Sustainability Faculty Scholars

The Sustainability Faculty Scholars program identifies, supports, and recognizes faculty who are interested in incorporating or enhancing a focus on sustainable principles and practices in their courses, and exploring a range of pedagogies to develop this theme. We encourage applicants to consider sustainability broadly. Focus may fall under any of the “three pillars” of environmental, social, and economic sustainability or under one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Participants are selected through an application process. There are typically five to eight faculty in each cohort. Each participant identifies a course that they would like to create or modify to include a sustainability component, relevant to their discipline. Through the scholars program, the faculty member is provided with support for course development, including relevant sustainability resources and pedagogies. Ideally, their new or revised course is taught the following academic year. Applicants must be full-time, permanent faculty members. Faculty selected to participate will receive a $1,000 stipend upon completion of program requirements.

Faculty selected as scholars will learn together from a series of workshops that focus on sustainability, relevant pedagogies and syllabus design. They will also have access to a moodle site with syllabi, teaching materials and other relevant resources. Additional opportunities include formal and informal activities in spring, summer and fall with past scholars and other members of the Elon community. These activities include lunch-and-learns and other planned programming.

The program was developed by Janet MacFall, Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology; Michael Strickland, Lecturer in Environmental Studies and English; Pam Kiser, Watts/Thompson Professor, Professor of Human Service Studies and Distinguished University Professor; and Peter Felten, Assistant Provost and Executive Director of the Center for Engaged Learning.

The program has had participants from diverse disciplines including art, biology, business administration, business law, communications, computing sciences, engineering, English, exercise science, geography, health and human performance, history, leisure and sports management, physics and sociology. Here are a few examples of faculty and their courses that have integrated sustainability.

Contact Scott Morrison, Faculty Fellow for Sustainability and Associate Professor of Education, with any questions.

Faculty members doing sustainability-related work, Sustainability Faculty Scholars and otherwise, may be able to identify funding sources on the Faculty Funding site.

Applications

The next application period will be in the fall of 2025.

The program is open to permanent full-time faculty from every discipline. Applicants from diverse backgrounds and experiences are encouraged to apply.

2024-2025 Scholars

 

Past Scholars