Season's greetings and Happy New Year from SoGES:

The School of Global Environmental Sustainability at CSU.

As 2025 comes to a close, we wish you and your loved ones a restorative holiday season. Thank you for your dedication to sustainability. Your support is vital and helps us pursue the SoGES mission to make the world a better place through research and education on all aspects of sustainability.

Research

• Five Collaboratories teams received funding to gather CSU faculty across disciplines to explore critical climate and sustainability challenges
• We funded a Rapid Response team focused on the ecosystem and environmental justice issues around the rapid expansion of immigrant detention facilities
• We currently have three open funding calls [more information below].

Education

• Congratulations GES Minor graduates! We have 16 graduates with a Global Environmental Sustainability Minor, three with Sustainable Water Interdisciplinary Minor, one with Sustainable Energy Minor, and one Role of Sustainability in Peace and Reconciliation Minor for Fall 2025.
• The Climate Change Studies Minor officially launched in Fall 2025 and is growing rapidly.
• Our education team continue to work on new graduate and undergraduate courses and credentials in climate change and sustainability; watch for more developments in 2026!

Training

• Our 2024 and 2025 Climate Across the Curriculum (CATC) trainings for CSU and Denver Public Schools instructors have now reached nearly 4000 students to increase climate literacy across all disciplines. We also held train the trainer sessions with leaders from other universities this past summer.
• A Network for Graduate Leadership in Sustainability (ANGLES) workshop at CSU Spur brought together 14 universities for an immersive leadership workshop designed to strengthen skills essential for impactful sustainability work.
• Our incredible cohort of PhD/Postdoctoral Diana Wall Sustainability Leadership Fellows have been actively developing science translation and leadership skills, and we are launching a new program designed specifically for master's students in Spring 2026.

Facilitators and participants gather during the ANGLES workshop at CSU Spur

2025-2026 SLF participating in mock-interview during media workshop

Engagement

• We held three Managing the Planet events with topics on chocolate, AI, and water gathering over 200 attendees from the campus and community.
• We were part of the CSU delegation to COP30 where we held a collaborative CO exhibit, CSU/SoGES hosted 2 informal opportunities for students, and participated in official side event "Higher Education as a Critical Global Partner for Enabling and Accelerating Climate Action".
• Created a LinkedIn CSU Climate & Sustainability Alumni page, not just for SoGES graduates! Join the group to stay connected with the CSU climate and sustainability community.
• Our Human Nature Blog has seven new posts from our sustainability leadership fellows and affiliates.

October 2025 Managing the Planet event on AI Impacts on Sustainability

Collaborative Colorado exhibit during COP30

SoGES, Colorado Water Center, and CSU Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) invite proposals for Climate-Ready Agriculture and Water Innovation Grants targeted, interdisciplinary research projects that explore innovative approaches to promoting climate resilience and water sustainability in agricultural systems.

Click HERE for more information and to apply. Deadline for proposals is February 2, 2026.

The Global Challenges Research Team (GCRT) program provides seed funding to foster new, creative approaches to complex sustainability programs and enable initial steps towards lasting solutions. Successful proposals will address sustainability grand challenges that sit at the nexus of social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

Click HERE for more information and to apply. Deadline for proposals is February 4, 2026.

The Rapid Response Fund is designed to support CSU faculty in responding quickly to emergent sustainability challenges and issues that present an opportunity for immediate action.

View the full details HERE. Requests are accepted on a rolling basis, as funds allow.

In October 2025, we launched the CSU Climate Hub, the university's new initiative to elevate CSU's climate expertise and increase research impact by serving as a clear entry point for partners to access research and innovation across the campus.

• How the CSU Climate Hub at Spur turns research into impact
• Co-hosted "Colorado Crossroads: Building Resilience from the Ground Up", a National Academies' Climate Crossroads Initiative training with CSU Climate Hub and partners to connect science with policy and practice for resilient agriculture under climate change.
• Climate Hub at Spur website

We are excited to host the third annual National Sustainability Society (NSS) Conference from August 17-20, 2026 at the CSU Spur campus in Denver. Co-hosted by the SoGES and the CSU Climate Hub, the event will bring together hundreds of sustainability researchers and practitioners from across the U.S. and beyond.

SoGES addresses complex and global challenges by propelling sustainability research, educating future sustainability leaders, and connecting with the community. Our current fundraising priorities are listed on pg. 29 of our 2024-2025 Annual Report.

You can GIVE NOW to SoGES or if you are interested in discussing possible giving options, please contact:

Kyle Dunbar, Director of Development Kyle.Dunbar@colostate.edu

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