Rebecca Watts Hull
Senior Academic Professional
- School of History and Sociology
Overview
Rebecca Watts Hull is a Senior Academic Professional and Asst. Dir., Faculty Development for Sustainability Education Initiatives in Georgia Tech's Center for Teaching and Learning. She leads strategic initiatives and faculty professional learning that advance education for sustainability. She engages faculty from diverse disciplines to incorporate real-world problem-solving into their course design and teaching practices. Watts Hull co-manages a grant program, offers workshops, and facilitates an ongoing community of practice for faculty that fosters peer learning, reflection, and growth in sustainability teaching and learning. As part of the Center’s Faculty Teaching and Learning team, she collaborates with her peers to integrate these evidence-based approaches into the Center’s signature programs. Watts Hull also teaches HTS 3010: Organizing for Social Change and mentors students in leading change on campus and beyond. She was selected for the 2026 Outstanding Faculty ANAK Award for "empowering students to make an impact."
Watts Hull advances Georgia Tech’s strategic initiatives related to sustainability education through the Sustainability Education and Curriculum Committee and other partnerships and she manages Tech’s responsibilities as an Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Center for Sustainability Across the Curriculum. Her leadership beyond Georgia Tech includes facilitation of an international community of practice she founded in partnership with AASHE on “Scaling up Sustainability Across the Curriculum” and service on AASHE’s Advisory Council.
- PhD History and Sociology of Technology and Science, Georgia Tech, 2018
- MS History and Sociology of Technology and Science, Georgia Tech, 2015
- MS Natural Resources & Environment, University of Michigan, 1995
- BA Psychology (Environmental Science), Bucknell University, 1987
Distinctions:
- 2026 Outstanding Faculty ANAK Award
- Most Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant, HSOC, Georgia Tech, 2018
- Tech to Teaching Certificate, Georgia Tech, 2017
- Homer Rice Award for Leadership, Georgia Tech, 2015
- Ivan Allen College Paper Competition Winner, Georgia Tech, 2015
- Samuel Trask Dana Award, University of Michigan, 1995
- Behavior & Environment Award, University of Michigan, 1995
Interests
Progress and Service Forum (GT 2030)
Social Movements
Organizational Change
- Communities, Places, and the Environment
- Energy, Climate and Environmental Policy
- Social Justice and Social Change
Focuses:
- United States
- Environment
- Community engagement
- Environmental Performance
- Food Systems
- Institution-Building
- Regulation
- Social Movements
- Sustainability
Courses
- HTS-3005: Amer Environmental Hist
- HTS-3068: Social Movements
- HTS-3801: Special Topics
Publications
Recent Publications
Journal Articles
- Intradisciplinary Growth of Sustainability-Minded Engineers through Conservation Technology
In: Advances in Engineering Education [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2026
- Improving Understanding of the Role of Biology in Advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
In: The American Biology Teacher [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2025
Chapters
- Scaling Up Faculty Engagement in Education for Sustainability Across the Curriculum: Five Strategies for Amplifying Impact
In: Higher Education's Leadership in Climate Action and Sustainability [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2025
Internet Publications
- Teaching Sustainability Competencies across the Disciplines: A Guide for Instructors
In: AASHE Community Hub
Date: 2025
- Three ways universities can enhance teacher engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals
In: Times Higher Education
Date: October 2024
All Publications
Journal Articles
- Intradisciplinary Growth of Sustainability-Minded Engineers through Conservation Technology
In: Advances in Engineering Education [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2026
- Improving Understanding of the Role of Biology in Advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
In: The American Biology Teacher [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2025
- Finding Marx in the Occupy Wall Street Movement
In: Social Forces [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2019
- Phenology of a Vegetation Barrier and Resulting Impacts on Near-Highway Particle Number and Black Carbon Concentrations on a School Campus
In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2017
- Breaking the cycle through better school siting: a collaborative project to facilitate the effective use of EPA’s guidelines with Georgia’s educational leaders
Date: November 2013
- Donor-initiated common pool resource institutions: The case of the Yanesha Forestry Cooperative
Date: October 1996
- From gridlock to global warming
- Teaching about Climate Change: Cool Schools Tackle Global Warming
Chapters
- Scaling Up Faculty Engagement in Education for Sustainability Across the Curriculum: Five Strategies for Amplifying Impact
In: Higher Education's Leadership in Climate Action and Sustainability [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2025
Conferences
- Contextualized Design Projects in graphics and visualization course: Student perceptions and sustainability systems-thinking knowledge
In: American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference Proceedings [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2020
Internet Publications
- Teaching Sustainability Competencies across the Disciplines: A Guide for Instructors
In: AASHE Community Hub
Date: 2025
- Three ways universities can enhance teacher engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals
In: Times Higher Education
Date: October 2024
Updated: Jun 3rd, 2026 at 10:37 AM