Dr. Ko attended the 3rd Annual HBCU Student Climate Change Conference, held in New Orleans, from March 26-29, 2015, hosted by the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Dillard University .
Students and faculty members from 21 HBCU institutions across the nation, including Jackson State University, discussed the challenges and health risks of minority communities near polluting industrial facilities, and associated environmental justice, and potential health risks of minority communities driven by the climate change. During the Conference, they also discussed logistics regarding sending the HBCU delegation to the upcoming 2015 UN Climate Change Conference, in Paris, France, from Nov. 30, to Dec. 11, 2015.
Dr. Ko gave a presentatation (titled, 'Challenges in developing and implementing coastal protection projects against increasing sea level rise: A case study of the Caernarvon river diversion in Louisiana.'), and built networks with the faculty members from other HBCU institutions on coastal management, and devoted efforts to recruit students for the Public Policy Program at Jackson State University.
