Several opportunities have been identified to integrate sustainability into the University’s educational mission, including a preliminary set of learning outcomes requiring each graduating student to obtain a core competency on sustainability. These competencies, such as knowledge of how food, water, energy, and material goods affect human societies and ecosystems, are designed to prepare students for leadership roles as society prepares for the climate challenge.
In the next year, an assessment of current course offerings that include these outcomes will be prepared to examine the possible gaps in course offerings. The campus faculty has already begun to respond to the challenge. A number of first year discovery courses have been proposed on the topic and this summer the campus will be offering its first curriculum workshop (The Prairie Project) for faculty aimed at improving or developing new courses that include climate and sustainability.