Education and research

West Chester University’s primary roles in meeting the challenges of sustainability and climate change are to educate, conduct research, and provide public service. The institution has a long and increasingly active commitment to integrating sustainability into curricular initiatives and faculty development so that the knowledge and values of sustainability are instilled in our campus and community. 

Learn how you can get involved!

FOR STUDENTS

Sustainability Courses

Explore course options that have a focus on sustainability.

PDF of Sustainability-Focused Courses

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

Minors, Certificates, and Pathways

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

General Education

FOR EDUCATORS

Resources for Teaching Sustainability

Helpful Resources

AASHE Hub: Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s large pool of resources on sustainability-related campus projects, from curriculum to transportation to waste. WCU is a member; access these resources by creating an account.

IPCC Sixth Assessment Report: most recent report on the state of the climate from the United Nations.

Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME): guidance for faculty in business education fields.

Seven Steps to Embedding Sustainability in Your Teaching:  2-page overview from Plymouth University

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs): 17 guiding principles for global sustainable development.

Recommended by the Sustainability Council’s Curriculum Committee:

Artificial Intelligence in Education and Sustainable Development (Forthcoming issue of the Sustainability journal)

Education and the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Praxis Within and Beyond the Classroom. Kim Beasy, Caroline Smith, and Jane Watson. Springer, 2023.  

Flourishing: A Frank Conversation about Sustainability. John R. Ehrenfeld and Andrew J. Hoffman. Stanford University Press, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1515/9780804786676.

Lehigh University’s Teaching Sustainability resource page

Sustainability Education: Perspectives and Practice Across Higher Education. Jones, Paula, et al. Taylor & Francis Group, 2010.

Sample Syllabi

Forthcoming in Fall 2026

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 allow WCU community members to engage in conversation, learn more about sustainability, and incorporate sustainability into every aspect of campus life via interactive workshops. The Brandywine Projects are sustainability workshops for the whole community:

  • Faculty – held every two years and open to WCU, PASSHE, and local faculty. Participants develop a revised or new syllabus incorporating sustainability content and pedagogy.
  • Staff – held throughout the year, staff learn how to incorporate sustainability into jobs as diverse as administrative assistant to custodial.
  • Students - held throughout the year, students focus on ways they can help use the WCU campus and community to build more sustainable futures.
  • Administrators – held occasionally, administrators develop ways of leading their areas to contribute to a sustainable campus.

These workshops include presentations about what WCU has done in the past to reach sustainable goals as well as brainstorming sessions to plan for the future of our campus, communities, and world. 

Brandywine Project logo, lowercase letter "b" with a green leaf in the center.

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.