UMACS Community of Practice

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TIMELINE:
  • Friday, December 19  at noon; Applications due (closed)​
  • January 9, 2026: First Community of Practice meeting 
  • September 26, 2026: Community of Practice breakfast gathering at the UMACS Conference. 
  • December 11, 2026: Last Community of Practice meeting (unless the group agrees to continue). ​
MEETING DATES:
All dates are Fridays from 1:30-3:00 pm CST
  • January 9 
  • February 20
  • March 13
  • April 10
  • May 8
  • June 12
  • July 10
  • August 14
  • ​September 11
  • October 9
  • November 13
  • December 11

UMACS Community of Practice 

Are you a faculty or staff member helping to lead campus sustainability efforts on your campus? We invite you to join the UMACS 2026 Community of Practice to share best practices, resources and struggles with your peers in the region. Through discussions, joint activities, resource sharing, and relationship building, participation will help you develop a repertoire of resources, skills, and knowledge to use in your work. 
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The overarching theme of this year’s Community of Practice will be the evolving role of Sustainability Officers. Questions for exploration will include: Where are you having the biggest impact? Where are you struggling? Why do we do this work? How do we communicate value? How can we engage more campus members? Discussion topics will be co-created with participants. 

Schedule: ​The Community of Practice will meet  on the second Friday of every month, starting January 9th and ending on December 11, 2026, from 1:30-3:00 pm CST.  Due to President's Day, the February meeting will meet on the third Friday, February 20th instead.  There will also be a breakfast gathering at the UMACS Conference on September 25 and 26. 
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Facilitation: Facilitators will be Alan Turnquist, Director of Sustainability and Resilience at Michigan Tech University and UMACS Board President and Megan Voorhees, UMACS Executive Director. 

Participant Commitment: Participants are asked to commit as much as possible to attending all meetings for 12 months. (COP meetings will not be recorded to allow for confidential conversations.) Participation is free for individuals from UMACS Supporting Member Campuses, $150 for those from Limited Member Campuses.