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Office of Sustainability

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Academics & Research

Institutions of higher education play a critical role in developing solutions for a just and sustainable climate future.

Temple prepares future practitioners, entrepreneurs, researchers, and scholars to take on meaningful work, and we're leading the way in forging innovative approaches to sustainability and resilience.

In its climate commitment, Temple University embraces its responsibility to shape a sustainable and resilient future through its curriculum, co-curricular offerings, and support for climate-related research.

Learn more about our goals and the progress we've made.

Curricula Goals & Progress

Increase the number of undergraduate/graduate sustainability courses by ten (10) courses from an October 2017 baseline by June 2022.

IN PROGRESS: In the 2023-2024 academic year, the number of undergraduate and graduate sustainabilityfocused course offerings decreased by 33 courses from the 2016-2017 baseline.

Increase the number of undergraduate/graduate courses that include sustainability by twenty (20) courses from an October 2017 baseline by June 2022.

IN PROGRESS: In the 2023–2024 academic year, the number of undergraduate and graduate sustainability-inclusive courses decreased by 36 courses from the 2016–2017 baseline

Increase the number of departments with sustainability course offerings by two (2) departments from an October 2017 baseline by June 2022.

ACHIEVED:  In the 2023–2024 academic year, the number of departments with sustainability course offerings was 80. This is an increase of 12 departments from the 2016–2017 academic year baseline, and 10 more than the stated goal.

Restructure the Undergraduate Certificate in Sustainability and the Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Certificate in Sustainability Committee (University College) by June 2019.

ACHIEVED: The restructured Undergraduate Certificate in Sustainability was approved in Spring 2021. 

Partner with the Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT) to create professional development opportunities for faculty that promote interdisciplinary, inter-college sustainability courses and teaching methods for undergraduate and graduate programs.

ACHIEVED: CAT initiated a Green Pedagogy Faculty Learning Community and hosts regular programs to support the integration of sustainability into curricula across all colleges.

Coordinate with the University College Office of Digital Education (ODE) to create an online format for sustainability courses by June 2020.

ACHIEVED: The shift to virtual learning resulted in the creation of an online format for sustainability courses.

Create an online repository for existing and future sustainability exercises and course material to assist faculty in integrating sustainability into their courses by June 2020.

ACHIEVED: The Office of Sustainability collaborated with Temple University Libraries to create a Climate Change, Sustainability, and Environmental Justice collection on TUScholarShare.

Co-Curricular Goals & Progress

Develop a strategy for co-curricular sustainability education that integrates academic courses and non-credit learning experiences. The strategy is to include a process for collecting data regarding co-curricular sustainability education and an assessment

ACHIEVED:  The Office of Sustainability developed a strategy for co-curricular sustainability education via the Walk Audit Certification Program in collaboration with local non-profit and academic partners. The program was first offered in Fall 2020. A data collection process and assessment tool piloted during the initial phase of the program continues to be utilized to monitor progress on co-curricular initiatives.

Research Goals & Progress

Secure designation of the 187-acre Ambler Campus/Arboretum as a research field station providing facilities and a diverse ecosystem that support both basic and applied research in sustainability disciplines by June 2019.

ACHIEVED: Temple Ambler was designated a field station in 2020.

Identify, validate and amplify sustainability research using the Electronic Research Administration (eRA) database to document sustainability research and include sustainability research in Office of the Vice President for Research’s annual fact sheet.

ACHIEVED: Together with the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR)'s Electronic Research Administration team, the Office of Sustainability has developed a data request protocol for identifying and amplifying major awards for sustainability research. Additionally, OVPR provides sustainability science-themed research development resources and reporting for university investigators through the Catalytic Collaborative internal funding initiative.