Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** to address the increasing…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** to address the increasing environmental impact of the global fiber, textiles, and clothing (FTC) industry, companies are shifting to circular economy (CE) practices. The CE model takes a regenerative approach that facilitates education for circularity and enhances employability of students entering the workforce. The overarching goal of this multi-institutional and transdisciplinary project is to enhance FTC curriculum with CE competencies to prepare next generation professionals to support the industry transformation toward circularity. The first objective is to increase conceptual knowledge related to FTC CE principles in baccalaureate education and address the skills GAP related to regenerative agriculture, emerging technologies, and innovations advancing circularity. The second objective is to support FTC educators' ability to deliver professional competencies related to CE.this proposal addresses HEC educational need areas 1A. Curriculum development, instructional delivery systems and expanding student career opportunities 1B. Faculty preparation and enhancement of teaching. To achieve this goal, IT is imperative to create new CE courses and modules that can be used to update exsting FTC curriculum and support educators to pilot test these in their courses. The project team will develop 2 new courses and 8-10 modules focused on CE to update existing FTC curriculum. The curriculum enhancement will be led by project directors from academia and indsutry partner in collaboration with subject matter experts, and informed by interdisciplinary scholars and industry advisory members. FTC faculty from diverse universities will also participate in CE professional development program to prepare them for pilot testing of course materials developed.products and outcomes ofthe projectwill ensure better workforce preparedness in CE related concepts and knwoledge. The innovative aspects of this project include the project team working closely with the FTC industry advisors to ensure job-ready knowledge for students entering the profession. The multi-institutional approach provides a unique and strong model for program development. Two land-grant R1 universities, colorado state university (CSU) and kansas state university (KSU) are partnering with fibershed - a non-profit organization developing and scaling up regenerative textile systems based on carbon farming and regional manufacturing. Such collaborations build an innovative educational ecosystem that improves agricultural sciences capabilities of students and promotes development of regional fiber systems that contributes to local economic development.