75 Faculty Trained at Sustainability Curriculum Workshops
At SCU, we recognize that sustainability isn’t just a standalone concept. To make the effective change called for by Laudato Si’, ecological and ethical understanding must be an integral part of every classroom, encouraging students to consider their role in addressing climate change and advancing social justice. This summer, more than 75 faculty and staff took part in our Sustainability and Justice Across the Curriculum (SJAC) workshops, acquiring the skills to bring sustainability, equity, and justice into everyday teaching.
98% of participants would recommend the workshop to a colleague.
Over 300 faculty and staff from SCU and other institutions have taken part in these workshops, resulting in course revisions that have reached thousands of students. Since 2007, the SJAC program has grown into a robust series of week-long summer workshops that have been attended by SCU faculty from all of our 6 schools and colleges. Notably, the faculty cohort of BUSN 70, the required entry course for all business majors, attended a workshop this summer to ensure that sustainability will be integrated in a meaningful way at the start of every SCU business student’s studies.
In addition to the introductory Sustainability Across the Curriculum session, two additional workshops offer a deeper focus on teaching environmental justice and integral ecology, and on integrating project-based experiential learning and community-engaged research.
"The workshops are a great opportunity for instructors looking to design or revise their courses and for sustainability staff who want to create or strengthen faculty development programs to spread sustainability across the curriculum at their institutions." -Workshop Participant
Beyond curriculum development, the SJAC workshops offer a space where faculty can learn from one another and build connections that support their ongoing commitment to teaching sustainability. This summer, SCU faculty were joined online by educators from 17 other colleges and universities across the country. Together they shared resources, strategies, and inspiration. Every participant reported that the program met their goals, and an overwhelming number said they would recommend it to a colleague.
The workshops directly advance SCU’s Sustainability Strategic Plan sub-strategies that all students will fulfill at least one sustainability learning requirement, undergraduate students will have at least one formational high-impact learning experience centered on sustainability and justice, and faculty have the teaching resources and support they need to bring integral ecology and justice into their courses. Together, this creates a foundation for the University’s Impact 2030 strategic Priority, Solutions for the Universal Good, and its goal to “Support research and thought leadership that examines the causes of environmental injustice and vulnerability.” Bringing sustainability and justice into the classroom empowers students to imagine and create a more sustainable and just world across every field.
This program is offered jointly by SCU Center for Sustainability and SCU's Environmental Justice & Common Good Initiative. SCU is a national training center for Sustainability Across the Curriculum affiliated with AASHE.
Faculty interested in participating in next summer’s workshops can watch for an invitation in Winter Quarter or reach out to Professor Chad Raphael at craphael@scu.edu. The SCU community can also explore progress toward our curriculum goals through the Sustainability Data Hub.