Advisory Group on Integrating Sustainability in Undergrad Programs

Overview

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.

Joining

Membership in the Advisory Committee is flexible and hopes to engage a wide cross-section of the University. 

We are currently searching for undergraduate student representatives to join the Advisory Group. If you are interested, please email sustainability@uwaterloo.ca and share the following:

  • Your name and program/year of study
  • A brief description of what made you interested in joining the Advisory Group
  • A brief description of any experience you have related to sustainability 
  • A brief description of any experience you have serving on other committees, clubs, groups, or volunteer positions

Faculty members and instructors who are interested in joining may also email sustainability@uwaterloo.ca.

Interested members are encouraged to review the Advisory Group terms of reference.

Current Members

Current Members of the Advisory Group include:

  • Mat Thijssen, Sustainability Office (Chair)
  • Kyle Scholz, Teaching Innovation Incubator
  • Sarah Seabrook, Teaching Innovation Incubator
  • Diane Williams, School of Public Health and Health Science
  • David Ha, School of Accounting and Finance
  • Derek Rayside, Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Mike Waite, Applied Mathematics
  • Christy Barbeau, School of Environment, Resources, and Sustainability
  • John Lewis, Office of Indigenous Relations & School of Planning
  • Shabnam Ivkovic, Co-operative Education
  • Veronica Stephenson, Centre for Teaching Excellence
  • Michele Martin, Waterloo Climate Institute
  • Siu Hong Yu, Library

Previous Working Groups

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.

Thank you very much to the following members who participated in the Working Group:

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