Targeted Infusion Project: Building a Curriculum and Learning Community for Workforce Readiness in Interdisciplinary Sustainability Science[

To navigate the complex, context-specific problems the world faces today, students need the ability to use knowledge from different disciplines, work across different workforce sectors, and lead in uncertain conditions. These skills are increasingly sought after by employers, but they remain unevenly distributed across institutions. To address this demand, Kentucky State University will develop, pilot, and refine an undergraduate certificate in sustainability that is open to students across academic majors including engineering, technology, agricultural sciences, business, and other sciences. The project will prepare students to understand sustainability challenges, work across disciplinary boundaries, apply systems thinking, collaborate with community partners, and respond to changing environmental, social, and economic conditions. New and refined courses will address foundations of sustainability, leadership in complex systems, and applied sustainability practice. Existing courses will serve as electives. Students will participate in a Sustainability Learning Community, complete professional portfolios, and engage in community-based learning experiences connected to career preparation. Faculty workshops, peer learning, and industry partnerships will support course development and long-term institutional adoption. The project will expand access to workforce-relevant sustainability education, strengthen interdisciplinary teaching, and create a durable academic pathway at Kentucky State University. The research will examine how specific design features of an adaptive, regenerative sustainability certificate program support students in developing technical sustainability competencies and adaptive capacities for navigating complexity and systemic change. The interdisciplinary research team will investigate (1) how students from different disciplinary backgrounds and prior experiences engage with sustainability frameworks, (2) under what conditions formal sustainability frameworks help students articulate and apply knowledge developed through lived experience, and (3) how peer learning contributes to technical and adaptive capacity development. The program brings together social, economic, and technological dimensions with applied sciences. Expected contributions include new knowledge about interdisciplinary sustainability education at an HBCU, an open-access curriculum toolkit, faculty development resources, and transferable guidance for other institutions seeking to strengthen sustainability education and workforce readiness. This award is funded by the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), through Targeted Infusion Projects, which supports the development, implementation, and study of evidence-based, innovative models and approaches for improving the preparation and success of HBCU undergraduate students to pursue science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) graduate programs and/or careers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.