Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 58.55
Liaison Amy Brunvand
Submission Date April 5, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Utah
AC-7: Incentives for Developing Courses

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Amy Brunvand
Librarian
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have an ongoing program or programs that offer incentives for faculty in multiple disciplines or departments to develop new sustainability courses and/or incorporate sustainability into existing courses?:
Yes

A brief description of the program(s), including positive outcomes during the previous three years (e.g. descriptions of new courses or course content resulting from the program):

Wasatch Experience Faculty Workshop (biennial, 2014- present)
A multi-day interdisciplinary workshop for University of Utah faculty and Graduate Student TAs to provide support for incorporating sustainability themes into their courses. Participants apply to attend. Those accepted engage in a series of team-structured, mentored activities to help develop the knowledge and skills to modify a course, create new learning activities, and explore local educational opportunities to integrate the big ideas of sustainability into the courses they teach.
Wasatch Experience Impact Summary, 2014
The summer of 2014 was an effective beginning for the yearlong Wasatch Experience Faculty Sustainability Workshops. Sixteen faculty members, led by four mentors, worked in interdisciplinary teams to integrate the big ideas of sustainability into their courses. The numbers show the ripple effect of Wasatch Experience:
Participating departments/colleges: 16
New Sustainability Teaching Scholars: 16
Courses with new descriptions/ outcomes: 18
Additional classes impacted: 3
Presentations and collaborations: 5

Alta Sustainability Leadership Awards (annual, 2015- present)
In partnership between Alta Ski Area and the University of Utah, awards are presented for excellence in fostering leadership and commitment to the health of our community and our planet through an understanding of, and actions to enhance, the stability, resilience, and diversity of our intertwined natural, social, economic, and cultural systems at the U of U. The four award categories are: Campus as a Living Laboratory, Sustainability Community Partnership, Sustainability Integration, Sustainability Research.

Lowell Bennion Community Service Center
The Bennion Center offers support for Community Engaged Learning including sustainability curriculum. The Bennion Center’s Spring 2016 Celebration honored Dr. Adrienne Cachelin with the Public Service Professorship Award. Dr. Cachelin received $7,500 from the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs to develop a community engaged learning course focused on food access and health. She will work with a community partner and graduate students from the College of Social and Behavioral Science and the Department of Environmental and Sustainability Studies. Dr. Cachelin’s year-long work will include presentations to Bennion Center students and her colleagues about the scope and community impact of her work.

Food Studies (2015- )
The University of Utah’s College of Social and Behavioral Science, the College of Health, and the Sustainability Office, have provided seed money to support linking individuals interested in food studies on campus and in the larger community. The larger goal of this seed project is to foster interdisciplinary food-related research and teaching collaborations that move the field forward and improve access to healthy foods in our own community.
URL: http://foodstudies.utah.edu/index.php


A brief description of the incentives that faculty members who participate in the program(s) receive:

Wasatch Experience, 2014:
--$500 award upon completion of The Wasatch Experience program

Alta Sustainability Leadership Awards
--An award of $2,500 is given to the winner of each of the four award categories.

Lowell Bennion Community Service Center
-- Monetary support for courses that include community-based learning.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

SOURCES

Wasatch Experience
URL: http://sustainability.utah.edu/academics/workshop.php

Alta Sustainability Leadership Awards:
URL: http://sustainability.utah.edu/awards.php

Lowell Bennion Community Service Center
URL: http://bennioncenter.org/

Food Studies (College of Social & Behavioral Science)
URL: http://foodstudies.utah.edu/index.php


SOURCES

Wasatch Experience
URL: http://sustainability.utah.edu/academics/workshop.php

Alta Sustainability Leadership Awards:
URL: http://sustainability.utah.edu/awards.php

Lowell Bennion Community Service Center
URL: http://bennioncenter.org/

Food Studies (College of Social & Behavioral Science)
URL: http://foodstudies.utah.edu/index.php

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.