’26 Institute on Teaching Social Action – Aug 15-16

Posted by Bonner Foundation on June 16, 2026

Please consider applying to the Colorado ’26 Institute on Teaching Social Action in Denver on August 15-16, 2026. This Institute is hosted by the National Sustainability Society as a pre-conference ahead of its 3rd Annual Conference.

Today, many college courses teach about democracy and change, but few courses provide students the opportunity to learn by doing them. The Colorado ’26 Institute meets this need by providing faculty the necessary training to teach social action.

Faculty from all disciplines are encouraged to apply; however, we want to restrict participation to those faculty who are committed to implementing this experiential social action course model in the 18 months following the Institute. Click here to apply.

Here is what Dr. Arun Agrawal, co-host of the NSS Conference and Professor of Development Policy at Notre Dame University, has to say about the Institute: “I have personally gone through the Institute and found it incredibly helpful in developing a social action course. Teaching social action has been one of the highlights of my career, as it provides students with concrete tools with which to organize social action campaigns. I highly recommend it!”

The trainers for the Colorado ’26 Institute are Dr. Gretchen Sneegas, Assistant Teaching Professor, Geography, University of Washington-Seattle, and Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton, Sociology Professor Emeritus from San José State University, who developed a social action course in 2006, and has taught it 30 times. Checkout our website to learn more about teaching social action.

The application deadline is Friday, July 31, 2026. The Colorado ’26 Institute will run from Saturday, August 15th, 9 am-4:30 pm, and Sunday, August 16th, 9 am-3:30 pm; lunch will be covered during the Institute. You are encouraged to register for the NSS conference as well! The NSS call for contributions is now open; non-presenting attendees are also welcome to register and attend. To cover hosting costs, the NSS will charge $60 for the 2-day Institute if you also register for the conference. If you choose to attend only the Institute, the NSS hosting cost is $100.

If the August date doesn’t work for you, we have four in-person Institutes scheduled for the Fall and Spring (Alabama, Berlin, NYC, Virginia & Indiana) and a virtual Winter Institute as well. These Institutes have no hosting fees.