2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Embedding Sustainability in a Liberal Arts and Science Curriculum

Presented at Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division (LEES) Poster Session

This paper presents the design of a Liberal Arts and Sciences Curriculum at a private university classified as a Master’s College and University –- Larger Programs, according to the Carnegie Classification system. The curriculum integrates critical themes such as sustainability, gender, and digital literacy, aligning closely with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Adopting a constructivist approach, the curriculum emphasizes learning through experience, participation, and reflection, fostering interdisciplinary thinking and equipping students with the intellectual tools needed to address complex global challenges.

A key feature of the curriculum is the integration of gender as a critical lens, enabling students to analyze social inequities and advocate for inclusive societies. Digital literacy is also a central focus, addressing the transformative influence of technology and artificial intelligence on human interaction, identity, and knowledge production. Sustainability, social justice, and global responsibility are woven throughout the curriculum to align with the SDGs, ensuring that students are equipped to tackle pressing contemporary issues. This interdisciplinary approach aims to cultivate informed, adaptable, and ethical graduates prepared for civic engagement, holistic education, and leadership in a diverse and interconnected world.

Authors

Dr. George E Nasr Lebanese American University [biography]

Dr. George E. Nasr has been Provost at the Lebanese American University (LAU) since 2018, following his tenure as Dean of the LAU School of Engineering. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kentucky and has published extensively on energy modeling and engineering education. He is an active member of IEEE and ASEE and serves on various international educational committees.
Nadine Zeeni http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1747-6016 Lebanese American University [biography]

Dr. Nadine Zeeni is an Associate Professor of Nutrition and the Coordinator of Liberal Education - Sciences at the Lebanese American University (LAU). She has played a key role in the development and implementation of the recently launched Liberal Arts and Sciences curriculum (LASC). Collaborating closely with faculty from various disciplines, she focuses on developing, coordinating, teaching, and assessing innovative interdisciplinary courses related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Dr. Haidar Harmanani http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5416-4383 Lebanese American University [biography]

Haidar Harmanani received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, in 1989, 1991 and 1994, respectively. He is currently a professor of computer science and the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at the Lebanese American University. His research interests span high-level synthesis, design automation, parallel computing, machine learning, and applied artificial intelligence. Throughout his career, he has led and contributed to multiple institutional initiatives in academic program development, accreditation, research infrastructure, and strategic planning. Dr. Harmanani has published extensively in the areas of design automation and optimization techniques for hardware–software systems, and he has supervised numerous graduate and undergraduate research projects in computing and data-driven systems.

Download paper (1 MB)

Are you a researcher? Would you like to cite this paper? Visit the ASEE document repository at peer.asee.org for more tools and easy citations.

» Download paper

« View session