Syracuse U Installs E-Waste Collection Sites
The university has expanded the number of locations for e-waste disposal as part of the Sustainability Division’s recycling program. A local company that recycles old electronic goods is collecting discarded items including cell phones, batteries, inkjet cartridges and cameras.
Syracuse U Receives USGBC Award
The university and Chancellor Nancy Cantor have received the U.S. Green Building Council 2012 Green Building Leadership Award. Chancellor Cantor, according to the USGBC, has elevated the mission of green building on campus through numerous LEED building projects and a school-wide goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.
U Colorado Boulder Offers Online Renewable Energy Certificate
The university has partnered with the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute to offer a graduate-level renewable energy certificate. The three-course program can be taken on-site or online and is geared toward individuals not seeking a full degree but rather to learn about the latest energy technology and policy.
U Florida Dedicates Solar Panel Installation
A 100-kilowatt solar panel system has been installed at three buildings and includes a solar energy information kiosk. Funding for the project was provided through the Progress Energy program and its SunSense initiative, which is providing no-cost solar installations to 10 public schools and one post-secondary institution per year through 2014.
U Illinois Debuts Green Roof
Installed atop the university’s Conference Center, the 3,000-square-foot green roof will help insulate the building, absorb and filter rainwater, improve air quality and prevent roof deterioration. The project received a $33,000 grant from the Illinois Environmental Grant Program for Stormwater Management.
U Illinois Senate Approves Sustainable Center
The Urbana-Champaign Senate has unanimously approved a proposal to create a Center for a Sustainable Environment, an umbrella organization that will lead campus environmental groups, academic units and the Office of Sustainability. The university will cover $450,000 annually for the center, with additional funding coming from the Alvin H. Baum Family Fund.
U Missouri Creates Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship
Honoring the service of a professor emeritus, a $1,000 scholarship in the name of Fred and Donna Martz has been created to encourage students to study sustainable agriculture. The scholarship is on track to be awarded this summer to one recipient studying animal science, agronomy or soil science. Students must be enrolled in or set up to take a sustainable agriculture course to be eligible for the award.
U New Hampshire Students Advocate to Divest from Fossil Fuels
The Student Environmental Action Coalition has delivered a petition signed by more than 1,000 students to urge the university’s president to divest endowment funding from fossil fuels. The coalition joins a growing movement on college campuses nationwide and through the climate change organization 350.org to demand divestiture of stocks in oil companies.
Universities to Share $130M in Department of Energy Grants
The U.S. Energy Department has announced a new round of grants, totaling $130-million, for research into breakthrough energy technologies. Two dozen universities will receive funding for energy initiatives through the Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.
U Oregon Students Help Others Reduce Energy Use and Costs
The university is implementing the Student and Community Outreach for Residential Efficiency program, which originated at the University of Colorado Boulder. The program provides a free one-hour home audit, in which student auditors assess homes and find ways to help their fellow students save money on utility bills. Administered by the Office of Sustainability, the program was launched this fall with a $10,000 grant from Eugene Water & Electric Board.
U Washington Launches Holiday Event Recycling
The university has announced the launch of its Holiday Event Recycling campaign through the month of December. The campaign aims to remind the community to reserve recycling and compost bins when planning campus events during the holiday season.
Westminster College Receives Grant to Renew Diversity Program
The college’s McNair Scholars Program has been renewed for another five years upon receiving a $1.15 million U.S. Department of Education grant. The program aims to increase diversity in higher education by helping students from underrepresented groups attain a college education.
Arizona State U Receives USGBC Awards
The Arizona Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council recognized the university for its accomplishments in achieving LEED certifications for building construction. The university received two awards for most certifications and most LEED Gold buildings in Arizona.
City U New York to Launch Social Justice Social Media Project
The university’s Graduate Center has received a $550,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to expand the social-media reach of academics working on social-justice issues. The project, called JustPublics@365, will train professors and graduate students to use social media to make social-justice research more visible to a wider audience and to measure its impact. A number of events, including conferences, will be held to connect researchers, social-justice activists, and journalists.
Connecticut College Receives Grant for Conservation Efforts
The college was awarded a $40,000 grant from the Dominion Foundation to establish a student-led energy conservation and engagement program. The ‘Reduce Your Use’ program will monitor five buildings on campus and limit their energy consumption. A program coordinator will use a variety of community-based social marketing techniques to support adoption of more sustainable, low-energy behaviors.
Eastern Illinois U Promotes Renewable Energy Initiatives
The university’s biological sciences department is collaborating with the Renewable Energy Center to promote clean energy initiatives through curriculum development and research programs. Current initiatives include a biomass project to identify local materials for generating power, and a biodiesel processing unit that is already providing power to a wildlife research vehicle.
Fleming College Sustainable Building Program to Construct Library
The college’s Sustainable Building Design and Construction program has announced plans to partner with the Municipality of Highlands East to build a new library in 2013. The program averages about 26 students who design and build a completely sustainable structure from start to finish, showcasing green building technologies and energy-saving techniques.
Four Colleges and Universities Partner on Composting Program
Medical University of South Carolina, College of Charleston, Trident Technical College and The Citadel have contracted with Koeckeritz’s Food Waste Disposal to compost food waste. While collected material is transported to a compost facility for a fee, the program is expected to save money due to reduced landfill costs.
Ithaca College Provides More Local Food Options
Members of the campus community, including students and employees, have been working to encourage a shift toward supporting locally produced food in campus dining. The college plans to bring more local food products to campus this year, and expects a five percent increase in food sourced from the region.
John C. Smith U Opens Health and Wellness Center on Campus
The university has opened HealthPlex, a new facility designed to provide health and wellness services that promote positive attitudes, healthy lifestyles and responsible self-care for the campus and surrounding community. The facility’s fitness center, teaching kitchen, yoga studio, and related wellness offerings are free to the campus, and are available to members of the community on a medical referral basis.
Loma Linda U Health Recognized by the American Heart Association
The university has been recognized by the American Heart Association as a Gold Fit-Friendly Worksite for encouraging a culture of wellness at the workplace through its Living Whole wellness program. The initiatives of the program include: Health risk assessments for employees, participation in the Breathe Program for tobacco dependency treatment, participation in Better Understanding for Individuals Living with Diabetes, and Living Whole wellness meals available to employees that are designed to meet specific nutrition criteria.
McGill U Releases Draft Sustainability Vision
The university has released Vision 2020, a draft sustainability vision and goals report. The report is available for comment online and across campus for “crowd-sourced track-changes” from students, faculty and staff. The university plans to finalize the sustainability vision and goals report in December and transition to action planning in January.
Middlesex CC Creates Sustainable Garden
The college marked the opening of its Mabel Burchard Fischer Grant Foundation sustainable garden with a gathering that allowed members of the campus community to plant the garden’s first herbs, perennials, and shrubs. The event was organized by the college’s Sustainability Team.
Montana State U to Create Office of Sustainability
The university has committed to supplement the Sustainability Center’s student fee with an additional $30,000 for the next two years to transition the center to a new Office of Sustainability. A committee is in the process of selecting a new director for the Office of Sustainability.
Northwestern U Students Push Plastic Water Bottle Ban
A student plastic reduction team has launched a campaign to ban the sale of plastic water bottles on campus. The initiative involves petitioning the student body and spreading an educational message about the harmful effects of plastic on the environment. The campaign has garnered the support of several student and environmental groups on campus.
Oklahoma State U to Develop Campus Eco-Village
The university has begun developing a housing option designed to encourage its residents to be more socially and ecologically aware. The eco-village will incorporate ideas about sustainable living in a socially integrated community.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Creates Sustainability Degree
The institute has created a new major in sustainability studies to prepare students for jobs in the construction, science and engineering fields with a heavy focus on clean technology. The new Science and Technology Studies - Sustainability Studies B.S. program weaves together techniques and insights from the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering to address environmental problems.
Roosevelt U Building Earns LEED Gold
The 32-story building features rooftop gardens, an exterior glass pattern that deters bird collision, pulper and composting systems, an indoor bicycle storage area, and innovative use of a small and unique urban land site.
Rowan U to Introduce New Recycling Initiative
The university has announced plans to reduce the number of trashcans in academic buildings in an effort to increase recycling rates. A grant from Coca-Cola will be used to purchase additional recycling bins that will be placed throughout campus.
Simon Fraser U Holds Green Lab Energy Reduction Challenge
The university recently held an energy reduction challenge to encourage occupants of the campus science and chemistry buildings to reduce their energy use. Facilities and Sustainability Office staff monitored fume hood and lighting usage in labs at different times of the day, and prizes were awarded.
Southern Oregon U Highlighted in Energy Department Video Series
The U.S. Department of Energy has released its fourth video in the “Clean Energy in Our Community” series, highlighting clean energy investments by the university. Some of the initiatives highlighted include the school’s investments in renewable energy, sustainability, and purchase of renewable energy certificates.
SUNY ESF Launches Eco-Rep Program
The university has launched a new Eco-Representative Program that uses peer-to-peer interaction to raise awareness about sustainability issues among students living in a campus residence hall. The Office of Energy and Sustainability provided a budget of $1,000 for the Eco-Reps to fund the program throughout the academic year.
The New School Solar House Becomes Home to Local Families
A student-assembled solar powered house that won the Solar Decathlon’s affordability contest will become a real home for two families in Washington D.C. Working with project partner Habitat for Humanity, volunteer builders fully realized the housing design by adding a second story and a second unit, making it a two-family home.
U British Columbia Launches Sustainability Engagement Strategy
The university has implemented a new initiative asking campus community members to contribute feedback and ideas on a campus-wide Engagement and Social Marketing Strategy. Information will be collected via surveys, focus group sessions, and a pilot program. The results of this campaign will assist the university in further achieving its reduction targets for energy, greenhouse gases, water and waste.
U California Riverside Students Build Mobile Solar Power System
Engineering students have designed and built a mobile solar power system aimed to replace gasoline-powered generators to provide clean energy everywhere including on- and off-campus projects. The Green Campus Action Plan, a student-approved green fee, provided funding for the $34,000 project.
U Guelph Earns Fair Trade Status
The university has received Fair Trade Campus status from Fairtrade Canada. The certification is a result of the university’s commitment to purchase fair-trade products that uphold social and environmental standards to protect food producers and the environment.
U Memphis Students Hold Living Wage Teach-In
The Progressive Student Alliance, a campus group dedicated to organizing against racism, sexism and economic oppressions, held a “teach-in” to emphasize the importance of campus workers getting paid a living wage.
U Mississippi Food Bank Caters to Students in Need
The university has opened an on-campus food bank to provide access to meals for students in need, focusing on the overall health and well being of the campus community. The student-led initiative was made possible through financial donations and food drives.
U Vermont Hosts First Bike Summit
The university has held its first annual Bike Summit in an effort to raise awareness about bike visibility on campus. The participants of the summit discussed options such as more bike racks around campus, more bike lanes downtown and a shop on campus to help with bike repairs.
U Washington Installs Eco Thermostats in Residence Halls
The university’s Division of Student Life has developed and installed an Eco Thermostat for new residence halls on campus, putting students directly in touch with their energy consumption. Total energy needs in buildings with Eco Thermostats are expected to be reduced by about five percent.
U Washington Students Develop 3-D Printer to Transform Waste
A student team has developed an inexpensive machine that can turn discarded plastic waste into useful objects. The group plans to work with Water for Humans, a nonprofit organization, to build three-dimensional printers that can make composting toilets and rain-catchment systems to be used in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Valdosta State U Recognized for Adult Learning Success
The university has been recognized by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning for its efforts to improve access and college completion for adults. The university has established the office of Adult and Military Programs to improve degree completion for adult learners with particular attention to members of the military and veterans.
Western Michigan U Opens New Sustainability Office
The university’s Office of Sustainability has been relocated to a building that formerly housed the University Bookstore. The renovated facility showcases existing campus sustainability initiatives and a new Sustainability Studio that will house a bicycle repair cooperative. A new electric car charging station has also been installed in the parking lot.
Appeals Court Overturns Michigan Ban on Affirmative Action
In an 8-7 decision, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has overturned Michigan's voter-approved ban on affirmative action in college admissions and public hiring. The court struck down the amendment to the state's constitution, known as Proposal 2, on the grounds that it creates unfair barriers to minority participation in the political process.
Arizona State U Launches Composting Program
In celebration of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Food Recovery Challenge, the university has introduced composting at two dining halls on campus. Food-service workers have begun using “Green Bins” to compost all food and paper food-service items. The university will expand its composting efforts through its Green Bin program beginning in January 2013 to include students, faculty and staff.
Arizona State U Science Building Achieves LEED Gold
The Interdisciplinary Science and Technology building features a photovoltaic array that supplies over 16 percent of its energy use, optimal building orientation based on local climate conditions, and performance monitoring to ensure the building will continue to meet its energy use reduction goals over the life of the building.
