Course Associate, Sustainable Fashion & Startup Strategy (Fall 2023)

Company Description

Columbia University has been a leader in higher education in the nation and around the world for more than 250 years. At the core of our wide range of academic inquiry is the commitment to attract and engage the best minds to pursue greater human understanding, pioneering discoveries, and service to society.

The School of Professional Studies at Columbia University offers innovative and rigorous programs that integrate knowledge across disciplinary boundaries, combine theory with practice, leverage our students and faculty’s expertise, and connect global constituencies. Through eighteen professional master's degrees, courses for advancement and graduate school preparation, certificate programs, summer courses, high school programs, and a program for learning English as a second language, the School of Professional Studies transforms knowledge and understanding in service of the greater good.

Job Description

Columbia University, School of Professional Studies (SPS) seeks candidates to serve as a Course Associate to support the successful delivery of an on-campus graduate-level course. A Course Associate is a faculty line junior to a Lecturer, who provides subject matter expertise and supports the instructional process for a course section. Serving as a Course Associate is an excellent way to gain exposure to graduate-level teaching at Columbia University.

The course is Sustainable Fashion and Startup Strategy and it will run during the fall semester. Candidates must be available for in-person support on Tuesdays from 6:10 PM to 8:00 PM EST. The semester begins on Tuesday, September 5th and ends on Monday, December 11th. 

Fashion’s consistent ranking among the top 3 global polluters has become a decades old fact struggling to gain a proportionate response among the brand startup and sourcing community. With industry revenues set to exceed $1 trillion, there is an opportunity to critically address existing revenue models predicated on traditional metrics, such as constant growth, and singular bottom lines. The course attempts to create a nexus between the fashion entrepreneur and systems thinker to explore strategic solutions that address sustainability though an environmental, social and economic lens. The aim is to foster a mindful, yet critical discourse on fashion industry initiatives, past and present, and to practice various tools that help transition existing organizations and incubate new startups towards sustainable outcomes.

The M.S. in Sustainability Management program is designed for those who wish to pursue a career in management that takes integrates sustainability considerations into economic activity. Graduates work to transform public and private organizations and governments by formulating and implementing tailored sustainability strategies. The coursework combines the study of management with classes in sustainability practice and science, with full-time and part-time options for those with current professional obligations. Students in the program learn the use of policy and management tools to address environmental impacts and risks, pollution control, and remediation to achieve sustainability. 

Responsibilities

• Attend weekly class sessions, assist with instruction, lead breakout sessions, and facilitate discussions.
• Hold weekly office hours.
• Evaluate performance, grade student work, and provide effective feedback as requested by the course Lecturer.
• Monitor and address student concerns and inquiries.
• Build working relationships with the students, provide guidance and mentoring, and respond to their inquiries in a timely manner.

Qualifications

Columbia University SPS operates under a scholar-practitioner faculty model, which enables students to learn from faculty possessing outstanding academic training as well as a record of accomplishment as practitioners in an applied industry setting.

• Graduate degree in an environmental or sustainability field.
• Expertise in the topics covered in the course.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Project management and presentation skills, mentorship.
• University teaching experience is preferred, but not required.

Additional Information

Compensation: $3,150 for semester

All applicants, please provide:

• Resume/CV, inclusive of university teaching experience -- highlight teaching at the graduate level
• If applicable, please submit any evidence of teaching effectiveness (Student evaluati