Teachers

Many of the world’s greatest thinkers and doers come to teach at Schumacher College. They come from all walks of life including business, academia and independent charitable organisations. All are highly experienced in their specialist subject, and several regularly contribute to the Schumacher College programme. Alongside the teachers, in order to create a supportive learning environment and a positive dialogue between teachers and participants, the courses usually have both a facilitator, and an academic course tutor who provides support to people seeking Masters level accreditation.

For Faculty, including Satish Kumar, Stephan Harding, and Philip Franses click here


Some of the Schumacher College teachers for 2009 – 10

Fritjof Capra, Ph.D., physicist and systems theorist, is a founding director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California. Fritjof is the author of several international bestsellers, including The Web of Life and The Hidden Connections. His most recent book, The Science of Leonardo, was published in paperback in 2008.

Course: Creativity, Perception and the Modern Mind: Leonardo and the Search for Holism

Susan George is President of the Board of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam and author of many books on global political economy including How the Other Half Dies and A Fate Worse than Debt.

Course: Growth and Consequence: Rethinking our economic future

Richard Heinberg is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost Peak Oil educators. A journalist and musician, he has lectured widely, appearing on national radio and television in many countries. He is a member of the core faculty at New College of California and Research Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute. His monthly Museletter has been in publication since 1992, and he is an award-winning author of seven books, including Party’s Over, Peak Everything, Powerdown and most recently, Blackout: Coal, Climate and the Last Energy Crisis.

Course: After Copenhagen: Challenges and opportunities

Rob Hopkins is founder of the Transition Towns movement and author of The Transition Handbook. He is a permaculture teacher and set up the Hollies Centre for Practical Sustainability in Ireland.

Course: After Copenhagen: Challenges and opportunities

Jonathon Porritt is co-founder and director of Forum for the Future, and chaired the Sustainable Development Commission from its inception in 2000 to July 2009. His latest book is Capitalism as if the World Matters.

Course: Growth and Consequence: Rethinking our economic future

Margaret Wheatley writes, teaches, and speaks about how we might organise and accomplish our work in chaotic times, and willingly step forward to serve. She is co-founder and President emerita of The Berkana Institute, a charitable global foundation that works in partnership with a rich diversity of people around the world who strengthen their communities by working with the wisdom and wealth already present in their people, traditions and environment (www.berkana.org). She has written five books including Leadership and the New Science (in twenty languages and third edition).

Course: Leadership in Times of Chaos: Exploring old and new wisdom

Mphatheleni (Mphathe) Makaulule is a dynamic community leader from South Africa, where she is engaged in a process of rediscovering ecological knowledge and practices cultural identity with the elders and youth of her community. She is currently involved in supporting a legal challenge with other custodians of sacred natural sites of the Venda people. As with other traditions, these sites are understood as vital in maintaining the ecological and energetic equilibrium of ecosystems. Mphathe’s father was a chief and a traditional healer. Mpathe grew up mostly in a traditional way, with a great love of nature, culture and her traditions. Her inspiration is to revive Africa’s wisdom traditions.

Course: Earth Jurisprudence and Community Resilience: Learning from Africa

Malini Mehra is the founder & CEO of the Centre for Social Markets in India. In 2007, CSM launched Climate Challenge India, the country’s first national mobilization campaign on climate change promoting a fiercely pro-active, leadership agenda. A political scientist and gender specialist by training, Malini has worked on sustainability issues in civil society, business, and government for more than 20 years. In 2009, she was nominated as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum (Davos). Prior to founding CSM in 2000, Malini worked on international trade, environment and human rights for NGOs including Oxfam and Friends of the Earth. She has been involved in climate issues since the United Nations’ conference in Kyoto (1997) where she coordinated the input of Friends of the Earth International.

Course: After Copenhagen: Challenges and opportunities

Chris Nichols, Ashridge Consulting. Chris is a consultant with over 25 years of experience in creative group work. He has been with Ashridge for nine years, and co-directs the strategy engagement group. He is an accredited Ashridge coach. He has worked globally with almost every sector: government, charity and commercial. He currently specialises in board level facilitation and the design and facilitation of large group explorative learning. Chris embraces innovative styles of work. He is co-counder of www.groundedcreativity.com, developed to allow non-verbal exploration of complex issues. Creativity, writing, poetry and art all find a place in his way of working. Chris is a widely requested and provocative keynote speaker across the domains of strategic thinking, deep risk and creative leadership responses. A close associate of Schumacher College, Chris is dedicated to facilitating and developing profound examination of the role of leaders and organisations in working in right relationship with the natural world.

Course: Purpose and Profit: How holistic thinking can remake business

Vandana Shiva is an Indian physicist, philosopher, feminist and tireless environmental activist. She was involved in the women’s campaign against the destruction of the Himalayan forests, the famous Chipko movement, and now works in the movement to protect biodiversity and prevent the patenting of seeds in India. She has a PhD in the Philosophy of Science and has written many books including Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development, Monocultures of the Mind, Biopiracy, Water Wars and most recently, Soil Not Oil. In 1993, she won the Alternative Nobel Prize (the Right Livelihood Award). In 1984, she founded Navdanya, an organisation which works for organic farming methods, biodiversity, the Earth and India’s small farmers. Bija Vidyapeeth, Navdanya’s residential course centre, was inspired by Schumacher College.

Course: After Copenhagen: Challenges and opportunities

Andrew Simms is Policy Director and head of the Climate Change programme at nef (new economics foundation). He is author most recently of Ecological Debt and co-editor of Do Good Lives Have to Cost the Earth? You can read Andrew’s blog on Guardian online here

Course: Growth and Consequence: Rethinking our economic future

Kevan Trott owns the first Earthship home in Europe with official planning commission approval. It was built in Normandy, France in April 2007 by Kevan, Mike Reynolds and an Earthship Crew from Taos. The design was modified for a European climate and is seen as the first of many for the European arena. Kevan runs Earthships Europe, a design and consultancy service. He has supervised the construction of a number of earthships in Europe.

Course: Biotecture in Practice: Building an Earthship

James Wong trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has designed an ethnobotanical garden for the University of Kent, where he lectures. He is presenter of the BBC television series Grow Your Own Drugs, and author of a book by the same name.

Course: Exploring Ethnobotany: Plants as Healers

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