Curriculum Development Workshops
Each year, we offer several online professional development workshops for faculty and staff from SCU and other higher education institutions. Please review which workshops best meet your needs and use the common application form to apply for the workshop(s) of your choice.
Comparing the Workshops: At a Glance
The Sustainability Across the Curriculum workshop is an introductory workshop for newcomers to this material or those in need of a refresher. The other two workshops are intermediate-level workshops for people who have some experience with the material and/or who especially want to develop their conceptual understanding of environmental justice/integral ecology or their pedagogy. Applicants are welcome to apply for more than one workshop in the same summer.
Workshop |
Dates |
Participants |
Content |
|
Sustainability Across the Curriculum |
June 23-27, 2025 |
Designed for faculty, instructional staff, and campus sustainability staff |
How to design a module or course on sustainability in any discipline. Parallel track on how to design a Sustainability across the Curriculum program at your institution. |
|
Environmental Justice and Integral Ecology |
July 7-11, 2025 |
Designed for faculty, instructional staff, and campus sustainability staff |
Deeper focus on how to teach about environmental justice and integral ecology in any discipline. Parallel track on how to design an Environmental Justice across the Curriculum program at your institution. |
|
Pedagogy for Sustainability and Justice |
July 21-25, 2025 |
Designed for faculty, instructional staff, and campus sustainability staff |
Deeper focus on how to design project-based and experiential learning, community-based learning and community-engaged research projects, and using the campus as a living lab for applied learning about sustainability and justice. Parallel track on how to design a pedagogy-focused professional development program at your institution. |
See full Workshop Descriptions
How the Workshops are Taught
Each workshop involves around eight hours of work over one week. Workshops are taught using a hybrid method: live videoconference meetings establish expectations and relationships among participants and provide open office hours with instructors, and self-paced online instruction allows participants to work at their own pace. At the end of each module, participants apply what they have learned to design an aspect of a course or training program, contributing these assignments to small-group online discussions among members of the learning community. Throughout, participants receive feedback on their plans from their cohort and the instructors. All participants who finish a course will receive a certificate; SCU participants are also eligible for a stipend. The workshops offer access to repositories of curricular examples, pedagogy, case studies, and other materials.
Reviews
Last summer, almost 50 participants from across the country completed at least one of our three workshops and they rated the workshops highly. All participants agreed that the workshops provided useful knowledge and resources, and that they would recommend the workshops to a friend. As one faculty member noted, “Overall, it was a highly valuable week, and I feel well-equipped to apply what I’ve learned. Thank you for an exceptional learning opportunity!”
Videos: See Accounting Professor Stacey Ritter describe how she revised her course and Ethnic Studies Professor Jesica Fernandez discuss her experience in the workshops.
Instructors
Chad Raphael is a Faculty Associate for Sustainability across the Curriculum at SCU’s Center for Sustainability, a Co-Coordinator of the Environmental Justice and the Common Good Initiative, and a Professor and former Department Chair of Communication at Santa Clara University.
Leslie Gray is a Faculty Associate for Academic Programs at SCU’s Center for Sustainability, and a Professor and former Department Chair in Environmental Studies and Sciences.
Lindsey Kalbrenner is the Director of SCU’s Center for Sustainability and teaches courses in SCU’s Department of Management and Entrepreneurship.
Veronica Johnson is the Academics and Engagement Program Manager of SCU’s Center for Sustainability, the former Sustainability Coordinator at Southwestern University, and studying for the EdD in Educational Sustainability at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Collectively, the instructors have over 50 years combined experience in teaching, leading undergraduate research projects, and designing campus-based and community-based learning about sustainability. Under Lindsey’s leadership of initiatives across campus operations, education, and campus and community outreach, SCU has earned top rankings for sustainability from AASHE and the Princeton Review.
Costs and Stipends
In 2025, registration fees are $150 per workshop for non-SCU participants.
SCU participants are welcome to apply for as many workshops as they like but are compensated for the number of courses they revise. SCU participants are eligible for a $500 stipend for revising or adding a module to one course, $750 for revising or adding a module to two courses, and $1000 for revising or adding a module to three or more courses. SCU participants are eligible for a $750 stipend for developing a brand-new course focused entirely on sustainability. Revised curricula must be submitted to sustainability@scu.edu by September 15.
Application Deadlines
Applications for all workshops open in February and are considered on a rolling basis. Those who apply by Tuesday, April 1, 2025, will receive top priority. Applications close May 2, 2025. Expect a response to your application within one week of submission, starting in April.
Contact
Please contact sustainability@scu.edu with any questions.
Workshop Descriptions
Participants: This workshop is for instructors in any discipline who are planning to include a module on sustainability in an existing course or to develop a new course focused entirely on sustainability. A parallel track for staff and faculty members who are leading campus sustainability efforts addresses how to design and implement a Sustainability across the Curriculum program at your institution.
Agenda: The workshop will help participants draw inspiration from multiple visions of sustainability, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Laudato Si’ University Pathways, and academic associations in multiple fields. Modules introduce how to use the campus for experiential and project-based learning about sustainability, as well as options for community-based learning. Exercises will help faculty to begin drafting their learning goals, focal questions for students, and activities. An optional module introduces teaching about environmental justice. All participants will leave with resources on designing sustainability curricula and assignments in all fields.
Dates: The workshop begins with a live orientation on Zoom on June 23, 9:30 - 10:30 am (Pacific Time). Thereafter, participants can complete the material at their own pace between June 23 – June 27.
Cost: $150 for non-SCU participants. A limited number of scholarships for applicants who do not have funding from their institutions may be available.
Participants: This workshop is for instructors in any discipline who want to develop or deepen their teaching about environmental justice and integral ecology. A parallel track for staff and faculty members who are leading campus curriculum reform efforts addresses how to design and implement an Environmental Justice across the Curriculum program at your institution. While some material in the workshop is especially designed for colleagues at Jesuit and Catholic schools, participants from all institutions are welcome.
Agenda: The workshop will equip participants with a deep understanding of environmental justice and integral ecology, and how they can be integrated into any discipline. Modules introduce the central concepts, and support participants to design learning goals and assignments in their disciplines on multiple issues (such as food justice, water justice, law and advocacy, health, urban planning, community economic development, and more). The workshop also helps instructors to relate academic learning to students’ vocations and community engagement for environmental justice and integral ecology.
Dates: The workshop begins with a live orientation on Zoom on July 7, 9:30 - 10:30 am (Pacific Time). Thereafter, participants can complete the material at their own pace between July 7 – July 11.
Cost: $150 for non-SCU participants. A limited number of scholarships for applicants who do not have funding from their institutions may be available.
Participants: This workshop is for instructors in any discipline who want to refine or discover new methods of teaching about sustainability and justice. A parallel track for staff and faculty members who are leading campus curriculum reform efforts addresses how to train instructors on your campus in pedagogy for justice and sustainability.
Agenda: The workshop prepares participants to design project-based and experiential learning; create community-based learning and community-engaged research projects; use the campus as a living lab for applied learning about sustainability and justice; and apply Ignatian pedagogy to teach students about sustainability, environmental justice, and integral ecology. Modules support participants to design lesson plans, projects, and other assignments for high-impact, transformative learning experiences, and contributing to sustainability and justice on campus and in communities.
Dates: The workshop begins with a live orientation on Zoom on July 21, 9:30 - 10:30 am (Pacific Time). Thereafter, participants can complete the material at their own pace between July 21 – July 25.
Cost: $150 for non-SCU participants. A limited number of scholarships for applicants who do not have funding from their institutions may be available.
Partners
Our workshops are affiliated with several organizations.
SCU’s Center for Sustainability empowers SCU students, faculty, and staff to build a more humane, just, and sustainable world.
SCU’s Environmental Justice & the Common Good Initiative supports faculty and staff at SCU and other universities to implement the Laudato Si’ University Pathways.
SCU is a national Center for Sustainability Across the Curriculum affiliated with the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
