Courtesy of Sustainability Curriculum Consortium

“advancing curriculum and faculty development
for sustainability in higher education”

SCC Update
September 26, 2017

In this issue…

Launching SCC’s Curriculum Dialogue — a follow-on activity from the SCC Faculty Conference 2017
Upcoming SCC Webinars — Save the Dates and pre-register
SCC Online Cohorts — pre-register expressions of interest
Additional SCC webinars to be scheduled — pre-register expressions of interest
Newest SCC Advisory Council Members

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SCC Curriculum Dialogue

Following the SCC Faculty Conference in Philadelphia on June 26-27, the SCC team carefully reviewed feedback from the attendees, including requests for specific topics to be addressed in SCC activities in the 2017-18 academic year. We also reviewed the results of the SCC Faculty Survey and the analysis prepared by Peter Soyka, especially the responses relating to greatest challenges and perceived needs.

This body of information informed our ambitious plans for webinars and online cohorts detailed in this newsletter below. Additionally, in response to the call by many SCC Faculty Conference attendees for a mechanism to facilitate an ongoing discussion, we are announcing the launch of the SCC Curriculum Dialogue.

The conference included a well-received session on “Sorting Curriculum at the 100, 300, and 500 Levels,” in which presenters offered 4 different perspectives. The suggestion was made that we continue that discussion in greater detail. We agreed. Therefore, in early October we will convene an online dialogue focused on curricular options. The dialogue will be structured and facilitated by several SCC Advisory Council members as well as presenters from the SCC Faculty Conference.

To receive an invitation which will allow you to opt-in to the SCC Curriculum Dialogue (to be convened on our Collaborase platform) please use the sign-up form here.

Upcoming SCC Webinars — Save the Dates

Monday, October 23 at 2PM Eastern

“Sustainability Science”Vanessa Levesque
University of New Hampshire

and panelists (TBA)

Details to be posted. Pre-register here.

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Wednesday, October 25 at 2PM Eastern

“Sustainability Competencies”Peter Buckland
Penn State University

Details to be posted. Pre-register here.

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Monday, October 30 at 2PM Eastern

“Sustainable Design“Jason Kliwinski
NJIT & Rowan University

Details to be posted. Pre-register here.—–

Wednesday, November 1 PM Eastern

“Sustainability Guidebook for Community Colleges”

Krista Hiser
University of Hawaii

Details to be posted. Pre-register here.

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Wednesday, November 8 at 2PM Eastern

“Character-based Education”Edward Quevedo
Aligned Growth Partners

Details to be posted. Pre-register here.

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SCC Online Cohorts

[What are SCC cohorts? See box below for full details*]

Please express your interest in the following SCC cohorts by pre-registering below. “No regret” pre-registration secures your priority enrollment slot, but does not commit you in any way. You will be contacted to finalize arrangements once the cohort start date is established. Cohorts will be scheduled based on sufficient expressions of interest received.

SDGs Cohort — All faculty teaching sustainability topics must understand the Sustainable Development Goals and the Development Agenda for 2030 as the roadmap for sustainability over the next 15 years.

Pre-register here.Sustainable Business Cohort — What are sustainable business practices? Especially for faculty without a business background, this cohort will be a deep dive into the basics of sustainable business illustrated by key case studies.

Pre-register here.

Change Management Cohort — This cohort will address such topics as incorporating “change” in the classroom experience, the difference between change leadership and change management, engaging students beyond the classroom to connect curriculum to learning outside the class, and changing the “growth” paradigm.

Pre-register here.

Communications & Messaging Cohort — Better messaging will impact the behavior change necessary to advance sustainability thinking at every level of scale. Based on the latest research and techniques, this cohort will be introduce the fundamentals and applied examples across a range of sustainability issues.

Pre-register here.

“Lone Rangers” ™ Cohort — This cohort will serve as a peer group for solo champions and newly-tasked program leaders who are presently going it alone to take a sustainability program to the next level.

Pre-register here.

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More SCC Webinars —
additional topics being scheduled

Please express your interest in the following upcoming SCC webinars by pre-registering. If you pre-register, you will be advised via email when the webinar is scheduled. We are currently identifying panelists. Prospective panelists with expertise on these topics may contact <ira@curriculumforsustainability.org>.

“Living labs” — A form of experiential learning, a “living lab” is a place-based research concept that utilizes the college campus as a test-bed for innovation and knowledge generation.

Pre-register here:

“International approaches” — This webinar series will explore innovations and advances in curriculum and faculty development in the UK, Australia and other countries.

Pre-register here.

“Diversity, equity, justice” — This webinar will explore the intersection of diversity, justice and sustainability. Diversity is the process of recognizing our differences and similarities and creating an environment that capitalizes on them. Equity is the fairness in the way people are treated.

Pre-register here.

“Collective Leadership for Sustainability” –Collective Leadership is the capacity of a group of actors to deliver their unique contribution to a joint purpose collaboratively. The concept informs adecision-making framework for leaders that distinguishes between simple, complicated, complex, and chaotic change.

Pre-register here.

What is SCC’s process for Online Cohorts?

With our SCC Online Cohorts, we are pioneering a proprietary modular process that offers sustainability educators a quick and credible means to become conversant with a specific aspect of pedagogy, content (basic core topics or emerging trends), and/or leadership skills to keep pace with important developments in education for sustainable development (ESD), as well as to develop a useful work product to support teaching sustainability in the college classroom.

Our innovative approach to Online Cohorts will be utilized for “deeper dives” into specific topics over a 6 to 8 week period than would be possible in a typical 90 minute webinar. Our Online Cohort process combines the following four components into an integrated mini-course:

— key background readings identified by session leaders,
— expert-led webinars on the web-based GoToWebinar platform,
— interactive follow-on peer-to-peer discussions on Collaborase™, our online collaboration platform, and
— the co-creation of a cohort deliverable by all participants for their exclusive use

Individuals and/or small teams from different institutions – ideally 12 to 20 participants – opt in to SCC online cohorts to pursue a “consortium approach.” The participants in the cohort share the costs and share the benefits. Costs are shared in the form of a reasonable participation fee. At the outset, all participants agree to a shared understanding of the group’s goals and commit to engage in the full cohort process with best efforts and in good faith.

All participants will benefit from the expertise of the group leaders, the follow-on peer-to-peer exchange, and individualized attention. Importantly, participants will share in the co-created results, i.e. deliverable(s), of the process. The initial use of these deliverables will be strictly limited to the cohort participants.

The form of the deliverable is determined by the participants themselves with guidance from the session leaders. The co-created product might be a synthesis document, a set of learning outcomes, a syllabus or module, or a PPT deck to present to colleagues at your institution.

For further information on SCC Online Cohorts please contact <ira@curriculumforsustainability.org>.

Welcome SCC’s newest Advisory Council members

Tom Gloria

Dr. Gloria is Director of the Sustainability Program at Harvard University’s Division of Continuing Education (DCE). The program offers a Master’s of Liberal Arts in the field of Sustainability as well as 4 related professional graduate certificates to more than 350 matriculated master’s students and 2,000 overall enrollments. In addition to his duties as Director, he is a trusted advisor to fortune 500 companies on strategic sustainability initiatives. Dr. Gloria is Chair of the International Society of Industrial Ecology’s Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment Committee, Associate Editor of the Journal of Industrial Ecology and serves on Ceres’ GM Company Sustainability Stakeholder Committee. He regularly lectures for the Harvard University Extension School, Tufts University, the Presidio Graduate School, and the International Society of Sustainability Professionals. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Tufts University and a B.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Science Engineering from the University of Connecticut.

Vanessa Levesque

Vanessa Levesque is the Assistant Director and Lecturer for the Sustainability Dual Major at University of New Hampshire-Durham. Dr. Levesque received her PhD in Ecology and Environmental Studies from the University of Maine as a research fellow with the Sustainability Solutions Initiative. Her teaching and research integrates knowledge and methods from multiple disciplines, with a particular interest in sustainability science and collaborative governance. Dr. Levesque holds an MS in Natural Resources Planning from the University of Vermont and a BA in Ecology and Evolution from Dartmouth College. In addition to her academic background, Dr. Levesque has worked in the field of environmental planning and policy at local, state and federal levels, she is a trained facilitator, and she spent three years in Uganda as a Peace Corps volunteer. Vanessa has twin girls, lives in Portland, Maine with her family, and loves all things outdoors.

SCC Advisory Services

With the substantial and growing interest in sustainability as a subject matter domain in colleges and universities, those tasked with deciding how best to define and integrate sustainability into the academic curriculum (as distinct from operating the physical plant) are seeking credible and experienced guidance.

College and university faculty and administrators seeking to develop their own approaches to teaching sustainability may face some difficult challenges, including the lack of consensus regarding the definitions of and core competencies required to become a sustainability practitioner; limited and incomplete sets of principles, practices, and policies for establishing and delivering college-level sustainability curricula; and the availability of only partial and anecdotal materials (e.g., text books, course materials, case studies). Thus, it may be difficult for sustainability program advocates to know where and how to begin or to improve the results of ongoing efforts.

The Sustainability Curriculum Consortium (SCC) is positioned to provide assistance to sustainability leaders seeking to develop or improve the formulation, delivery, and effectiveness of sustainability curricula. Our staff, advisory committee members, and associated volunteers and supporters offer extensive experience in working with organizations to improve their effectiveness, and in bringing new and creative approaches to bear in resolving complex problems.

We provide an array of advisory services to sustainability champions at colleges and universities whether seeking to initiate a program or enhance an existing program. See our Advisory Services webpage here. Let’s discuss the full menu of options tailored to your program. Please direct your inquiries to: <ira@curriculumforsustainability.org>.

SCC BASICS

The Sustainability Curriculum Consortium is incorporated in Maryland as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

SCC is aligning its activities around three key themes:

• Pedagogy: Innovative approaches for ESD educators
• Substantive Content: Building capacity and sharing resorces on both fundamental topics and emerging trends
• Leadership: Understanding the significance of leadership in the ESD context

SCC is an AASHE member organization.SCC email:
admin@curriculumforsustainability.org

SCC mailing address:
Box 34088, Bethesda, MD 20827, USA

SCC Update:
To receive the SCC Update and other announcements, sign up here.

An archive of past SCC Updates is available here.

A recap of the SCC Faculty Conference 2017 is available here.

Planning for SCC Faculty Conference 2018

With the great success of the inaugural SCC Faculty Conference, planning has begun for the next SCC Faculty Conference in Spring 2018, location TBA.

The agenda will once again focus on SCC’s three themes: pedagogy, content, and leadership.

The Program Committee is already accepting expressions of interest for presentations, panels and workshops at: <admin@curriculumforsustainability.org>.

Inquiries for exhibitors and sponsors, please contact: <ira@curriculumforsustainability.org>.

Join SCC at the AASHE Conference in San Antonio

We are looking forward to the AASHE Annual Conference in San Antonio this October, where we will lead the session:

Curriculum Development & Faculty Development through a Consortium Approach

Monday, October 16, at 9:15 AM

This session will be a great opportunity for you to share insights and experiences with colleagues who — like you — are thirsty for advice and support on curriculum and faculty development topics. We are eager to meet the many participants in SCC activities thus far, so please attend and introduce yourself!