Education and research

As an institution of higher education, West Chester University’s primary roles in meeting the challenges of sustainability and climate change are to educate, conduct research, and provide public service. Through these efforts we have an opportunity to instill the knowledge and values of sustainability within our campus and community.

Learn how you can get involved!

FOR STUDENTS

Sustainability Courses

Explore course options that are sustainability focused or have some sustainability content!

PDF File

Searchable webpage

Sustainability Programs

College of Arts and Humanities

Rustin Urban Community Change Axis (RUCCAS)

College of Business and Public Management

Department of Geography and Planning

College of Education and Social Work

Department of Educational Foundations and Policy Studies

College of Health Sciences

Department of Nutrition
Department of Public Health Sciences

College of Sciences and Mathematics

Department of Biology
Department of Earth and Space Sciences

Sustainability Pathways, Certificates, and Minors

College of Arts and Humanities

Rustin Urban Community Change Axis (RUCCAS)

College of Business and Public Management

Department of Geography and Planning

College of Education and Social Work

Department of Educational Foundations and Policy Studies

College of Health Sciences

Department of Public Health

University College

FOR EDUCATORS

Resources for Teaching Sustainability

Integrating sustainable theories and practices into the curriculum at WCU is critical to expanding sustainable practices. Investing time into educating students, faculty and staff will produce long-lasting results long after alumni have left the campus. Below are materials for teaching about sustainability that have been developed by WCU faculty, staff, students, and affiliated community members.

Written Materials

“This may be the last best chance to reach a global agreement to reduce emissions enough to avoid overshooting the target of a two degrees Celsius average rise in global surface temperature above preindustrial levels. Beyond that number we invite ‘climageddon.’”


Videos/Films

Research

Faculty Research on Sustainability-Focused Topics at WCU


Below you will find a link to an inventory documenting full and part-time faculty members at West Chester University who conducted research related to one or more of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals between the fall semester of 2018 and the end of summer sessions of 2019. These 73 faculty members represent 29 separate academic departments on campus and collectively are addressing research questions related to most of the 17 SDGs. Information for this inventory was collected by an electronic survey distributed to all 980 full‐ and part‐ time faculty in September 2019 by WCU's Office of Sustainability working in collaboration with Professors Lisa Calvano (Management) and Joan Welch (Geography & Planning).

Find the full list of faculty research projects addressing the UN SDGs here.

Digital Commons - WCU Campus Sustainability Initiatives


Passionate faculty and students at WCU seek to use their research to understand and appreciate how the natural world and humanity can co-exist. A collection of reports, presentations, and surveys can now be found on the Digital Commons Sustainability Research and Creative Activities page, showcasing their hardwork and dedication. You can access the 2018 Commuter and Parking Survey, previous proposals for the Sustainability Research and Creative Activities Grant, The WCU Landscape Master Plan, as well as data from a mapping project on the invasive species, the Spotted Lantern Fly, in the Gordon Natural Area. If you have a report, poster, or presentation you would like to add to this collection, please contact Library Resource Services.

WCU Campus Sustainability Research and Creative Activities Grant


The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at West Chester University sponsors a Campus Sustainability Research and Creative Activities Grant each year with a Request for Proposals released in the early Spring semester with the Award Cycle extending from July 15th of that year to June 1st of the following year. In the most recent grant application cycle, accessible through WCU’s InfoReady website, grants of up to $2,000 (a total $8,000 available) were solicited. Notice of the release of the annual Request for Proposals is made via email messages to all faculty and via Office of Sustainability email bulletins.

FOR EVERYONE

The Brandywine Project

The Brandywine Projects, held throughout the year, are a wonderful way to for WCU community members to engage in conversation and learn more about campus sustainability. The Brandywine Projects are organized as sustainability workshops for faculty, staff, and students with the ultimate goal of incorporating sustainability into every aspect of campus life. These workshops generally include presentations about what West Chester has done in the past to reach their sustainable goals as well as what plans are set for the future. Interactive breakout sessions occur throughout the workshop to get participants networking, brainstorming, and discussing different topics that are directly relevant to our local campus community and environment, integrating the local and the global. In January of 2019, the very first Brandywine Project Alumni Summit was held, bringing together a collection of past participants to work together on a collective project. Find information on upcoming workshops on the Brandywine Project page.

 

 

 

The Brandywine Project Logo

Sustainability Research and Practice Seminar

The SR&PS takes place every Fall and Spring semester and dates, speakers and titles can be found in the News and Upcoming Events section of our home page. Recording from past presentations are available to view on the Digital Commons for Sustainability Research and Creative Activities page.