Sustainability in the Curriculum
As a polytechnic university, Cal Poly has long made sustainability a centerpiece of its educational purpose. That dedication is reflected in the campus's Sustainability Learning Objectives (SLOs) articulated as essential educational components for all students in all majors. Momentum is building on campus, as evidenced by achieving a STARS Silver Rating in 2017 from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). This page assembles the various programs and services that CTLT offers campus educators to enhance and expand sustainability across the curriculum in support of the SLOs and the continued pursuit of advanced STARS ratings.
Sustainability Catalog (SUSCAT) Course Inclusion Workshop
Offered Multiple Dates in spring 2025:
Thursday, April 10, 10-11:30 am
Thursday, April 24, 10-11:30 am
Tuesday, April 29, 3-4:40 pm
Tuesday, May 13, 3-4:40 pm
There is still time to include your course in the 2026 Curriculum Catalog as a Sustainability focused or related course, so choose a date and attend this activity-focused workshop. These workshops provide valuable insights into aligning all or part of your course curriculum and course content with sustainability principles, meeting institutional sustainability goals, and gaining formal recognition within the university’s sustainability framework. Whether you are developing a new course or adapting an existing one, this workshop will offer guidance, resources, and collaborative opportunities to ensure your curriculum contributes to a more sustainable future.
Learn more and register: SUSCAT Course Inclusion Workshop
Cultivating Connections Part One: Understanding of and Engagement with Native Nations
next offered TBD
In Cultivating Connections Part One, participants will gain insights into appropriate terminology and language use, cultural nuances and sensibilities, and the sustainable land-based practices and values foundational to Indigenous land management and stewardship. The first session will focus on the basics of understanding Native Nations and the formal relationship with the U.S. During the second session, workshop facilitators and faculty members will develop guidelines for establishing respectful protocols when engaging with Tribal communities in academic endeavors across different fields. This workshop will enhance instructors’ understanding of Indigenous populations and help researchers who wish to work with Native Nations in their scholarship.
Lunch will be provided. Stipends of $500 are available for eligible participants who attend both days of this workshop and submit required reflective workshop deliverables. (Download CTLT Stipend Policies PDF)
This workshop is capped at 25 participants. The deadline to register is TBD
Facilitator: Becca Lucas, Instructor of Native American/American Indian related topics in Ethnic Studies (CLA) and a member of the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini, Northern Chumash Tribe of San Luis Obispo Region and County
Register for Cultivating Connections, Parts One and Two
Cultivating Connections Part Two: Integrating Indigenous Perspectives into Sustainability Curricula
Next offered tbd
In Cultivating Connections Part Two, participants will build on insights acquired during Part One to finesse their terminology, language use, and awareness of cultural nuances and sensitivities as they create their academic documents, whether syllabi, classroom materials, scholarly articles, or research grant proposals. All participants will investigate ways to respectfully suffuse their work with sustainable land-based practices and values foundational to Indigenous land management and stewardship. Instructor participants will work collaboratively to create practical activities that can be integrated into their curriculum that reflect these Indigenous practices and principles.
Lunch will be provided. Stipends of $200 are available for eligible participants who attend both days of this workshop and submit required reflective workshop deliverables. (Download CTLT Stipend Policies PDF)
This workshop is capped at 20 participants. The deadline to register is TBD
Facilitator: Becca Lucas, Instructor of Native American/American Indian related topics in Ethnic Studies (CLA) and a member of the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini, Northern Chumash Tribe of San Luis Obispo Region and County
Register for Cultivating Connections, Parts One and Two
The California State University Teaching Climate Change and Resilience Faculty Learning Community
Feb 13-April 23, 2024--APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
Every discipline has a role to play in finding global climate change solutions, but what keeps us from discussing climate change in our courses?
To answer that, the California State University (CSU) Teaching Climate Change and Resilience (TCCR) Faculty Learning Community (FLC) was developed by Dr. Mark Stemen, Professor of Geography and Planning at Chico State, and was offered for the first time in Spring 2022. Since then, the TCCR FLC has been featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education and has received the Campus Sustainability Achievement Award by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and most recently received recognition from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
In Winter/Spring 2024, the TCCR FLC will be offered again, with the support of Chico State’s Office of the President and College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, and the Office of the Chancellor’s Innovative Teaching & Learning Programs. The FLC will be open to all CSU campuses and aligns with the California State University Sustainability Policy, which “is intended to position the nation's largest university system as a leader in the teaching and use of applied research to educate climate literate students.”
The CTLT and Cal Poly's Facilities Energy, Utilities, and Sustainability team invite faculty to apply for the CSU-wide Teaching Climate Change and Resilience Faculty Learning Community. The goals for participants in this TCCR FLC are to:
- Learn about and develop or modify course curriculum with a focus on climate change, climate justice, and resilience
- Gain collegial support for teaching sustainability across the disciplines.
- Work collaboratively to identify and design pedagogical approaches to teach students about sustainability problems paired with investigating possible solutions together
Conversations will be driven by the questions that emerge from participants’ particular course contexts.
$500 stipends are available for eligible employees who complete the FLC requirements. (Download CTLT Stipend Policies PDF) Please submit applications by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 15, 2023. Your application will be shared with your campus FLC Lead for selection and registration. NOTE: New applicants who did not participate in the 2022 FLC will receive priority placement.
Learn more and apply: Teaching Climate Change & Resilience FLC Application Spring 2024
