The Sustainability Curriculum Fellowship (SCF) is a year-long interdisciplinary fellowship program. It was established in 2013 (as the Sustainability Curriculum Initiative) to enable UMass faculty to cultivate teaching excellence in sustainability. The SCF is supported by the Chancellor’s Sustainability Advisory Committee, School of Earth & Sustainability (SES), The Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL), and UMass Amherst Libraries. Over the past seven years, faculty from across 33 departments have participated in the SCF.
The SCF Program is designed to support faculty who are interested in enhancing the sustainability learning outcomes in an existing course and/or incorporating one or more learning outcomes into a new course. In total, there are seven sustainability learning outcomes. Through the course, faculty are expected to address one or more of the following sustainability learning outcomes:
- 21st century national and global challenges
- Systems thinking
- Disciplines across the university
- Local sustainability issues
- Personal agency and professional responsibility
- Civic engagement
- Information literacy
Each year, up to 10 faculty members are selected to join the SCF program. Fellows receive a $1,000 professional development grant along with a range of support services for a sustainability course. SCF recipients are required to attend monthly meetings to engage with other fellows, discuss pedagogy, course redesign, and learn about library and campus sustainability resources. Fellows also share best practices through teaching demonstrations, and participate in a variety of team-based learning activities. Find details about applying to this competitive and enriching fellowship program here.
Planning Team
The UMass Sustainability Curriculum Fellowship Program is guided by a cross-campus team with expertise in sustainability, course development, and teaching excellence. The SCF Planning Team includes:
Mark Hamin – School of Earth & Sustainability and the Department of Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning
Darci Maresca – School of Earth & Sustainability
Ezra Small – Physical Plant
Mei-Yau Shih – The Center for Teaching & Learning
Madeleine Charney (link is external) – UMass Library
2019-2020 Sustainability Curriculum Fellowship Recipients
Steve Acquah, Chemistry/Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Services
Isla Castañeda, Geosciences/School of Earth & Sustainability
Bill Clement. Geosciences/School of Earth & Sustainability
Euripedes DeOliveira, Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning/School of Earth & Sustainability
Lena Fletcher, Environmental Conservation/School of Earth & Sustainability
Rachel Green, Comparative Literature
Noy Holland, English
Maeve Howett, Nursing
Ezra Markowitz, Environmental Conservation/School of Earth & Sustainability
Fadia Nordtveit, Business Communication Program, Isenberg School of Management
Kara Peterman, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Eldra Walker, Architecture
Past Fellows
Seven cohorts of faculty have been through the SCF Program. Below is a roster of recent fellows. A complete list of fellows is also available.
2018-2019 SCF Fellows
Raphael E. Arku, Environmental Health Sciences
Dwayne Breger (link is external), Environmental Conservation/School of Earth and Sustainability, Clean Energy Extension
Christine Hatch (link is external), Geosciences/School of Earth and Sustainability
Margaret Krone, Education
Sandy Litchfield, Architecture
Jamie T. Mullins (link is external), Resource Economics
Catherine Sands (link is external), Stockbridge School of Agriculture/School of Earth & Sustainability
Charlie Schweik, Environmental Conservation/School of Earth and Sustainability, School of Public Policy
Jared Starr (link is external), Environmental Conservation/School of Earth and Sustainability
Emily Tareila, Art
2017-2018 SCF Fellows
Angela Roell - Sustainable Food & Farming
Carol Connare - Journalism
Christina DiMarco-Crook - Food Science
David Glassberg - History
Elizabeth Schmidt - Public Policy
Emily Kumpel (link is external)- Civil & Environmental Engineering
Jennifer Merton (link is external) - Management
Joell Saxe - Communication
Mary Bell - Sustainable Food & Farming
Wayne Feiden - Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning
Nicole Burton - Stockbridge School of Agriculture
2016 - 2017 SCF Fellows
Boone Shear – Anthropology
Sarah Berquist (link is external)– Stockbridge
Amilcar Shabazz – African American Studies
Margaret Vickery – Architecture
Razvan Sibii – Journalism
Heath Hatch (link is external) - Physics
Toby Applegate (link is external) – Geosciences
Lorraine Cordeiro – Nutrition
Alison Bates (link is external)– Environmental Conservation
Krystal Pollitt – Environmental Health Sciences
See the list of all previous fellows here .
Apply to the SCF Program
At the end of the spring semester, the call for applicants is circulated for the next year’s cohort. For details about eligibility and how to apply, please visit our application page.
Resources
More information on the UMass Sustainability Learning Outcomes identified by a multi-disciplinary group of over 50 UMass faculty and staff.
Download "Mapping Sustainability Education at UMass: A Report of the Education and Research Sub-Committee of the Chancellor's Sustainability Committee".
