Florida Gulf Coast University
EN-9: Staff Professional Development

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH & SAFETY CANVAS TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES There is a sustainability module available on Canvas for employees seeking to better understand the concept of sustainability and how it could relate to their job functions or personal lives. 287 employees completed this virtual training in FY 16-17. ALL-STARS LUNCH & LEARN The Sustainability Manager invited all responsible party members and people that contribute data to our STARS report to attend a lunch and learn. The lunch and learn covered the theoretical frameworks for achieving sustainability in higher education and how STARS helps us chart our progress in practicing sustainability. 25 employees attended in 2016. NEW FACULTY ACADEMY One session of the New Faculty Academy is dedicated to introducing faculty new to FGCU to University Colloquium: A Sustainable Future. The session models in-class group discussion and field experiences that are part of the course and provides a historical context for the course’s creation. From the beginning of their career at FGCU, new faculty are immersed in the sustainability that is an integral part of the University. 20 faculty attended this session. COLLOQUIUM COLLOQUIUM (C2) TRAINING As part of ongoing team-building, professional development opportunities for Colloquium faculty take place every semester. These gatherings are open to those currently teaching Colloquium as well as others interested in teaching or simply interested in learning more about the course. Termed Colloquium Colloquium, these informal gatherings allow creative brainstorming about every aspect of the course including community sustainability issues, service-learning opportunities, and ideas for classroom activities. 25 people attended in FY 15-16. INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY ACROSS THE CURRICULUM (ISAC) ACADEMY Faculty interested in adding or revising course content to include sustainability are encouraged to apply to the annual Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum (ISAC) Academy. Following the Piedmont/Ponderosa Project professional development model, the ISAC Academy provides time, space, and resources for faculty at all career stages across the university to engage in inter- and cross-disciplinary discussions for sustainability curriculum development. 6 faculty attended the 2017 Academy. STAFF ADVISORY COUNCIL (SAC) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (PDP): SAC is committed to providing a forum that will directly address the issues and concerns of the Staff at Florida Gulf Coast University, and strive to ensure a campus climate that reflects a strong, enthusiastic, and positive quality work life. The SAC PDP was established to help provide Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) staff opportunities for professional development. The goal of the program is to assist staff with covering the cost of professional development opportunities that would not be possible without financial assistance. These opportunities must be directly related to career goals and current work responsibilities at FGCU. Awards will be determined based on a combination of demonstrated financial need, responses to the questions on the application, a one-page letter, and a letter from the applicant’s supervisor acknowledging support for the applicant to attend the specified professional development opportunity. Staff categorized as Support Personnel (SP) and Administrative & Professional (A&P) are eligible to apply. (http://www.fgcu.edu/SAC/pdp.html) Employees could use the SAC PDP program to get support for sustainability training/professional development. No one did during the past fiscal year, but employees have taken advantage of this in the past to increase their skills in sustainability topics and it continues to be resources. SAC SOAR INTO SPRING This series offers personal and professional development during Spring Break. This year they offered tours of the FGCU Food Forest and Campus Food Pantry, both of which touched on sustainability topics. 13 people attended these professional development opportunities. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION CERTIFICATE PROGRAM The Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance launched the Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program in an effort to make Florida Gulf Coast University a more diverse and inclusive community. Diversity is a critical dimension of sustainability implementation; this certificate program assists with developing the internal assets needed to advance sustainability across campus. The program is managed by the Diversity and Inclusion Manager from the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance. The presenters are volunteers and are not compensated for their presentations. The program does not have an allocated budget, but the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance sponsors some of the initiatives and covers the costs of certain events. The Diversity and Inclusion Manager also collaborates with other offices and departments on campus to organize events and presentations for the Certificate Program. In order to receive the certificate, Faculty and Staff must attend 5 presentations, trainings, or events throughout the academic year. In 2016-17 the following presentations, trainings, and events were offered and over 160 employees attended one or more of the programs: September 2016 Meet Someone New – September 26 / 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm What is Diversity? What is Inclusion? Training by Mr. Brandon Washington & Mrs. Precious Gunter – September 29 / 10:00 am to 11:00 am October 2016 Caribbean Culture Event (Organized by Dr. Nicola Foote) – October 11 / 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm Disability Awareness and Sensitivity by Ms. Cori Bright-Kerrigan – October 19 / 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Microagressions: Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts by Dr. Dyonne Bergeron – October 28 / 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm November 2016 Meet Someone New – November 3 / 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Dialogue on Race (Organized by Dr. Sachiko Tankei-Aminian) – November 14 / 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm Lecture and Conversation with author Gisele Pineau (Organized by Dr. Delphine Gras and Ms. Tatiana Schuss) – November 15 / 11:30 am to 1:30 pm Unchecking the Box: Towards an Understanding of the Concepts of Race and Ethnicity by Ms. Katherine Hernandez Navarro – November 29 / 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm December 2016 Fostering Inclusivity in your Department by Dr. Kristine De Welde – December 1 / 9:30 am to 10:30 am January 2017 Outclusion: Fear, Freedom and Fantasy in Coming Out by Dr. Jon Braddy – January 4 / 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm Unchecking the Box: Towards an Understanding of the Concepts of Race and Ethnicity by Ms. Katherine Hernandez Navarro – January 5 / 10:30 am to 11:30 am Meet Someone New – January 12 / 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm What is Diversity? What is Inclusion? Training by Mrs. Precious Gunter and Ms. Jessica Homer – January 25 / 10:00 am to 11:00 am February 2017 Speaker Event: Being of Color in White Spaces by Dr. Stacey Pearson-Wharton – February 1 / 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm Disability Awareness and Sensitivity by Ms. Cori Bright-Kerrigan – February 7 / 10:30 am to 11:30 am Document Documentary Screening “What would you like to become?: Answers from Iranian School Children” and Q&A Discussion by Drs. Sachiko Tankei-Aminian and Farshad Aminian-Tankei – February 17 / 9:30 am to 10:45 am Hispanic/Latino Culture 101 by Dr. Ney Arias and Ms. Katherine Hernandez Navarro – February 21 / 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm March 2017 What is Diversity? What is Inclusion? Training by Mrs. Precious Gunter and Ms. Jessica Homer – March 1 / 11:00 am to 12:00 pm How to Support Low-SES (Socio Economic Status) Students by Ms. Diane Odeh – March 6 / 10:30 am to 11:30 am Is life fair? An interactive exploration by Dr. Jan-Martijn Meij – March 9 / 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm Meet Someone New – March 23 / 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Understanding Ethnolinguistic Diversity Workshop by Dr. Sachiko Tankei-Aminian – March 27 / 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm Film Screening: American Revolutionary, The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs (Organized by Dr. Frances Davey) – March 30 / 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm A Refugee’s Story by Una Bilic (Organized by Ms. Charlotte Bingham and International Services) – March 31 / 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm April 2017 Where Do We Stand: An Update on how Laws Protect or Affect the LGBTQ Community by Ms. Jessica Homer – April 5 / 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Hispanic/Latino Culture 101 by Dr. Ney Arias and Ms. Katherine Hernandez Navarro – April 20 / 10:30 am to 11:30 am Fostering Inclusivity in Your Department by Dr. Kristine De Welde – April 25 / 10:30 am to 11:30 am In 2016-17 115 people were awarded certificates. 49 of these participants exceeded the minimum requirements and were recognized as graduating with distinction. Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion is a life-long learning endeavor. One academic year is not enough to cover all areas and approaches. Thus, Faculty and Staff are expected to keep their certificate current by attending a determined number of events every year. This will give participants the opportunity to develop a more rounded and complete understanding of the richness of our diverse society. Please see http://www.fgcu.edu/equity/diversity-inclusion-certificate.html and http://www.fgcu.edu/equity/Diversity-and-Inclusion.html for more information.

Employees seek appropriate professional development opportunities based on their needs and goals and can travel as budgets allow or they are able to secure funding. There are no means of tracking if and how people use their travel money to attend external professional development and training opportunities in sustainability.

The tuition voucher is available to full-time FGCU employees. Employees may take up to six credit hours of course work per term (http://www.fgcu.edu/HR/uspsbenefits.html). It is possible that some employees took courses that covered sustainability as a part of this opportunity for professional development, but they are not accounted for here. To estimate the percentage, the Sustainability Manager asked for attendance sheets from the internal sustainability professional development and training opportunities. Duplicate names were removed. For example, an employee attending both the New Faculty Academy and taking a Canvas training would not be counted twice. 537 unique employees out of a headcount of 1,594 employees (34%) participated in internal sustainability professional development and training opportunities.