University of New Hampshire
EN-9: Staff Professional Development and Training

UNH offers various sustainability themed professional development/ training opportunities throughout the year that are described in other credits, such as:

1.  Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Professional Development opportunities for UNH staff (and faculty and graduate students) to further diversity, equity and inclusion awareness, knowledge and skill sets allowing for critical analysis of the services UNH provides, and of the relational dynamics we seek in a diverse institution.
2. Safe zones training (to advance awareness, knowledge, and skills around the services and support that UNH provides to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) students and colleagues) and green zone training (developing awareness of the issues faced by student veterans and service members), that are open to all staff members. See https://www.unh.edu/inclusive/trainings-news-events/events-programs-trainings
3. Training offered through the Sustainability Ambassadors Program, in which they receive training and a sustainability resources.

In 2021, based on data from our campus wide survey indicating low awareness of the specifics of UNH's specific sustainability practices and of the availability of various opportunities for staff to engage in sustainability, the UNH Sustainability Institute embarked on an initiative in partnership with UNH's Professional Development & Training unit, as well as Communications & Public Affairs, to substantially increase specific knowledge about UNH's existing sustainability practices, as well as opportunities for staff to get involved and/or be supported in integrating sustainability knowledge and skills into their work. 

We developed and launched a professionally produced UNH Sustainability Professional Development Training module. The module consists of a series of 12 videos on various topics, with each video being followed by a quiz for people to test their knowledge. The video modules facilitates a universal understanding of what sustainability means, how UNH practices sustainability across various domains, and highlights how employees can be engaged in sustainability. The module is updated regularly, and every year UNH does an outreach campaign to all employees and students offering them this training for free. The campaign includes an email to all employees from our Provost, with subsequent reminders from Deans and unit heads, as well as UNH's Chief Sustainability Officer. We incentivize participation by creating a unit challenge, whereby the unit with the highest percentage of employees completing the training within a designated 1-month time period (usually June/July) wins prizes. Staff who complete the module also earn a "Sustainabilty at UNH" badge (i.e., micro-credential).

Just under 25% of staff (as well as a significant number of faculty as well) "took" the module in our 2024 outreach campaign. We were regularly struck by the comments submitted by many of the participants who do the training module, noting how it increases their awareness and knowledge, their pride in the place where they work, and their desire to get involved in sustainability. The training elicited many requests to engage with sustainability programs and ideas and suggestions for future initiatives. 

In addition, in partnership with UNH Professional Development & Training, the UNH Sustainability Institute, has designed a new 4 hour introductory carbon accounting course. While the module is offered to external audiences for a fee, the course is available to UNH staff (and faculty) for free, and every year a dozen or more employees complete this course. https://training.unh.edu/IntroCarbonFootprinting 

The Sustainability Institute makes funds available for UNH staff to attend Sustainability conferences annually such as the AASHE conference.