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Office of Sustainability Academics

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Academics

Sustainability, as a classroom and research topic, is naturally cross-disciplinary and provides opportunities for students and faculty with varying academic interests to learn and collaborate. Students can enroll in courses that include sustainability in every school at American University and many faculty members are engaged in research that contributes to the breadth and depth of knowledge in sustainability. More than 900 faculty members have been certified through the Green Teaching Program which focuses on recognizing teachers who use green practices in the classroom. 

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Academic Programs

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Research Centers

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Research Consortiums

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Resources

To learn more about how AU incorporates sustainability across the curriculum, please click here.

U.S. Green Building Council

All instructors, staff, and students have access to American University’s institutional subscription to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This subscription provides many resources, lesson plans, presentations, and case studies related to green buildings and sustainability. 

To access USGBC Reources: 

  • Create an account through the USGBC website using your american.edu email address. 

  • Within your account settings, you will see an option to connect your account with an institutional account. Connect to American University. 

 

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education 

All faculty members, staff, and students have access to resources from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) through AU’s campus membership. 

To access AASHE materials: 

  • Create an account using your American email address. 

  • Explore curriculum ideas, case studies, mentorship programs, and more. 

AU Sustainability Fund

American University's Sustainability Fund advances the university's active pursuit of sustainability by providing financial and administrative support for campus sustainability projects developed and proposed by members of the university community and must help advance the achievement of the sustainability plan.  

This program is open to any member of the university community, including students, faculty, staff, alumni and neighborhood residents to propose sustainability projects. Projects must have a research or implementation component on the American University campus or in the community.  

Sustainability in the Classroom

The Office of Sustainability asked faculty to self-identify sustainability courses or courses that included sustainability and share sustainability related research. In the 2022/2023 academic year, more than 400 courses were identified.   If you would like to add an additional course or your research to the lists please email sustainability@american.edu.

American University has sustainability-supportive learning outcomes in the AU Learning Outcomes from the Provost. 

Sustainability Research

A list of sustainability-related research can be found here.