This summer, Arizona State University’s College of Global Futures welcomed institutional teams from 14 leading colleges and universities to the Sustainability Education Program Directors’ Cohort, a six-week, fully online experience designed to build community and capacity among faculty and administrators leading sustainability-focused academic programs. This ASU-hosted first-of-its-kind offering came after a similar pilot program hosted by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). It is hoped that this program will become a regular offering for university and college sustainability program leaders.
Facilitated by Krista Hiser and Jordan King, the summer 2025 cohort brought together a dynamic group of directors and coordinators from institutions across the country, representing sustainability degree programs from a variety of institutional types and regional contexts. Together, participants explored critical questions shaping sustainability as an academic and professional path, including curriculum, experiential learning, internship experiences, programmatic accreditation, and change leadership.
The cohort structure emphasized peer-to-peer learning, with weekly Zoom sessions featuring guest experts from across the field. Sessions included perspectives from ASU’s own Joshua Abbott, Director of ASU’s School of Sustainability, the academic futurist Bryan Alexander, and Leona Davis of the University of Arizona. Participants also engaged in asynchronous learning, group discussions, and small group breakouts to reflect on their own institutional strategies and challenges.
The initiative builds on a three-year partnership between ASU and the emergent Sustainability Education Accreditation Commission (SEAC), which is part of the National Sustainability Society (NSS). "We envisioned a professional experience to improve academic program management and evaluation for sustainability degrees, especially as the degree comes into maturity," said Krista Hiser, who leads the Pathways toward Accreditation initiative. "It's been 20 years since the first sustainability degree at ASU, and these program directors have so much educational innovation to share with each other. The goal is to make the professional degree more visible and valuable to employers, communities, and students as well as future faculty in the academic field of Sustainability."
Alice Reznickova of the University of Colorado Boulder reflected on her experience: “It was great connecting with colleagues, seeing what is happening in sustainability education, and learning more about the accreditation process. I appreciated all the insights we gained from reflecting on accreditation criteria and seeing different approaches across institutions.” Participants left the experience with a toolkit of practical resources, a deeper understanding of the evolving landscape of sustainability education, and a renewed sense of purpose in shaping the future of their programs.
The National Sustainability Society sponsored this cohort, providing scholarships for several of the teams as well as a one-year membership in the NSS. More information and future cohort offerings will be posted at www.sustedu.org.