The Advisory Group on Integrating Sustainability in Undergrad Programs (the “Advisory Group”) will provide advice and guidance to centrally led initiatives supporting integration of sustainability curriculum across various disciplines. They will ensure work is grounded in sound teaching approaches, University of Waterloo faculty expertise, and best practices used on campus and across higher education.
The group will include faculty representation from all 6 faculties, students, and staff. The group will meet approximately once a term, as needed.
Key activities for the Advisory Group will include reviewing materials from sustainability curriculum integration initiatives on campus, providing insight from constituencies and experiences, communicating and promoting initiatives and resources, and support broader consultation on campus.
Those who are interested in joining the Advisory Group should send an email to the Sustainability Office at sustainability@uwaterloo.ca.
Phase 1 Working Group
From spring 2023 through winter 2024, the Working Group engaged with stakeholders across the campus to explore pathways, frameworks, and tools to deepen integration of sustainability across undergraduate programs of study. They consulted with faculty, students, and staff on the ways sustainability is already integrated into curriculum, opportunities and barriers for further development, and tools that could be helpful for faculty in this process. Please reach out to sustainability@uwaterloo.ca if you have any questions about this process or the findings.
The working group consisted of the following members:
| Role | Name | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Chair | Mathew Thijssen | Director of Sustainability |
| Teaching Innovation Incubator Representative | Kyle Scholz | Interim Managing Director, Teaching Innovation Incubator |
| Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies, Faculty of Environment | Johanna Wandel | Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies, Faculty of Environment |
| Program Director | Laura Deakin | Associate Dean of Science, Student Relations and Associate Director of Nanotechnology Engineering, Program |
| Faculty Administrative Representative | Kirsten Muller | Department Chair, Biology, Faculty of Science |
| Faculty Administrative Representative | Diane Williams | School of Public Health Sciences Associate Director, Undergraduate Studies, Faculty of Health |
| Faculty Administrative Representative | Derek Rayside | Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Software Engineering Capstone Coordinator, Faculty of Engineering |
| Faculty Administrative Representative | David Ha | MAcc Co-Director, School of Accounting and Finance, Faculty of Arts |
| Faculty Representative | Christine Barbeau | School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability Associate Director, Undergraduate Studies, Faculty of Environment Teaching Fellow |
| Faculty Representative | Michael Waite | Associate Professor, Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Math |
| Faculty Representative | Nadine Ibrahim | Lecturer, Turkstra Chair in Urban Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering |
| Centre for Teaching Excellence Representative | Julia Burke | Faculty Liaison: Environment; Accounting & Finance; Political Science; Economics |
| Co-operative and Experience Education Representative | Shabnam Ivkovic | Director, International Strategic Initiatives |
| WUSA Appointee | Katie Traynor | WUSA Vice President |
| Engineering Student Representative | Frances Hallen | Student, Faculty of Engineering |
| Environment Student Representative | Ceileigh McAllister | Student, Faculty of Environment |
| Health Student Representative | Maya Morton Ninomiya | Student, Faculty of Health |
| Math Student Representative | Yangchen Zhou | Student, Faculty of Math |
| Sustainability Curriculum Specialist | Abigail Loewen | Sustainability Curriculum Specialist |