ABSTRACT
In the recent shale gas boom, US universities and colleges have become increasingly involved in energy governance. This chapter examines institutions of higher education as microcosms of some of the procedural and substantive justice issues pertaining to hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” It examines the organized responses of faculty, staff, and students to the possibility of mineral rights leasing and subsequent shale gas operations near or on campus at four universities: Allegheny College (Meadville, Pennsylvania), Bethany College (Bethany, West Virginia), Ohio University (Athens, Ohio), and the University of Northern Colorado (Greeley, Colorado). The chapter demonstrates that when the impetus for organized inquiry into campus fracking came from university administration, the resulting processes were more representative of stakeholders and engendered more comprehensive education efforts and research products than in cases where administrations did not seek or support organized inquiry and related processes. The findings thus demonstrate the democratization of energy governance (or promotion of “ecological democracy”) to be greater in cases where administrations’ actions promoted organized participation in campus dialogue, education, and decision-making. It is contended that this campus-based organizing has a transformative potential in the context of corporatization, even in cases where efforts are not actively supported by university administration.
