Climate change is an ongoing threat that requires unprecedented collaboration. That’s why Colorado State University has launched a new initiative that will harness its world-class experts to lead the way in sustainability research and educate the next generation of leaders.
The new CSU Climate Initiative is a strategic commitment of resources and leadership from across campus that will help the university address the grand challenge of building a climate-resilient future in Colorado and beyond.
“Our world-class educators and researchers are at the forefront of all aspects of climate work,” President Amy Parsons said. “The CSU Climate Initiative team connects every college across the university, and will focus on interdisciplinary discovery, outreach and preparing our students for tomorrow’s workforce. This collaborative initiative positions CSU to become the top institution for climate research, engagement and education in the United States and globally.”
The CSU Climate Initiative is driven by the university’s land-grant mission, which focuses on research, extension and engagement, and a practical education for students of diverse backgrounds. Combining the University’s expertise in everything from agriculture, business and natural resources to the humanities and atmospheric science, the initiative will pave the way in developing climate change education programs accessible to a wide array of students.
One of the CSU Climate Initiative’s first steps is developing a 12-credit undergraduate certificate in Climate Change and Society, responding to calls for action to train the next generation of climate change leaders.
The demand for students with this type of education far exceeds the supply, and both the public and private sectors are actively looking for employees with knowledge of the impact of climate change and potential solutions.
“Youth are leading the climate change movement in the U.S. and worldwide – and are demanding knowledge, skills, solutions and action,” said Courtney Schultz, director of the CSU Climate Initiative and professor in the Warner College of Natural Resources.
Providing these skills won’t just happen on the university’s main campus in Fort Collins. The CSU Climate Initiative plans to also participate in urban and rural community-based partnerships across the state, including at CSU Spur in Denver.
There, the initiative will build a hub that will offer data and forecasting through the Colorado Climate Center, support for innovation and entrepreneurship, and offer analytics for land managers and developers.
“The Spur campus enables us to lean into all of the strengths of a comprehensive land-grant university to empower our students, researchers, partners and community members to spearhead climate resilience efforts,” said Scott Shrake, a member of the Climate Initiative leadership team and CSU’s associate vice president for Strategy. “It’s where we’re not only leading from the front but also directly shaping the leaders to help us all navigate the complexities of climate change.”
Climate across the curriculum
Next year, the Initiative will launch a Spring Climate Across the Curriculum training – a two-day session for faculty members to learn about key aspects of climate change.
Faculty members from across campus can apply to participate, and roughly 50 people will ultimately be chosen for the initial round of training, which will further knowledge about sustainability education and allow any instructor to add climate change content to their courses.
Scott King, a climate action advocate who is the executive director at Colorado-based Mission Zero, has pledged to donate funds to the CSU Climate Initiative for this effort. He and the Climate Initiative team are recruiting and building a donor base for future activities.
Contribute to the CSU Climate Initiative
Are you interested in becoming a donor to the CSU Climate Initiative? Connect with the CCI director at Courtney.Schultz@colostate.edu.
“I have seen firsthand the power of education to drive meaningful change and am excited to help financially support the Climate Across the Curriculum training at Colorado State University,” King said. “Our climate crisis is not just an environmental issue; it is an all-encompassing challenge that intersects with economics, social justice, and technology. By weaving climate science into the fabric of CSU’s diverse curricula, we are equipping our future leaders with the comprehensive understanding they need to devise effective solutions.”
The Climate Initiative is strengthening the connective tissue of CSU’s sustainability community through its Advisory Council, which offers thorough representation across campus, including SoGES, the Energy Institute, the Colorado Climate Center, the One Health Institute, the Center for Environmental Justice, AgNext, the Soil Carbon Solutions Center, the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere and more.
“CSU is home to world-class researchers and educators on the topic of climate change,” said Jill Zarestky, from the School of Education, and also on the leadership team. “Combined with our land grant mission, we have an exciting opportunity to prepare learners of all ages and the broader Colorado community for responding to our changing planet.”
