Quick Facts
- Two-day workshop where faculty from across the disciplines learn about sustainability and explore unique opportunities to integrate it into their existing courses
- 98 UMD faculty members have participated since the inaugural workshop in 2009 and integrated sustainability into courses in all 12 colleges/schools.
- 111 courses have been revised to include sustainability
- A faculty learning community meets throughout the year to continue dialogue on sustainability
- Next Workshop: May 2013. Apply by April 22nd!
Read the article: "Greening the Curriculum"
Overview
The Chesapeake Project is an initiative to integrate sustainability across the curriculum of the University of Maryland. Central to the project is a two-day workshop where participants learn about core concepts of environmental, economic, and social sustainability and explore unique ways of integrating sustainability into their existing courses across all academic disciplines.
Through these revised courses, students have the opportunity to explore sustainability through artistic, cultural, historical, mathematical, philosophical, and scientific lenses to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the subject. For instance, an art professor might lead a class discussion about sustainable materials and a math professor might frame math problems as they relate to the declining oyster population of the Chesapeake Bay. This integration across the disciplines helps students think critically about their local environment, fosters interdisciplinary learning and problem solving, and prepares students to find solutions to complex 21st century problems.
The name of this initiative, the Chesapeake Project, represents two ideas: (1) that the University of Maryland is joining a network of other colleges and universities that are making strides to integrate sustainability across their own curricula (ex. the Piedmont Project at Emory U., the Ponderosa Project at Northern Arizona U., etc.) and (2) that Maryland faculty will use ecological, social, and economic examples from around the Chesapeake region to help our students see the connection between curriculum and place.
When is the Next Workshop?
The next Chesapeake Project Workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 21st, and Thursday, May 23rd, 2013. Participants will not meet as a group on the 22nd but will have reading assignments that day. The first day of the workshop (May 21) will be hosted at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Headquarters in Annapolis, MD. The second day of the workshop (May 23) will be hosted in the new (LEED-Gold) Knight Hall on the University of Maryland campus. See the schedule and location of the workshop and apply now!
Who is Organizing This?
The Chesapeake Project is an initiative of the Office of Sustainability. The workshop and faculty learning community are facilitated by Bruce James (Professor and Director, Environmental Science and Policy), Rachelle Sampson (Associate Professor, Logistics, Business, and Public Policy), and Mark Stewart (Manager, Office of Sustainability). Bruce and Rachelle are both on sabbatical this year so Jen Shaffer (Asst. Professor, Athropology) has graciously offered to help facilitate the 2013 workshop.
Sponsors
The Office of Sustainability would like to thank the following people, colleges, schools, and organizations whose generous support make the Chesapeake Project possible:
- Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
- Office of the Vice President for Administrative Affairs
- A. James Clark School of Engineering
- College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
- College of Arts and Humanities
- College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
- College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences
- College of Education
- College of Information Studies
- College of Journalism
- Robert H. Smith School of Business
- School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation
- School of Public Health
- School of Public Policy
- Maryland and Delaware Climate Change Education, Assessment and Research (MADE-CLEAR)
- Center for Teaching Excellence
- Chesapeake Bay Foundation