More than ever we need an educated, engaged, and informed citizenry to address the sustainability and climate change challenges facing society. We need scholars who can take their work outside the university so that community members, journalists, and policy makers can utilize it. The Climate Action Champion program brings interdisciplinary research and teaching into the public sphere to influence knowledge, policy, and the work of practitioners and public dialog related to sustainability and climate change. Fellows will work with local, regional, national, or international communities to move research and education from the university to the public, turning research and theory into action.
The Climate Action Champion program provides support for faculty to broaden and deepen climate change and sustainability teaching and research opportunities; to build upon their scholarship and research; to engage communities in dialog around the significance of that work; and to explore its application for advancing climate action and sustainable development at levels spanning from campus to the planet.
Your contribution will help us grow the Champion program and support faculty to work independently or in interdisciplinary teams to empower sustainable development and climate action. Kristy Kroeker, UC Santa Cruz’s 2016–17 Climate Action Champion, is using her award to engage high school students, graduate students, and their hometown communities in climate change education and action.