Gabriel Hetland Tapped by SUNY to Strengthen System-wide Sustainability Curricula
ALBANY, N.Y. (Oct. 15, 2026) — When teaching about the Earth’s changing climate, political sociologist Gabriel Hetland tries to focus on policies and programs that tackle real problems and strive toward improvements. It’s his way of not letting his students sink into climate pessimism.
“My approach is to make sure my classes always include a significant focus on positive developments, in New York State, Latin America and beyond, to addressing the climate crisis,” he said. “I make sure that they understand the immense challenges, but I strive to give them what I think of as ‘earned hope,’ that is, hope based on rigorous analysis of what is working and what is not with respect to tackling climate change.”
Hetland, an associate professor in UAlbany’s Department of Africana, Latin American, Caribbean & Latinx Studies, was named to the new cohort of SUNY Sustainability Faculty Fellows. The 12 new fellows, representing 10 SUNY campuses, were tapped to strengthen curricular programs on climate and sustainability for students and faculty across SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities.
“SUNY is leading the way in helping New York State achieve its climate and sustainability goals,” said SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. “Through the work of SUNY’s Sustainability Faculty Fellows, we are inspiring our students to build a resilient and sustainable future.”
For Hetland, that means working with an interdisciplinary group of faculty from across the SUNY system.
"Our work will include helping prepare future teachers for a new statewide mandate on K-12 climate education and supporting faculty across the SUNY system to better incorporate climate and sustainability into their courses and teaching," he said.
The inaugural cohort of Sustainability Faculty Fellows, announced in September 2025, worked to advance climate literacy in the curriculum throughout the SUNY system by providing webinars and resources, including support for the discipline-specific incorporation of sustainability topics in readings, case studies and problem sets.
This year’s Sustainability Fellows will continue to assist faculty across the system in incorporating sustainability and climate topics into a wide range of courses, advancing climate literacy, developing teaching resources and providing support for faculty as they develop courses across a broad spectrum of disciplines. The fellows were selected following an open call for nominations.
Hetland said his work as a fellow will include developing an interdisciplinary approach that draws from the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences.
“I'm best positioned by my training and teaching and research to help faculty in a range of disciplines bring a social science perspective to bear on these issues,” he said. “Such a perspective is essential because the challenge of transforming the world's energy systems away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy is not only technical. This challenge is also social, economic and political. A key part of my work is to enhance understanding of the ways diverse political and social forces are impeding and furthering the essential work of decarbonization.”
“We are thrilled that Professor Hetland has been selected to work closely with SUNY on these issues, as they seek to increase climate research, strengthen education in the realms of sustainability and increase interest and contributions in the area of Green Workforce Development,” said College of Arts and Sciences Dean Jeanette Altarriba. “Gabriel’s multi-disciplinary training aligns perfectly with the goal to approach these issues from multiple perspectives and to engage in dialogue that cuts across traditional disciplinary lines to make significant changes in how we view our role in training future generations.”
The Sustainability Faculty Fellows initiative builds on SUNY’s work to advance leadership in sustainability and climate solutions. In April, SUNY celebrated progress in achieving the goals of its inaugural Climate and Sustainability Action Plan, which was adopted at the beginning of 2025 and provides a framework for decarbonizing the SUNY system and for creating the next generation of climate leaders through education, experiential learning, research, workforce development and civic engagement.