Next week is the Global Teacher Seminar co-hosted by the area studies centers of the Office of International Affairs. We organized the session with Professor Rattan Lal, world renown expert on sustainability, food security, and soil science. He will speak to the teachers and answer their questions about the critical role of soil in saving our atmosphere, protecting the living things on Earth, and how humanity can ensure food security into the future. Religious and agricultural traditions the Middle East and South Asia offer us rich sources of knowledge about soil and its importance for human life (Lal, 2013). These and many other things will be a part of the conversation, including Professor Lal's take on the climate changes induced by the current pandemic and lock-downs happening worldwide (2020).