A working vacation for SSU professor

Sonoma State professor Rocky Roh-wedder is going to spend his summer cruising in the Mediterranean, stopping in exotic ports of call in such places as Italy, Croatia, Egypt and Morocco.

But it's no typical summer vacation.

Along the way, he'll be studying and teaching about sustainable communities and energy technology, examining the carbon footprints of Turkish towns and comparing U.S. energy policy with its counterpart in Bulgaria.

Rohwedder is making his second voyage with Semester at Sea, a study abroad program affiliated with the University of Virginia that sends about 700 undergraduate college students on journeys around the globe to get a first-hand look at communities they study aboard the ship.

"In Istanbul, Turkey, this summer, we are going to see some car-free city zones, so I'm working with a professor that is in Istanbul and she will host us and guide us a little bit," Rohwedder said.

The MV Explorer departs from Halifax, Canada, on June 16 and returns to Norfolk, Virginia, Aug. 22. Stops include Spain, Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria.

During the stops students are required to do independent study but also have time for independent travel.

"Twenty percent of what they do in every course is field work," said Lauren Heinz, spokeswoman for Semester at Sea.

It may sound like an odd arrangement, boarding a cruise liner with 700 students who have paid a minimum of $11,000 to travel the globe for the summer to study human rights and social justice, the theme of this summer's trip.

But Rohwedder said the experience is profound and academically and emotionally intense. He participated in a Semester at Sea program in 2007 with Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu who was a distinguished lecturer in residence.

"One of the things that is fairly clear is that we are extremely wealthy and extremely wasteful and extremely isolated culturally," Rohwedder said of the United States.

"In the southern hemisphere, I think you become profoundly aware of how extremely lucky you are. Things you take for granted, like the ability to turn the tap on and get clean water when you want it," he said. "It's a fast track to global consciousness. You become aware of your unique situation as a citizen of the United States."

Nearly 300 colleges and universities are represented by the 720 students enrolled this summer. The average grade point of the students is 3.3 and the top three majors are business administration, psychology and communications.

Forty-six states and Puerto Rico are represented. Three percent of the students are international citizens.

Sonoma State dean of social sciences Elaine Leeder is a two-time veteran of the Semester at Sea program in the '90s and said students on the Rohnert Park campus will benefit from Rohwedder's travels.

"I heard one of his talks when Rocky got back (in 2007) -- it impacted his teaching, what he teaches, how he teaches," she said.

"This is not a booze cruise. This is not a cruise," she said. "In fact, we call it a voyage."

Rohwedder says nothing compares to giving a lecture in a classroom, then walking out the door and into the community a class has just studied.

"We go out and field test what we are learning in class, what the people in the streets are saying," he said. "You'll read the line from the state department about what the policy is supposed to be, but then you talk to the people in the streets."

Staff Writer Kerry Benefield writes an education blog at extracredit.pressdemocrat.com. She can be reached at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com