A&A Staff Highlight: Gulick leads way toward sustainable future

College of Arts and Architecture instructional designer and Sustainability Council member Deb Gulick has been a trailblazer for sustainability efforts in the college.

Gulick received her master of education degree in instructional systems from Penn State in 2004 and has been working in the Office of Digital Learning for almost 15 years. She spent two years on the Staff Advisory Council and served as a Sustainability Teaching Fellow for the 2022–23 academic year.

“My experience as a teaching fellow has been an honor,” Gulick said. “I've learned a lot from other people, from other faculty members. It's just amazing what everybody's doing.”

As an instructional designer, Gulick develops courses and helps organize content to fit an online structure. Throughout her time as a fellow, and currently as operations working group leader for the Sustainability Council, Gulick has collaborated with Director for Sustainability Mihyun Kang to design a new online interdomain course titled Sustainable Arts and Design.

“Sustainability is about more than just recycling,” Gulick said. “It's about taking care of one another. It's about treating people equally. It's about taking care of your community and making sure you have quality education for everyone. It's just a great thing. I want to make sure that there's a good future for everybody else that's coming after me.”

Along with other Sustainability Council members, Gulick started a Green Team in the Borland Building. She also initiated the Office of Digital Learning's participation in the Green Paws Program, a way to educate faculty and staff about sustainability.

Gulick received the College of Arts and Architecture's inaugural Staff Sustainability Award in April 2023.

“It is indeed an honor for me to receive this award and to know that I am contributing to this important endeavor ­– one that impacts future generations, our community and our world,” Gulick said. “Through our efforts, and the efforts of many others in our Penn State community, we are leading the way toward a sustainable future.”