Joseph Sarkis

In each issue of the Journal we introduce you to members of the faculty through items they have in their offices.

1. Cassette Recorder

I used this recorder as we traveled to a number of U.S. cities and states to interview pulp and paper industry representatives for a study on sustainability topics. I remember walking down Beale Street in Memphis, Tenn., on one visit.

2. Certificate

This is from the American University of Cairo in recognition of an address made on Sustainable Transformation for Cairo and Egypt, with a particular focus on sustainable supply chains. While there as a visiting professor, I rode a camel and saw the pyramids.

3. Paperweight

This comes from colleagues from Universitas Padjadjaran in Bandung, Indonesia, to thank me for giving the keynote address at their conference on sustainability science. The conference was also related to my work with the Greening of Industry Networks (GIN), which I’ve been involved with for over 25 years. I help organize conferences throughout the world and manage publications for GIN.

4. Thesis

This is a dissertation thesis for a PhD student from Linköping University in Sweden. I was flown in as an “opponent” to question the student, who successfully defended. It’s an hours-long event that ends with a large party to celebrate. I participated in a Finnish one as well, which is called a Koronka.

5. Greetings From Ghana

This is a gift I received from a Ghanian PhD student in China whose dissertation I supervised. He is now an associate professor at the University of Southampton.

6. Teak Cardholder

This was a gift from Hangzhou Dianzi University in Hangzhou, China, where I taught courses on two separate occasions. We were hoping to travel there for IQP projects, but plans have been canceled three years in a row. We are still persevering and eventually will make it back again!

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