Dr. Michael Skladany is focused on the future and the urgent challenges it holds. With current and future generations at stake, addressing climate change is essential.

At the Lakewood Public Library, Cleveland State University (CSU) students are leading a community conversation. Guided by Dr. Michael Skladany, Senior Associate Lecturer of Sociology and Criminology at CSU’s Levin College of Public Affairs and Education, the student-led reading group explores All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, an anthology of essays and poems by women at the forefront of climate justice.

Together with Dr. Skladany, CSU students Camden Lockner, Kamyra Plicka, Dylan Shaw, and Kayleigh Conners are facilitating the weekly discussions that began on April 7 and will continue through June 9 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Each meeting explores selected sections of the book and invites community members to join in dialogue. The series, now in its final stretch after six well-attended spring sessions, has drawn a diverse group of participants who gather to listen, reflect, and take action.

A champion of experiential education, Dr. Skladany encourages students to examine complex global issues from multiple perspectives—both inside the classroom and out. “I find that climate swings back and forth and all around,” he says, “It's like an intertwined human-nature matrix. A diverse array of speculative, empirical, political, and importantly aesthetic arenas mix and affect temporal views and actions.”

This initiative exemplifies community-based learning—students applying classroom knowledge in public dialogue. “At Lakewood, our students are there because they want to be,” notes Skladany. “They’ve crossed into public affairs, a cornerstone of Levin's mission. When climate change is presented with clarity and passion, it deeply engages students.” 

Each session covers 40-50 pages of the book. For Dr. Skladany, libraries, like Lakewood’s offer the ideal partnership and space for free expression, intergenerational exchange, and meaningful civic engagement. “As we evolve, concrete actions emerge from within the group. While small in scale at present this is experiential learning, real engagement and real involvement at its best.”

Dr. Skladany’s interest in environmental sociology grew after a 2015 visit to CSU by Tom B.K. Goldtooth, from the Indigenous Environmental Network. Now in his 13th year at CSU, Professor Skladany's course on Developing Societies in a Changing World, co-authored with CSU colleague Dr. Rongjun Sun, includes a robust climate justice module. All four student facilitators of the Lakewood sessions took the course and are now applying its lessons in real time. The program also features guest speakers, including BJ McManama (Indidenous Environmental Network), Tish O’Dell (Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund), and Jennifer McMillin, (Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council). On June 2, CSU Alum Shallanna Davis (Rid-All Green Partnership) and Dr. Ben Belton (Michigan State University) will participate, followed by Dr. Roland Anglin, (Professor of Urban Studies at Levin College) on June 9.

Lakewood Public Library is offering free copies of All We Can Save while supplies last.

“The reading group is an outstanding program that Dr. Skladany and students from CSU have brought to Lakewood Public Library,” said Lisa Calfee, Assistant Supervisor, Public Services at Lakewood Public Library. “Dr. Skladany has a reputation for creating innovative programs that combine passion with scholarship, and in the case of All We Can Save, a distinguished panel of speakers as well. We couldn't ask for a better discussion about climate change which is, of course, a serious concern for many of our patrons. A huge thank you to the team from CSU!”