Emory U Building Achieves LEED Gold
(U.S.): The university's 10th LEED-certified building, the residence hall features energy efficiency, transportation options, use of low volatile organic compounds in paints, furnishings and carpeting, and a gray water reclamation system.
Emory U Partners for Textile Recycling
(U.S.): Reducing its waste load and carbon footprint, the university's new partnership with re:loom allows old uniforms to be remade into new products. In summer 2013, the university donated over 100 pounds of custodial uniforms and 300 pounds of athletic uniforms to the service.
Erie CC Opens Green Building Training Center
(U.S.): The recently opened Green Building Technology Center will house training in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and workforce development in emerging green building technology. With funding assistance the building was constructed with renewable energy and energy efficiency techniques and equipment.
Falmouth U, U Exeter Cornwall Launches Green Living Project
(U.K.): Student members of the Falmouth and Exeter Students’ Union are launching two projects aimed at promoting more sustainable behaviors within the student and staff populations. The projects aim to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and reduce resources being sent to landfills.
Farmingdale State College Cuts Ribbon on Solar Carport
(U.S.): The new carport/charging station, the first of its kind within SUNY, accommodates 20 electric vehicles and is powered by 390 solar panels. Students, faculty and staff can pay a $10 refundable deposit to use the charging station for one year.
Georgetown U, Energy Dept Collaborate on Energy Efficiency
(U.S.): The two organizations recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the Georgetown University Energy Prize, a competition to encourage innovative, replicable and scalable approaches to reduce energy consumption in communities. The winner will receive $5 million in funding for the multi-year proposal.
HKUST Receives Grant
(Hong Kong): The Ford Motor Company recently announced the university is the recipient of HKD500,000 for the Ford-HKUST Conservation and Environmental Research Grants which support postgraduate environmental and conservation science, and conservation engineering advancements. A maximum of 20 project will be supported during the 2013-14 academic year.
Indiana State U Builds Greenhouses
(U.S.): Drawing on its agricultural history, the university’s greenhouse project includes seven passive solar greenhouses which will aid in student and community learning. Made possible by a $100,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment, food grown in the structures will be sold at the farmers’ market and donated to local food banks and charities. Other schools involved include Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Ivy Tech Community College and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.
Kansas State U Students Revive African-American Newspaper
(U.S.): Originally a paper by the Black Student Union in the 1970s, Uhuru, meaning "freedom" in Swahili, now has a new generation of interested students that have renewed it as a section of the student newspaper under the name Uhuru Kauli, Kauli meaning "opinion" or "speech.' This section will work with underrepresented student groups and multicultural organizations.
Loyola U Chicago Expands Biodiesel Teaching Lab
(U.S.): After recently winning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's People, Prosperity & the Planet award competition for a proposal that included a living machine to clean biodiesel's "wash water", the university expanded its processing lab to include larger tanks with site glasses and color-coded piping.
McGill U Earns Fair Trade Designation
(Canada): In an attempt to eradicate poverty through systemic change and investments in people, students led the movement to certify that all coffee sold in university-owned stores is Fair Trade. Fair Trade certified tea and chocolate are also available.
National U Singapore, U Melbourne Win Design Competition
(Australia): Open to architecture students from higher education around the world, the Tropical Architecture Design Competition focuses on tropical green architecture and sustainable building design solutions. A collaboration between the two universities, this year’s winning entry was inspired by natural mushrooms and relies heavily on fresh air, daylight and rainwater for energy, and local construction materials such as ramp earth and rice straw walls.
Portland State U Awards $25K to Cleantech Competition Winners
(U.S.): Sharing the award money to further their business plan, two teams were recently announced as final winners in the competition, which drives development an innovative product that conserves resources. One team engineered naturally derived solar materials while the second team focused on sustainable fisheries.
Princeton U Seeks to Diversify Students, Faculty, Administration
(U.S.): After a recent 19-member group found that the university’s graduate program population, faculty and top administration lacks diversity, the president and board of trustees recently signed recommendations from the diversity group including interdepartmental autonomy for creating diversity in their ranks, additional resources and accountability through monitoring.
St. Olaf College Students Open Thrift Shop
(U.S.): Attempting to connect the dots between what students purchase and what they discard, the newly opened thrift shop collects unwanted items from the end-of-year on-campus move out. Proceeds from the store support environmental projects on campus and local organizations.
SUNY Oswego New Laboratory Complements Environment
(U.S.): The university’s new Rice Creek Field Station is set among 400 acres and contains an herb garden, nature trails, and ponds and streams used for ecological research and public engagement. The building uses solar power, rain gardens and landscape swales, and energy-efficient heating, cooling and lighting.
U Cambridge Adopts Gender-Sensitive Attire Code
(U.K.): Due to attention from the student union’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Other campaign, the new graduation attire code allows women to wear suits and men to wear skirts.
U Illinois Chicago Students Teach Diversity with Gardens
(U.S.): Birthed from two different student cultural groups' desire to promote the importance of environmental and cultural diversity, the new Heritage Garden provides an experiential learning space where students, in collaboration with campus and community members, can engage in hands-on horticultural activities while expanding their knowledge of culturally diversity and environmentally friendly traditions and values.
U Iowa Arena Designated LEED Gold
(U.S.): The university's Carver-Hawkeye Arena addition and renovation project, in which 90 percent of the original structure was used, includes water-efficient landscaping without an irrigation system, energy efficiency and energy from biomass, and 20 percent regionally-procured and recycled materials.
U Richmond Initiates Dorm Eco-Rep Program
(U.S.): The university's Office of Sustainability has initiated this new program in an effort to increase awareness for on-campus sustainability programs including Eco-Olympics, Campus Conservation Nationals and Recyclemania.
U South Pacific Announces New Green Campus
(Solomon Islands): The new Solomon Island campus will be self-sufficient with regards to water and renewable energy, and will reflect the culture and local traditions of the island people.
U Utah Partners for Free Transit on Game Days
(U.S.): In an effort to reduce the demand for parking during events, the Utah Transit Authority will allow game attendees to use their university athletic event ticket as fare beginning this season.
Villanova U Introduces LEED Bldgs, Water Bottle Stations + More
(U.S.): Newly implemented and/or completed this summer, the university has two new LEED Silver-certified residence halls, six new hydration stations around campus, and an ionized water cleaning system throughout the campus for floors, windows and disinfectants. The certified buildings include improvements to the lighting and heating, cooling and air conditioning equipment, low-flow bathroom fixtures, low volatile organic compounds paint and access to daylighting.
Virginia Tech Wins Tree Farm Design Competition
(U.S.): A faculty and student team were recently awarded first place in the Casey Trees Master Plan Design Competition, a juried program to help Casey Trees fulfill its mission of protecting the tree canopy of Washington, D.C. Runners up were Clemson University, University of Maryland at College Park and a joint submission from Syracuse University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Visvesvaraya Technological U to Open Renewable Energy Park
(India): Under its Center for Nanotechnology and in partnership with the Solar Agriculture Institute of India, the university has proposed a new renewable energy park on 10 acres to supply 100 percent of the school’s power and contribute to neighboring villages electricity.
Western Kentucky U Glasgow Receives $5K Grant
(U.S.): The recently appointed funding from Farm Credit Mid-America will support agriculture and sustainability through expansion of the university's student-led Greentopper Program, an outreach program focusing on the environment, community and economy.
Boston U Building Achieves LEED Gold
The university’s new Center for Student Services offers a biking system and bike sharing program, vegetative roof, stormwater management, drought-tolerant landscaping, low-flow plumbing fixtures, daylighting, occupancy sensors, and green certified restaurants using 28 percent of the budget on food sourced within 250 miles.
Bowling Green State U Begins Green Office Program
The new points-based Green Office Certification program advises departments and offices around energy efficiency, waste and transportation. Managed by the Office of Campus Sustainability, the program’s website offers resources and suggestions on how to become office certified.
Clarkson U Operates 100% Local Grill
In an effort to increase local food offerings, every ingredient used at the university’s Main Street Grill comes from a farm within 200 miles of the Quebec campus.
DePauw U Begins Organic Farm
The new one-acre farm for students, faculty and staff serves as a learning lab while 10-15 percent of the food grown will be donated to the local emergency food pantry.
Franklin Pierce U Launches Sustainability Awareness Campaign
In an effort to help students gain practical experience in the field of sustainability communication, the student-run Pierce Media Group has created Voices: Engaging Communication for Sustainability. This year-long project includes guest speakers, student-created media announcements and a column in the campus newspaper.
Iowa State U Offers Online Green Roof Course
The new eight-week class, lead by the university’s extension office, covers design, installation and management of high rise gardens. Iowa State University has nine green roof installations.
Loyola U Chicago Opens New Environmental Center
The university’s new Institute of Environmental Sustainability offers students opportunities to study policy, land management, conservation and restoration, environmental science, business, sustainable food systems, and public health care. The new building houses biodiesel production labs, a greenhouse, a geothermal heating and cooling system and rainwater harvesting.
Loyola U Reinvents a Vacant Block
A recent decision by the local City Council turned over a vacated street which the university plans to use for expansion of its Rogers Park footprint. The space will be transformed into green space connecting campus and creating a safer area for students.
New Program Increases Community College Access
As the country grapples with how to make college more affordable, the new Benefits Access for College Completion program aims to help low-income community college students connect to social services support such as child care subsidies and food assistance. The three-year $4.84 million pilot initiative is funded by Ford Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, Lumina Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, and managed by the Center for Law and Social Policy and the American Association of Community Colleges.
Portland State U Grant Supports Climate Modeling Computer
A recently awarded $350,000 grant from Murdock Charitable Trust supports research related to climate, air pollution and energy-efficient transportation systems. Additional support provided by Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science (MCECS), the Institute for Sustainable Solutions and PSU’s office of Research and Strategic Partnerships.
