USD’s Department of Sustainability & Environment Selected for Carnegie Foundation Pilot Program
USD’s participation is led by faculty from the Department of Sustainability & Environment, Joseph Kantenbacher, Ph.D., assistant professor; Meghann Jarchow, Ph.D., chair and Anna Moore, instructor.
“By participating in this pilot program, USD is helping to shape the Carnegie Foundation’s sustainability elective classification,” said Jarchow. “USD will have the opportunity to learn from other members how other institutions are doing sustainability work and will give us insight into how we can improve our methods. At the same time, the Carnegie Foundation will learn from those within the pilot program and their respective processes.”
Running from January 2025 through early 2026, the program places USD at the forefront of a national effort to better recognize and advance sustainability in higher education. Staff, administrators and faculty members across campus can share insights to help shape USD’s narrative for the Carnegie program, which emphasizes self-assessment and continuous improvement.
Participation in the program supports institutional growth and highlights USD’s growing reputation as a national leader in sustainability education. The Department of Sustainability & Environment offers degrees ranging from undergraduate to doctoral levels and a strong focus on interdisciplinary collaboration.
Students will also have opportunities to become involved in the pilot program.
“We’re excited to involve our students in embracing this opportunity to affirm our identity as a university that values sustainability and to connect the many efforts already happening on campus,” said Kantenbacher.
Student involvement and faculty and staff leadership are further demonstrated through USD’s wide range of sustainability initiatives, including events, programs and clubs such as the Environmental Club, Earth Days, the Alternative Week of Off-Campus Learning and faculty-led research activities that engage students in real-world environmental work.
USD’s final application for the classification is due in September 2025, with results expected in early 2026. The full launch of the Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability is anticipated in 2026 or 2027.
About the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
The mission of the Carnegie Foundation is to catalyze transformational change in education so that every student has the opportunity to live a healthy, dignified, and fulfilling life. Enacted by an act of Congress in 1906, the Foundation has a rich history of driving transformational change in education, including the establishment of TIAA-CREF, the Graduate Record Examination and the Carnegie Classifications for Higher Education.
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