University of Richmond
AC-7: Incentives for Developing Courses

The River City Project is a faculty development program modeled after the Piedmont and Ponderosa Projects that aims to integrate sustainability into the curriculum across all disciplines. During a two day workshop, core concepts of sustainability, including ecological limits, systems thinking, environmental impacts, and the triple bottom line, are introduced. Participants are guided through the process of linking these ideas to a course they teach and modifying the syllabus to include sustainability. The "River City Project" name was inspired by the network of universities that have established similar programs, starting with the Piedmont Project at Emory University and the Ponderosa Project at Northern Arizona University. The name also reflects a goal to have participants link their courses to the unique geographical and environmental features of Richmond and Virginia. Following the two-day workshop, faculty submit a modified course syllabus that clearly demonstrates the integration of sustainability content into the course. Sustainability content ranges from one class session to a thematic approach to the whole semester. At the end of the semester, each faculty participant writes a reflective narrative on the experience at the conclusion of teaching the course. More than twenty courses have been adapted since the start of this program. In addition to the River City Project, Faculty Learning Communities the Office of the Provost supports Faculty Learning Communities from across the University of Richmond’s five schools to provide opportunities for faculty to come together to share and develop ideas. Each Faculty Learning Community (FLC) encourages cross-program, cross-department, and cross-school interdisciplinary engagement with projects that are germane to the institution’s mission and the greater good of the University, the City of Richmond, the nation, and the world. Each FLC cohort engages in collaborative year-long projects that reflect the breadth and depth of UR faculty and staff commitment to both producing and expanding the frontiers of knowledge and education for the common good. In the inaugural year of this program, there is a climate change FLC, one on human rights, and another on critical diversity in higher education.

Each River City Program recipient who agrees to modify their course content, submit a revised syllabus, and draft a reflective narrative upon course completion receives a $1,000 stipend. The stipend is processed when the faculty member submits his or her syllabus at the beginning of the semester in which the revised/new course is taught.