdisciplinary
event.
A recording of
Renshaw’s presentation is available here: Storytelling:
Gretchen Renshaw converts the Sustainability Mindset Principles into music
(youtube.com). A recording of the SUSTAIN concert is
available on the Hendrix College Wind Ensemble webpage.
About Hendrix
College
Founded in
1876, Hendrix College is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools
That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges and celebrated among the
country’s leading liberal arts colleges for academic quality, engaged learning
opportunities and career preparation, vibrant campus life, and value. The
Hendrix College Warriors compete in 21 NCAA Division III sports. Hendrix has
been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. Learn more at www.hendrix.edu.
“… Through
engagement that links the classroom with the world, and a commitment to
diversity, inclusion, justice, and sustainable living, the Hendrix community
inspires students to lead lives of accomplishment, integrity, service, and
joy.”
—Hendrix College Statement of Purpose