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.

Cal Poly Faculty Sustainability Fellow Call for Applications

due May 19, 2023

The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology (CTLT), in collaboration with Facilities Management and Development, is taking applications for a two-year Sustainability Faculty Fellow for academic years 2023-24 and 2024-25.

The Sustainability Faculty Fellow (SFF) will help focus Cal Poly’s efforts to prepare students to pursue social justice, promote environmental responsibility, and improve economic conditions in their workplaces and communities. This two-year pilot fellowship is open to instructors of all ranks (with at least two years of service to Cal Poly, SLO).

The Sustainability Faculty Fellow will work closely with the Facilities Sustainability Coordinator, the CTLT Sustainability Across the Curriculum Specialist, Colleges, the appropriate Academic Senate committees, and the office of the Vice Provost to implement and evaluate programs to support sustainability literacy learning across the curriculum.  

Sustainability Faculty Fellow responsibilities include:  

• Develop and provide formal and informal training for instructors to teach sustainability literacy in their classes across the curriculum, including providing stipended workshops and one-on-one teaching consultations with instructors 
• Help instructors revise, update, and/or propose new courses that align with the revised Sustainability Learning Outcomes the Academic Senate Sustainability Committee is currently updating to integrate sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion principles 
• Lead biennial student assessments of sustainability literacy and behaviors  
• Implement measures to track sustainability research with the Grants Development Office and across campus  
• Identify funding to assist student and faculty sustainability research at Cal Poly 
• Participate as a non-voting member of the ASSC  
• Lead a Teaching Sustainability community of practice and community events 
• Assist with the appropriate sections of the AASHE STARS report  

Benefits to Faculty Fellow:  

• Release time totaling 12 WTUs per academic year (not to exceed 4 WTUs per quarter) for a 2-year term 
• Funding for attendance at the off-site workshop, “Infusing Sustainability Across the Curriculum”  
• Professional development and service opportunities to be used for retention, tenure, and promotion  

To apply, please complete the Application for the Sustainability Faculty Fellow Position.

For best consideration, applications should be received by Friday, May 12, 2023, and no later than Friday, May 19, 2023. The review of applications will begin Friday, May 12. 

For more information regarding this position, please contact sustainability@calpoly.edu

Teaching Climate Change and Resilience: CSU-Wide Faculty Learning Community

Feb 9-May 5, 2022

Every discipline has a role to play in finding global climate change solutions, but what keeps us from discussing climate change in our courses?

The CTLT and Cal Poly's Facilities Energy, Utilities, and Sustainability team invite faculty to apply for the CSU-wide Faculty Learning Community (FLC) in Teaching Climate Change and Resilience. This FLC will help participants think about teaching and learning focused on climate change and resilience. The goals for participants in this 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.

Learn more and apply: CSU-Wide Faculty Learning Community in Teaching Climate Change and Resilience

Sustainability Across the Curriculum Workshops

By Request

Are you an instructor interested in teaching sustainability concepts in your classroom but needs help identifying methods? These highly interactive workshops are for folks who want to learn more about the Sustainability Student Learning Outcomes and ways to infuse them into coursework. These workshops are interdisciplinary and introductory. 

Learn more: Sustainability Across the Curriculum page

Quick Qualify Workshops

Online

These workshops are interdisciplinary and intermediate to help you review and update your syllabus so that it qualifies for inclusion in the SUSCAT. They are designed to guide language revisions in course documents to more accurately reflect how the courses have already incorporated sustainability. This will communicate to students the role of sustainability in the courses and allow each to contribute to Cal Poly's overall status on the AASHE ratings.

Learn more: Quick Qualify Workshop page