С»Æ贫ý

Events

SPARC SPRING WORKSHOP: Climate Stories

• Friday, May 15th – 1-2:30pm
• Join us for a workshop on climate storytelling, facilitated by Jason Davis, director of and Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at Oregon State University. This workshop () is open to students as well as faculty and staff. !

Bees Lunch & Learn

• Wednesday, May 20th, 12 – 1 p.m.
• Learn more about С»Æ贫ý’s pollinators with С»Æ贫ý apiarist John Rockrohr at Rock Creek. to receive a reminder!

Sustainability Focus Award Ceremony

• Friday, June 5th, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
• Join the Sustainability Leadership Council, SPARC and Learning Gardens for our annual end of year celebration at the Southeast campus Learning Garden (SW side of campus, near the Community Hall annex and Admin Building). We will celebrate our Student Focus Awardees and all of the great work we’ve accomplished this year. We hope you can join us!
  • 10-11: Brunch in the garden
  • 11-12: Student Focus Award Ceremony & Kudos

News

Check out these stories about the amazing accomplishments of Kim Smith, С»Æ贫ý Sociology Faculty. Kim has received recognition for her terrific work with sustainability, in these two articles: and on .

Sustainability Focus Award

The С»Æ贫ý Sustainability Focus Award is designed for students who are interested in exploring the interdependent social, economic and environmental pillars (the triple-bottom-line) of sustainability topics from multiple perspectives, and in increasing their course experience in this multi-disciplinary topic.

Steps to apply for a Sustainability Focus Award

1. Review
2. Fill out this application

See previous student awardees!

Initiatives

2030 Objectives

Increase sustainability throughout academic curricular and co-curricular programming at С»Æ贫ý.

2016 Academic Curricular and Co-curricular Programming Action Items:

• Implement SPARC’s “Seven Sustainability-Focused Learning Outcomes” into current and newly developed courses at С»Æ贫ý.
• In collaboration with the С»Æ贫ý Curriculum Office, design and implement a search capability through Courseleaf to easily identify courses with sustainability-focused content. To be developed through the curriculum office.
• In collaboration with the С»Æ贫ý Curriculum Office, continue development of distinguishing “focused” courses and “related” courses parallel with reporting.
• Provide continued support in curriculum development to insure creation of new or revised sustainability courses at С»Æ贫ý.
• Award the Sustainability Focus Award to students who have a sustainability focus in their studies.
• Support professional development and capacity building related to sustainability curriculum for faculty.
• Build sustainability into student, faculty and staff orientations to support curriculum initiatives at the college.
• Design a sustainability curriculum packet to include in materials for various faculty orientations.
• Collaborate with the Learning Assessment Council in assessment strategies and examples through the adding of the “Seven sustainability-focused Outcomes” to CCOGs, with measurable outcomes.
• Through С»Æ贫ý’s Core Outcome #2 of “Community and Environmental Responsibility,” create collaborations with the Internationalization Committee, the Diversity Council, the Service-Learning program, and community partners to address global environmental awareness, environmental justice, social equity, and food security in sustainability curriculum.

Increase focused educational programs and options to meet sustainability-focused workforce needs.

2016 Focused Educational Programs and Options Action Items:

• Explore the development of an academic Sustainable Agriculture Program
• Explore offering LEED certification education and establish partners with businesses working in this field.
• Explore new opportunities to create focused educational programs in coordination with the State of Oregon 40-40-20 Initiative and the U.S. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic (STEM) movement.

2021 Climate Action Plan

С»Æ贫ý’s 2021 Climate Action Plan: Resiliency, Equity and Education for a Just Transition is the college’s five-year roadmap towards climate justice.

Unified under a shared vision, С»Æ贫ý’s 2021 Climate Action Plan establishes a new carbon neutrality goal of 2040 and builds off an impressive amount of work done to-date to outline clear pathways for equity-focused climate action to be woven throughout operations, academics, student engagement and future planning.

С»Æ贫ý’s 2021 CAP has four focus areas, two of which address С»Æ贫ý’s GHG emissions from its operations, a section focused on education and outreach to ensure the С»Æ贫ý community has the tools, resources and knowledge to lead in climate action, and resiliency to help С»Æ贫ý equitably adapt to global climate change. Each focus area has five year goals and associated strategies, vetted through a Climate Action Equity Guide, to set С»Æ贫ý on the path to 2040 carbon neutrality and climate justice.

View С»Æ贫ý’s 2021 Climate Action Plan

How to get Involved

Participants receive a stipend (part-time faculty) for the sustainability in curriculum training and are provided support, through SPARC, in the development of a new course, or the revision of a current course. Additionally, faculty can receive funding for conferences, trainings, and other professional development through the Teaching Learning Centers, Professional & Organizational Development, and SPARC to sustainability-related trainings. We are also working with our Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs to prioritize professional development funding for faculty developing new courses or adding green outcomes to existing courses. In addition, С»Æ贫ý provides release time to a faculty member to coordinate the SPARC council.

For more information or to join the council, contact the SPARC Co-Chairs: Roberta Richards and Peter Ritson