Sarah Riggs Stapleton

Sarah Riggs Stapleton serves as Associate Professor in the Education Studies department within the University of Oregon's College of Education, while maintaining core faculty status in Environmental Studies and affiliate membership with UO Food Studies. Her academic work bridges teacher education, environmental justice, and community-based research with particular focus on climate change pedagogy and school food systems.

• PhD in Curriculum, Instruction & Teacher Education (Michigan State University, 2015)
• EdM in International Education Policy (Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2005)
• BA in Chemistry with Biology minor (Sweet Briar College, 2001)

Stapleton's research employs critical participatory methodologies to examine social contexts in science and environmental education, with dual focal areas of food systems in schools and climate justice education. She investigates how school food environments impact student well-being while developing pedagogical approaches that connect climate change education to social inequities. Her scholarship prioritizes community partnerships and views research as activism addressing environmental and educational injustices through localized, participatory relationships.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals consistent thematic progression toward intersectional frameworks connecting race, class, and gender to environmental issues. Early work established foundations in participatory action research and food systems, while recent scholarship increasingly integrates critical race theory and climate justice perspectives. A distinctive pattern emerges in her methodology favoring community-engaged approaches that position teachers and students as co-researchers, with growing emphasis on place-based pedagogies acknowledging student ecological expertise.

• Gray Family Foundation grant for Teachers Environmental Justice Curriculum Writer’s Retreat (2022)
• Environmental Initiative Faculty Fellowship (2021-22)
• Excellence in Research/Outreach Early Career Award (2021)
• Sustainability Award Finalist (AASHE, 2020)
• Williams Instructional Proposal Award for Climate Activism (2020)
• Sustainability Excellence in Teaching Award (2019)

Stapleton advises doctoral candidates in Critical and Sociocultural Studies in Education and Environmental Studies programs while mentoring pre-service teachers through UO Teach. Her grant portfolio includes the Gray Family Foundation collaboration with Beyond Toxics and University of Oregon instructional awards supporting climate activism curriculum development. She demonstrates significant service leadership through editorial roles at the Journal of Environmental Education and Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, plus past chairmanship of AERA's Environmental Education SIG.

As founding steering committee member of Oregon Educators for Climate Education, she actively shapes state climate education policy advocacy. Her community partnerships include six years on Food for Lane County's Board of Directors (2017-2023) and participation in the UO Student Food Insecurity Task Force since 2019, reflecting her commitment to research-practice integration through sustained local engagement.