Climate Innovation Hub @ CCA by 2030

This year's theme for SF Design Week was Reform. As SFDW wraps up, I'm thinking more about how California College of the Arts (CCA), where I teach part-time as Senior Adjunct, can reform itself to become a Climate Innovation Hub for both students and the local community.

Hers is how I see this happening by 2030.

Restructure curriculum around real problems

Stop hypothetical design briefs. Start to assign bioregional challenges that speaks to place.

Too much? Add in climate-related content to your existing project briefs. Suggestions; typography students design for local food systems or ocean initiatives, brand projects focused on regenerative businesses, design UX experiences for community resource platforms.

I'd like to see my Climate Designers course, which I created in 2020, be offered at the foundational level for freshman, so they can become aware of design's role in contributing to our climate emergency and design's role in contributing towards climate action.

Open doors for all

Invite more than students into classrooms.

• Launch evening workshops for community job retraining through CCA's Extensions program
• Double down on creating partnerships with local organizations where student groups work to develop real-world design solutions (My Social Lab course in the MDes program is already doing that)
• Host Entrepreneur-In-Residence programs within design departments for climate founders
• Build extension/certification programs for adult learners so they can bring their new knowledge into their exiting workplace

Leverage recent investments

CCA just received a $45 million donation. That's more than enough to:

• Train (and compensate) existing faculty in regenerative design principles, systems thinking, and climate science
• Compensate faculty when spending time updating their project briefs
• Develop a first-of-its-kind Sustainable Materials Library with alternative materials for student projects (kelp, bamboo, hemp, mushroom, etc)
• Provide scholarships to students engaged in climate activism
• Provide work-study opportunities for students working with climate orgs on class projects
• Provide stipends for students doing climate-related internships
• Provide seed funding for student-led climate startups and social enterprises
• Create a robust speaker series bringing in climate experts to share their work
• Install technology supporting real-world climate projects and research

What am I missing?

Let's talk about high schoolers

The youth climate movement is real. Millions of high schoolers are marching in the streets around the world demanding climate action from politicians and companies.

Imagine if just 1% of 1,000,000 climate-minded students in high school are also into art and design—that's 10,000 young people.

Now, imagine if they wanted to pursue a career in the creative industry with climate action in mind. This is where CCA comes in.

Real talk, enrollment is down at CCA. Been that way ever since COVID.

CCA could position itself as the place for creative high schoolers to go and learn by being the first design school to explicitly connect design education to climate solutions. CCA can set them up for a life full of purpose and meaning.

Research from Deloitte, Ed Week, and other sources show that high schoolers:

• List climate as their #1 concern about the future
• Over 70% want careers solving global issues
• 30% want to learn about sustainability careers

Speak to high schoolers each year in the youth climate movement. Enrollment issues at CCA solved.

Let's do this

Everything mentioned above aligns with CCA's founding mission; using art and design to "prepare students for lifelong creative work by cultivating innovation, community engagement, and social and environmental responsibility."

CCA's Sustainability Goals shouldn't be a bulleted list on its website. These goals should guide the school towards institutional action.

California College of the Arts has the location, facilities, resources, and deep-rooted mission to lead this transformation. CCA can establish itself as the leading institution for creating the next generation of climate design leaders.

I've been with CCA since 2012. I want this for CCA. My goal now is to convene other faculty within its walls who want this as well. It's time we speak up to ensure current and future students are ready for this uncertain world we are stepping into.

If you teach at CCA and also want this for the school, get in touch.