Florida Gulf Coast University
AC-7: Incentives for Developing Courses

ISAC ACADEMY
Faculty interested in adding or revising course content to include sustainability are encouraged to apply to the annual Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum (ISAC) Academy. Following the Piedmont/Ponderosa Project professional development model, the ISAC Academy provides time, space, and resources for faculty at all career stages across the university to engage in inter- and cross-disciplinary discussions for sustainability curriculum development.

2016 was the inaugural year of FGCU's ISAC Academy. Faculty from all colleges participated. From participating in the academy 8 faculty members revised 11 courses to include or enhance sustainability content. One member of the cohort also developed an entirely new entrepreneurship course that is focused on the concept of sustainability. The course is being vetted and should be taught for the first time in 2018.

COLLOQUIUM INSTRUCTOR TRAINING:
All faculty and staff that complete the Colloquium Instructor Training receive guidance on the following:

-To provide a "sense of place" and an understanding of the unique ecological features of the environment of which you are a part;
-To assist in developing an ecological perspective and a commitment to community awareness and involvement in order for students to know the issues related to economic, social, and ecological sustainability, analyze and evaluate ecological issues locally and globally, participate in projects requiring awareness and/or analysis of ecological and environmental issues;
-To provide experiences to assist in moving toward achieving the university learning goals of effective communication skills and critical thinking skills as well as the university’s stated mission of “practicing and promoting environmental sustainability and “encouraging civic responsibility”;
-To enable a practical understanding of sustainability, of environmental education, and of ecological literacy. (http://www.fgcu.edu/Catalog/colloquium.asp)

During the Colloquium training, instructors also receive guidance and ideas for how to incorporate the above-mentioned concepts into their other classes.

FACULTY AND STAFF ASSOCIATES EARTH CHARTER MINI-GRANT PROGRAM, 2016-2017
The Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education (CESE)'s mission states that CESE “works toward realizing the dream of a sustainable and peaceful future for Earth through scholarship, education, and action. The Center advances understanding and achievement of the goals of environmental and sustainability education through innovative educational research methods, emergent eco-pedagogies, and educational philosophy and practice based on ethics of care and sustainability. The Center seeks to elevate the environmental mission of Florida Gulf Coast University and serve the university community, the local community of the Western Everglades and Barrier Islands, and the wider community of scholars.”

In order to advance this mission, the Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education has developed a Faculty and Staff Associates Program to provide a means of connecting to the work of the broader Florida Gulf Coast University Community. In defining their professional and academic lives, Associates delineate specific activities that support the work of the Center and advance the environmental sustainability mission of the university.

Financial incentives and/or professional development opportunities that develop faculty's promotion portfolios.