The Undergraduate Sustainability Education Committee (USEC)
The Undergraduate Sustainability Education Committee is comprised of school representatives and is charged with developing a comprehensive sustainability curriculum and implementation strategy, including cross- and discipline-appropriate approaches in close collaboration with the respective units. The USEC directs the allocation of Institute Strategic Plan (ISP) funds to support curriculum development and to document and share sustainability and SDG education successes. This work is carried out in alignment with other ISP initiatives such as Transformative Teaching and Learning.
“The USEC is proud to support GT’s mission: ‘developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition,’ which depends on social, environmental and economic sustainability. We promote cross-and disciplinary curricular and extra-curricular activities fostering the next generation of leaders, while supporting with applied research our communities within Atlanta, GA and across the world.”
2025 Undergraduate Sustainability Education Innovation Grants Awarded
The Center for Teaching and Learning is pleased to announce the recipients of the third round of Undergraduate Sustainability Education Innovation Grant. Recipients from this round represent four colleges and 13 schools, with total support exceeding $144,000. The grants aim to transform instruction using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
“These awards advance Georgia Tech’s Strategic Plan to connect globally and amplify impact by contributing to global efforts that advance the U.N. SDGs through our education, research, and service,” said Rebecca Watts Hull, assistant director of Faculty Development for Sustainability Education Initiatives. “Huge thanks to Sustainability Next for funding these grants and to the Undergraduate Sustainability Education Committee (USEC) for managing them.”
All three rounds of grant-funded projects feature high enrollment and core courses, significantly expanding the reach of Georgia Tech’s sustainability-across-the-curriculum initiatives.
Students in Flavio Fenton’s lab.
Grant recipients are encouraged to join the Community of Practice on Transformative Teaching with the SDGs. More than 30 faculty members participate in the Community of Practice, meeting regularly to present works in progress, get peer feedback, share resources, and develop strategies to engage more faculty and students in sustainability education.
Learn more about sustainability education at Georgia Tech through the Sustainability Next Plan and the Climate Action Plan.
Want to get involved? Contact Matthew Realff, chair, for more information about the Undergraduate Sustainability Education Committee or reach out to Rebecca Watts Hull for support with sustainability and SDG course design or redesign.
A Brief History of the USEC
Established in 2022, the Undergraduate Sustainability Education Committee works to implement the educational goals of the Sustainability Next initiative of the Georgia Tech Institute Strategic Plan. In Spring 2023, the committee awarded 21 Undergraduate Sustainability Education Innovation Grants, as well as 9 more in Fall 2023, all of which will lead to the integration of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into courses taken by nearly every student at Georgia Tech. The committee works in concert with the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) to provide professional learning opportunities for instructors seeking to incorporate Education for Sustainable Development into their teaching.
In Fall 2023, the USEC launched the comprehensive overview of all courses taught in the Georgia Tech cColleges that directly and indirectly teach social, environmental, and economic sustainability.
A Unifying Framework: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries — developed and developing — in a global partnership. The UN SDGs underpin our framework for catalyzing action and advancing the public good at a global scale. A Unifying Framework: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Through Georgia Tech’s affiliation with the University Global Coalition, sustainability thought leaders collaborate with higher education leaders from across the globe to advance the SDGs through education, research, service, and campus operations. In 2020, we launched the 17 Rooms initiative at Georgia Tech to familiarize the campus community with the SDGs. The inaugural event convened local leaders and identified partnerships and practical steps to accelerate progress on each UN SDG. Several of the resulting recommendations from this collaboration were integrated into the Sustainability Next Plan.
Georgia Tech also co-founded and currently co-leads Regional Centres of Expertise (RCE) Greater Atlanta, officially acknowledged by the United Nations University. RCEs support the multi-stakeholder implementation of the SDGs at the regional level through education and training. RCE Greater Atlanta brings together universities and colleges from across the Atlanta region with nonprofit, community, government, and business partners. It approaches all SDGs through an equity and justice lens, building on the city’s rich history as the home of the Civil Rights Movement.
USEC Sub-Committees
Strategy and Development
The Strategy and Development sub-committee develops a mid- and long-term strategy for the USEC in reflection of social, political, environmental, legal, policy, technological, and economic trends that might impact Undergraduate Sustainability Education at Georgia Tech. The subcommittee will investigate and target funding opportunities to foster education focused on sustainability.
Communications
The Communications sub-committee develops communication and marketing assets for the USEC in close feedback with the Campus Portfolio Manager Sustainability Next. The team informs people of education in current and future sustainability education and related activities on-campus and off-campus.
Circular Coordination
The Circular Coordination sub-committee is comprised of faculty members and develops strategies for comprehensive curricula that include both common threads and discipline-dependent content for specific majors.
Innovation Grants Management
The Innovation Grants Management sub-committee is comprised of faculty members who develop the call for grant proposals, create evaluation rubrics, and organize the evaluation and selection of the proposals to fund. The committee also monitors the progress of the awardees’ projects.
Faculty Development
The Faculty Development sub-committee is comprised of subject matter experts and instructors who teach sustainability-focused courses. They organize workshops, discussions, and lectures to improve teaching and learning sustainability.
Sustainability Education Research
The Sustainability Education Research sub-committee is comprised of faculty who are interested in research fostering sustainability education. They conduct literature studies, seek research funding, prepare proposals for funding, and help others to design the course assessments.