Call for Applications
Course Development Grants for New Courses Related to Ice and Environmental Justice in the Pacific Northwest
If you’re thinking about developing a new course related to environmental justice—and particularly if it connects to the Pacific Northwest and to snow, ice, glaciers, or glacier-fed waterways—then consider applying for a new course development grant ($4,500 stipend plus OPE). Three of these grants are available thanks to generous support from the Andrew Mellon Foundation.
The goal of this larger Mellon “Pacific Northwest Just Futures” grant is to advance research and education on social and environmental justice issues in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, Alaska, British Columbia). There are many ways to bring these issues into new courses, and instructors from all disciplines, in all units, and all UO colleges are eligible to apply. Environmental justice courses related to ice could go in many different directions. Arctic residents including in Alaska rely on thinning sea ice for their homelands, hunting, fishing, transportation, cultural identity, and everything. Permafrost thawing is forcing some coastal communities to relocate and affecting vital infrastructure. Shrinking glaciers in Oregon and Washington play a role in farming and irrigation, environmental hazards like outburst floods and avalanches, salmon and fisheries, Tribal rights and treaties, hydropower, alpine recreation, coastal and marine ecosystems, public lands management, livelihoods and economies, identities, and food security.
Proposed new courses could focus on any of these topics and ice types (sea ice, glaciers, ice sheets, icebergs, permafrost, snow), and many others, as long as courses are connected to ice, environmental justice, and the Pacific Northwest. A new course in environmental ethics could include substantive new content on the Pacific Northwest and/or the cryosphere, while a new Earth Sciences course on hazards could add an environmental justice component, or a Law School course on water in the Northwest could bring in glaciers that feed those waterways, or an Indigenous environmental studies course could increase new content on environmental hazards and justice in Oregon.
There are three $4,500 course development grants available during the next two years, so depending on the number of funded courses in this round, there may be another call for applications next year.
Eligibility and Priorities
These course development grants are designed to help instructors create new courses. All UO instructors and faculty are eligible—from any unit, discipline, department, or college. Anyone who teaches their own courses can apply. Priority will be given to courses that will likely be taught at the UO more than once, rather than one-time course offerings. Courses that have strong environmental justice, ice, and Pacific Northwest content will also be prioritized over courses with only minimal attention to these topics. Priority will also be given to courses that offer innovative pedagogy and interdisciplinary approaches. Proposed courses must be taught within the next two academic years.
Award Details
The course development grant provides a $4,500 stipend to the instructor and covers the associated OPE. The award will be paid in two equal installments: first, at the outset of course development (for this round, in summer 2021); and, second, at the beginning of the term when the course is first offered.
Application Deadline: May 19, 2021
Application Instructions
To apply, email the following materials to Mark Carey (carey@uoregon.edu):
- Cover Letter that provides (1) your contact information, (2) course specifics including proposed course number, title, and expected enrollment; (3) timing of when you will first teach the course (term/year) and frequency of course offering thereafter; (4) course approval status, or steps required for approval, to assure the course can be taught as proposed
- Course Overview explaining: (1) the course rationale, objectives, and topics; (2) any pedagogical innovations; (3) course plans including potential readings, assignments, topics to cover, etc.; and (4) ways the course addresses ice, environmental justice, and the Pacific Northwest
- Department/Unit Head Approval: finalists will be asked to have their unit head confirm that the course offering and plan for continued teaching align with unit-level approvals and planning
Questions: For questions about the award and process, contact Mark Carey (carey@uoregon.edu), who runs the Glacier Lab for the Study of Ice and Society and is based in the Clark Honors College and Environmental Studies Program. Funding for these three course development grants comes from his “Ice, Society, and Climate Justice” dimension of the Mellon “Just Futures” grant.