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Center for Sustainability Across the Curriculum

In collaboration with the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), Dickinson has hosted our Valley & Ridge Faculty Development Workshops and opened applications to educators from other colleges and universities to participate alongside the Dickinson cohort since 2017. As a regional center for excellence in sustainability across the curriculum, Dickinson is committed creating innovative and effective change in higher education sustainability curriculum development.  Each year, educators that are thinking about integrating social, economic and/or environmental sustainability into their undergraduate teaching are encouraged to apply, and about 20 participants are accepted into the 2.5 day residential program. We have now worked with over 31 other institutions from througout the region and covered disciplines such as engineering, theatre and dance, economics, Italian, and chemistry. 

Valley & Ridge has annually brought together educators from all academic disciplines to work collaboratively to introduce and enhance sustainability content in new and existing courses across the curriculum. Sponsored by Dickinson’s Center for Sustainability Education (CSE), this workshop has helped over 150 Dickinson faculty connect the subject areas of their teaching with sustainability using active learning pedagogies such as place-based & experiential education since 2008.

The Valley and Ridge Project at Dickinson takes its name from the physiographic region within which the College lies, which is marked by the Allegheny Plateau to the north and west, South Mountain to the south and east, and Cumberland Valley in-between. The project got its impetus from Dickinson’s participation in the Shared Futures and Sustainability Initiatives of the . The Valley and Ridge Project is modeled after the of Emory University and the Ponderosa Project of Northern Arizona University.

Participants that complete the program are then classified as Valley & Ridge Fellows and can contribute to and benefit from a resource network with other fellows, participate in continuing education and experiential programs offered by CSE, and continue to advance sustainability within their discipline and across the curriculum.

Faculty Engagement through Participation: 

• Examine the concept of sustainability, its varied interpretations, and connections with different fields of study;
• Create new or modify existing courses to integrate sustainability across the curriculum;
• Use their local environment and community to teach a sense of place; 
• Develop strategies to connect sustainability to civic engagement, global education and diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Connect service learning, community-based research & living laboratory programs to sustainability;
• Learn how to use their campus and its sustainability programs as teaching resources;
• Explore transdisciplinary connections to other faculty and programs within their institution and beyond;
• Share resources for developing and enhancing sustainability content in courses.

Logistics:

• Seeking educators from any academic disciplines looking to incorporate sustainability into their teaching.
• In person workshop will be held May 20-22, 2025 at Dickinson.
• Space is limited. Dickinson faculty and educators from other institutions welcomed.
• Food will be provided during the workshop.
• Transportation will be provided by Dickinson during the workshop.
• Transportation to and from Dickinson is NOT provided.
• Lodging is NOT provided for non-Dickinson faculty.
• Dickinson faculty receive a stipend, and may attend at no cost.
• Non-Dickinson participants will be required to pay a $125 workshop fee.

Contact sustainability@dickinson.edu or 717.245.1117 for more information.