Alan Alda recently joined Sustainability Management Lecturer Claudia Dreifus' class to discuss his interest in the field, his founding of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, and why it is important for educators to utilize storytelling and journalism to explain complex concepts.
As part of the Writing About Global Science for the International Media class, Alda, 7-time Emmy Award–winning actor and star of M*A*S*H and The West Wing, was interviewed by Dreifus, who is also a contributor to The New York Review of Books, as well as students and select guests.
"When we started, it was not that popular to teach communicating science," said Alda. "Older professors would say, I have too much else to teach my students, as though communication wasn't an essential part of science."
The conversation centered on Alda’s personal journey from performer to teacher. He helped to found the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University. As a Visiting Professor, Alda teaches scientists and medical students how to use journalism and theater to tell their stories more effectively.
This summer, Dreifus is teaching Writing About Science for the International Media.
Learn more about Columbia's M.S. in Sustainability Management.
