Teaching Sustainability Initiative

Introduction

The Teaching Sustainability Initiative (TSI) is now in its seventh year of supporting UIC instructors in expanding sustainability teaching and learning in their course offerings. TSI provides training, support and compensation for incorporating sustainability into existing courses or for developing new courses entirely.

The Teaching Sustainability Initiative is a program that provides instructors from all subject areas an overview on how to amend and/or create curricula to include sustainability concepts. The workshop explores how we can meaningfully integrate sustainability—broadly defined—into UIC classrooms and provides access to a network of experienced instructors who provide assistance and feedback to formulate a dynamic syllabus and curriculum.

TSI is now accepting applications for the 2026 program year and instructors from all disciplines are encouraged to apply.

Submit your Teaching Sustainability Initiative application.

Program Objectives

Teaching Sustainability Initiative objectives:

Provide a comprehensive working definition of sustainability.
Create a framework for understanding the components of sustainability and how each relates to each instructor’s background and expertise.
Create a list of readings and short videos to use in class(es).
Share internal and external sustainability resources
Draft exercises that instructors might use in class(es) and share examples of how other instructors have incorporated sustainability into their courses.
Develop opportunities for exploring sustainability on campus through the landscape, buildings, operations, transportation and UIC’s Climate Commitment Action Plan 2024 (CCAP 2024) strategies.
Create a cohort of colleagues with similar goals to incorporate sustainability into their teaching.
Support a paradigm shift towards interdisciplinarity.

Program Overview

The program consists of four components designed to make it as easy as possible for participants to add sustainability to their teaching:

Teaching Sustainability Workshop. Workshop participants will work alongside subject matter experts from an array of disciplines to begin the development of lesson plans and exercises appropriate for courses in each attendee’s given field.
Feedback and Support. After the workshop and throughout the summer semester, PSPM staff, program alumni and sustainability subject matter experts will be available to provide virtual feedback on initial plans and course revisions.
Fall Check-In. A final meeting for members of the cohort will be held in the fall semester to discuss lessons learned, things that may need revision in the future and plans for the upcoming spring semester. Participants will be expected to submit their instruction plans, syllabus, or other documents around the time of this meeting. A second meeting in the spring may be required.
A Stipend. Instructors will receive financial support for their participation in the above events.
- $1,000 to instructors adding significant sustainability components to a preexisting course or courses.
- $2,000 to instructors creating a new course or courses with a sustainability focus (requires letter of support from department chair).

Funding is made available through the Sustainability Fund and has been approved by the Sustainability Fund Advisory Board.

For questions or comments, please email sustainability@uic.edu.

Proposals are due December 12.
Applicants should proactively hold May 15, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for an in-person workshop.
Submit your Teaching Sustainability Initiative application online.