In collaboration with the AASHE, Dickinson has hosted the Valley & Ridge Faculty Development Workshop. and opened applications to educators from other colleges and universities to participate alongside the Dickinson cohort since 2017. As a regional center for excellence in sustainability across the curriculum, Dickinson is committed creating innovative and effective change in higher education sustainability curriculum development.  Each year, educators that are thinking about integrating social, economic and/or environmental sustainability into their undergraduate teaching are encouraged to apply, and about 20 participants are accepted into the 2.5 day residential program. We have now worked with over 28 other institutions from throughout the region and covered disciplines such as engineering, theatre and dance, economics, Italian, and chemistry.

Valley & Ridge has annually brought together educators from all academic disciplines to work collaboratively to introduce and enhance sustainability content in new and existing courses across the curriculum. Sponsored by Dickinson’s Center for Sustainability Education (CSE), this workshop has helped over 150 Dickinson faculty connect the subject areas of their teaching with sustainability using active learning pedagogies such as place-based & experiential education since 2008.

The Valley and Ridge Project at Dickinson takes its name from the physiographic region within which the College lies, which is marked by the Allegheny Plateau to the north and west, South Mountain to the south and east, and Cumberland Valley in-between. The project got its impetus from Dickinson’s participation in the Shared Futures and Sustainability Initiatives of the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). The Valley and Ridge Project is modeled after the Piedmont Project of Emory University and the Ponderosa Project of Northern Arizona University.

Participants that complete the program are then classified as Valley & Ridge Fellows and can contribute to and benefit from a resource network with other fellows, participate in continuing education and experiential programs offered by CSE, and continue to advance sustainability within their discipline and across the curriculum.

See past curriculum development projects here.

Valley & Ridge Workshop Website; Apply Now: No Later than March 14, 2025

More Information and Apply

Dickinson College is one of the regional AASHE Centers for Sustainability Across the Curriculum. Centers host workshops and other professional development opportunities throughout the year. If you aren’t able to attend this event, please consider attending one of the other upcoming events organized by a Center.