Gesa Kirsch, professor of English and co-founder of the Women's Leadership Institute at Bentley, was accepted to the Summer Institute for College and University Faculty, sponsored by the Institute for Humanities Research at Arizona State University, and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The program, "Rethinking the Land Ethic: Sustainability and the Humanities," will be held from June 20 to July 15, 2011, in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Kirsch is among a select group of college and university faculty members chosen to join Arizona State University faculty and guest speakers to investigate sustainability through study, research, discussions and field trips. The program is designed to demonstrate the important role the humanities play in helping understand a topic that is often framed in technical terms. 

Kirsch is a humanities scholar with training in rhetorical and feminist studies. In 2009, she developed an experiential, place-based writing course focused on sustainability, social responsibility, and a sense of place. Through participation in the summer institute, she aims to explore new ways to help refine the course and foster future research.