Sustainability in Teaching, Research, and Community Practice: The FCS Department at California State University, Northridge

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how a large comprehensive family and consumer sciences unit has incorporated sustainability into its curriculum and research agenda. It summarizes how each area within the department (Interior Design, Apparel Design and Merchandising, Consumer Affairs, Family Studies, Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science) has been addressing sustainability concepts. It also explains how faculty came together to offer a co-taught seminar that combines sustainability concepts across the department. A brief description of this seminar, including learning objectives and outcome measures, is presented. This article offers an agenda for departmental curricular and research activities--some of which are student centered or collaborations among faculty--that incorporate sustainability knowledge and practices within the local and global communities. (Contains 1 table.)