Santa Clara University
IN-24: Innovation A

The Penstemon Project (modeled after the Piedmont and Ponderosa Projects shared by AASHE over 10 years ago) was first designed for individual faculty outside of the traditional environmentally-focused disciplines to find ways to incorporate sustainability into their curriculum--either as class content or in the way their class functions. In Penstemon 2.0, the project has pioneered a new approach to sustainability across the curriculum, based on suggestions over the years with the Penstemon Project for Sustainability Across the Curriculum. The heart of this approach is to engage entire academic departments throughout SCU's schools and colleges, asking them to set their own goals for how many courses should include a sustainability component. The program has been successfully implemented several departments, whose representatives discussed their own curricula and set their own goals. Here are recent results from departments who participated during the summer of 2015: The Political Science Department decided that 50% of their courses should include a sustainability component. They achieved 49% in 2015-16 (45% in 2014-15). The Economics Department committed to a goal of 35%. They achieved 36% in 2015-16 (22% in 2014-15). Civil Engineering and Anthropology departments both committed to goals of 75%. Though Civil Engineering missed its goal (31% in 2015-16, 24% in 2014-15) the department still experienced an increase in sustainability-related courses taught. Anthropology achieved 92% in 2015-16 (88% in 2014-15). As further evidence of the innovative character of Penstemon 2.0, AASHE highlighted our approach during the Educating for Sustainability Webinar Series. The Center for Sustainability also presented the Penstemon 2.0 approach at previous AASHE and CHESC conferences.