Faculty
Here are tips and suggestions for how to get involved in the sustainability movement on campus as a faculty member:
- Connect with the Center for Sustainability in Education (CSE) and get involved in their initiatives including:
- A Faculty Learning Community
- Affiliate Faculty Program
- The Tidewater Project
- Join the Academic Sustainability Committee (ASC). Contact the CSE for more information.
- Include a sustainability statement in your syllabi. The ASC has developed a customizable boilerplate statement for you to easily add.
- See our Faculty Guide for Creating a More Sustainable Classroom.
- Expand our sustainability courses list by adding sustainability examples, modules and projects into your classes. Contact the CSE if you would like to explore working with us for a class project.
- Provide links to resources on Scholar to facilitate and encourage your students to adopt more sustainable behaviors and lifestyle choices. See our "Resources" page for some suggestions.
- Be an active advocate for and support sustainability initiatives at all scales:
- At an institutional level at Christopher Newport University
- In Newport News and/or your home municipality
- In Virginia
- On a national level
More about the CSE
The mission of the Center for Sustainability in Education (CSE) is to embed sustainability in the academic lives of students, faculty and staff and is in full alignment with the vision and spirit of Christopher Newport University. The CSE serves as a hub for students, faculty, staff and community leaders to work together to explore complex themes at the nexus of human and ecological well-being. The CSE creates and supports opportunities for learning about sustainability through coursework, research, co-curricular activities and civic engagement. In essence, the CSE is a fulcrum for leveraging the best of the liberal arts to learn about and solve sustainability challenges.
Firmly rooted in academic affairs, CSE initiatives include:
- A faculty learning community to discuss and share best practices for infusing sustainability into the curriculum
- The Tidewater Project, a two-day workshop to guide faculty in incorporating sustainability into their existing courses as well as new course development
- In development, with the first session planned for the summer of 2022
- Student internship and fellowship programs
- Opportunities to engage outside the classroom that align with CNU’s Four Pillars
- An affiliate faculty program that highlights faculty expertise and serves as a liaison for interested students and community members
- Coordinated grant-seeking efforts to supplement financial support of the CSE
The first year of the CSE focuses on capacity building including funding; however, long-term goals include creating space for Christopher Newport to emerge as a regional leader in sustainability.