At the University of Richmond, sustainability is defined as the creation of environmental, social, and economic conditions that foster health and well-being for people and the natural world in this generation and for the generations to come. Sustainability is an inherently interdisciplinary approach for shaping a better world and can be applied to any discipline or field.

The River City Project, UR’s Faculty Development Workshop is focused on creating the space for faculty to ideate how to incorporate the practice and principles of sustainability into their curriculum through exploring various sustainability frameworks, networking with others, place-based education, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Participating faculty will attend a two-day workshop in May of 2025, hosted by UR’s Office for Sustainability, and will primarily meet on campus in addition to experiential trips both on and off campus. Through design exercises and discussion centered on local-to-global sustainability issues and challenges, participants will develop a shared understanding of sustainability, explore sustainability competencies and pedagogy, cultivate a justice lens, and develop or enhance their sustainability worldview. Participants will receive a stipend for attending the two-day workshop.

Following the two-day workshop in May, participants will be invited to continue as a cohort for the following year. Cohort members will convene for quarterly meetings following September, November, January, and March for continued dialogue. The River City Project cohort will highlight course modifications to their syllabus for how they’ve included or enhanced sustainability in an existing or new course, in addition to being encouraged to host their own workshop, engagement event, or project to be determined. Following completion of the cohort, participants will receive an additional stipend.

For more information and to apply for the 2025 River City Project, please email Daniel Hart at dhart@richmond.edu.

River City Project, University of Richmond 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.