SEI Suspends College Sustainability Report Card
The Sustainable Endowments Institute (SEI) has announced that it is suspending the production of its College Sustainability Report Card, reports the Chronicle of Higher Education, to focus on its Billion Dollar Green Challenge. “Funders are giving preference to the proactive mission of the Billion Dollar Green Challenge, thus leaving limited resources to produce the next edition of the Report Card,” the SEI founder wrote in a letter to institutions.
Student Loan Debt Surpasses $1 Trillion Mark
A preliminary finding from a study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau puts total student debt outstanding at more than $1 trillion, roughly 16 percent higher than an estimate earlier this year by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Reports the Wall Street Journal, the bureau attributes the rise in student debt to a surge in Americans going to college in recent years to escape the weak labor market, and tuition increases to offset cuts in state funding.
Technology Forging New Avenues to Higher Education Access
From the $99-a-month introductory courses at for-profit UniversityNow's new venture, New Charter University, to free courses provided through Stanford University (California) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article profiles experiments that use technology to rethink the economics of higher education.
Towson U Rolls Out Free Bike Rental Program
The pilot program is starting with 25 bicycles that students have the opportunity to rent free of charge for the entire semester. The program was developed to offer an alternative mode of transportation that is affordable and promotes a healthy lifestyle.
U California Los Angeles Traffic Drops to 1990 Levels
After focusing on lowering the number of drive-alone commuters, vehicle counts are at the lowest level since 1990, when the university first began measuring. Nearly 53 percent of employees currently drive to work alone and 25 percent of students drive alone. The university is also working to increase the number of employees that use alternative transportation methods as part of its Climate Action Plan.
U California Santa Barbara Announces Green Grant Awards
Thirteen projects were selected to receive awards totaling $172,932 including four solar power array installations, a website that will allow the campus community to track energy use, hydration stations and a Green Gateway procurement program.
U Florida Fraternity House Installs Solar Array
Beta Theta Pi has initiated a 10-kilowatt solar array on the roof of its campus house that is expected to provide as much as 20 percent of the house's energy use per year. The fraternity received a $20,000 rebate from the campus' energy provider for the $44,000 system, and a $10,000 loan from the university that fraternity members are paying off with 1,000 service hours on campus energy-efficiency projects over five years.
U Florida Student Senate Passes Green Energy Fund
The unanimously passed fund will be used for student-proposed projects to lower energy consumption and electricity costs on campus. The $6 per semester fee is expected to generate $600,000 annually.
U New Hampshire Students Launch 'Friday Night Lights Out'
This grassroots effort, started by undergraduate students, mobilizes students at the start of the weekend to turn off lights and other appliances left on in academic buildings. The students have calculated that their efforts save the university about $200 per week.
Unity College Steps Up Access to Clean Drinking Water
In answer to a campus student survey, the college has installed new water coolers in residence halls that use water from existing plumbing, and new fixtures on water fountains in public spaces that make filling water bottles easier.
U Wisconsin-Oshkosh Hosts Social Justice Week
To reinforce that being "green" is only one dimension of being "sustainable," the university's Social Justice Week will introduce campus and community participants to a variety of thought leaders and topics related to social justice on the local, state and national level.
Western Michigan U Kicks Off First SustainabiliBASH
The university’s Office for Sustainability has collaborated with Students for a Sustainable Earth to launch this event, which will include gardening activities, composting demonstrations, community and campus presentations, nature walks and bike rides. The free event is open to the students, faculty, staff and community members.
Western Washington U Installs Solar Panels
The energy produced by 24 solar panels on the roof of the Environmental Studies building will feed directly into the university’s electrical grid. A Student Green Energy Fee funded the $167,500 array, which is expected to be operational this month.
West Virginia U Pilots Alumni Water Kiosk Invention
Evive Station, a bottle cleaning and filling kiosk created by university alumni, is making its pilot debut on campus. About 4,300 students signed up to use the kiosk, which cleans and refills bottles with cold, filtered water. The university hopes that the convenient system will encourage resource conservation among students.
York U Launches Sustainability Website
The new website hosts several new campus sustainability initiatives including sustainability ambassadors and green office programs. The campus community also has the opportunity to take sustainability pledges through the website.
Adrian College to Launch Bike Share Program
The plan, which calls for college-owned yellow bicycles to be available for shared use by students, faculty and staff, is a result of a contest in which the campus community was invited to submit creative ideas for improving the campus. The winning idea received $10,000 for implementation.
Arizona State U Announces Sustainability Revolving Loan Fund
Individuals or departments at Arizona State University can submit proposals for its new Sustainability Initiatives Revolving Fund. The funds will be invested in campus projects like community gardens, motion-detecting lighting systems, energy metering projects and thermal insulations for cooling and heating pipes.
Ball State U Completes First Phase of Campus Geothermal System
The university has completed the first phase of what the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is calling the "nation's largest geothermal heating and cooling system." The $80 million project is expected to save the university $2 million in annual operating costs and cut its carbon footprint by nearly 50 percent. The system should be complete by next year, "at which time we will decommission the remaining two coal-fired boilers and be a completely geothermal district heating and cooling campus," the university's Center for Energy Research/Education/Service Director Robert J. Koester tells the AASHE Bulletin.
Bergen CC Implements Natural Turf Management Program
The recent switch away from a conventional, chemical-based turf management program is part of the college’s commitment to environmental protection, sustainability and public health including the reduction of young athletes’ exposure to toxic, synthetic lawn pesticides.
Butler U Students "Green" Pharmacy Building Roof
Funded through the Student Government Association, the 1,300-square-foot vegetated roof is made up of 640 trays of sedum, a hardy ground cover that will deter stormwater runoff. The roof will be a topic of future student research and serve as a pilot study to assess the possibility of green roof installations on other campus buildings.
Earthzine Names Winners of Global Student Writing Contest
Online news source Earthzine has announced the winners of its third annual College and University Student Essay and Blogging Contest, which asked students to consider ways that Earth observation can help build a more sustainable world. Michelle Wai-Hon Lam from the University of Michigan took home the top honor with her essay, "Seeing like a Planet: From Global Consciousness to Global Conscience."
Emory U Launches Certificate in Sustainability
The new Emory University (Georgia) Continuing Education certificate debuts this May with its first course, "Organizational Change for Sustainability." The program has no prerequisites and covers aspects of sustainability including equity, economy and environment.
Kirkwood CC Installs Wind Turbine as Teaching Tool
Students in the community college's energy production and distribution technologies program will use the turbine as a learning laboratory and power from the turbine will be sold to an area utilities company, generating about $300,000 a year for the college.
Kirkwood CC Offers Electric Vehicle Charging on Campus
Anyone who owns an electric vehicle can rent a parking stall in the community college's Hotel at Kirkwood Center to charge up. The charging station was partially funded by a $12,000 Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant from the City of Cedar Rapids. The college, which owns four hybrid vehicles for training students, is developing curriculum for diagnosing and repairing hybrid and electric vehicles.
Lanier Technical College Installs Solar Arrays
With a $503,000 grant from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, the college has installed a total of 407 square feet of solar photovoltaic and thermal panels on two campuses. Students have the opportunity to manage the energy produced.
Montana State U Announces Increase in Local Food Purchasing
A new emphasis on local food brought about in part by student wishes resulted in a record 23 percent rise in local food purchasing in the last fiscal year. The university now purchases nearly a quarter of its food from local farmers and producers.
New School Students Dream Up Green Building Displays
As the New School (New York) constructs its new University Center, students in this semester’s "Displaying Sustainable Buildings" course are working on ways to present the building's green features in a way that will influence user behaviors. The students are thinking beyond data streams that track the building's energy and water use to "reactive design" features like lighting fixtures that highlight the fact that they are LEDs or faucets that draw attention to the water that is being used.
Ohio State U Students Submit City Sustainability Plan
Offering short-term, medium-term and long-term goals, the student's proposed sustainability plan for the Hilliard City Council focuses on energy and waste reduction, land use and urban ecology, and economic development and social equity. Students created the document as part of the university’s "City and Regional Planning" class.
Old Dominion U Offers Dedicated Housing for LGBTQ Community
Old Dominion University (Virginia) has announced that it will offer housing for its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community and supporters this fall. Meeting needs identified by LGBTQ students in a recent survey, the housing is being implemented to convey the message that the university is open, welcoming and diverse.
Quinnipiac U Releases Strategic Diversity, Inclusion Plan
The university's new Inclusiveness, Multiculturalism and Globalism in Education (IMaGinE) Strategic Plan Draft is designed to expose students to a greater sense of diversity via goals in categories including campus climate, accountability, and growth and sustainability. The proposal was written by the IMaGinE Student Advisory Group in conjunction with the IMaGinE Advisory Board, comprised of self-selected members of the faculty and one graduate student.
Saint John's U Announces Catholic Climate Covenant Partnership
The university recently became one of six colleges and universities to endorse the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor, a nationwide effort led by the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change. The pledge is a commitment by Catholic individuals, families, parishes, organizations and institutions to advocate on behalf of people in poverty who face impacts of global climate change.
Syracuse U Basketball Center Awarded LEED Certification
The 54,000 square-foot complex is designed to use 30 percent less water and almost 20 percent less energy than a typical new building. About 20 percent of the materials used in the building are made from recycled materials and more than half of the construction and demolition waste was recycled or reused.
U Arizona Debuts Community Garden
The 46 plots in the university's new garden will be divided among local community members, students, faculty and staff. Financed by the University Green Fund, the $25,000 garden features solar-powered timers that regulate when the plots are irrigated.
U California Berkeley Hosts Green Workforce Development Fair
Local high school students recently explored college and career opportunities in the clean-tech economy at the East Bay Green Corridor’s Green Education and Career Exploration Fair, hosted by the University of California, Berkeley. Local community colleges and workforce training organizations represented opportunities for sustainability-related programs of study and green job training certifications, and community nonprofits showcased advocacy efforts in areas of environmental justice and sustainability.
U Colorado Boulder Appoints First Senior Transportation Fellow
The University of Colorado Boulder's Environmental Center has named planning and design professor Kevin J. Krizek as its first senior transportation fellow to help with a vision and plan toward an advanced sustainable transportation system. Krizek will work to synergize local and regional transportation issues, mentor students and assist faculty and staff in developing expertise and innovation related to transportation demand management.
U Kansas Reduces Energy Consumption with 'Lights Out!' Campaign
After a month of competition to save energy, three campus buildings have reduced their overall energy consumption by 10 percent compared to February 2011 by ensuring that unnecessary lighting, office equipment and electronics are powered down when not in use.
U Missouri Student Initiates Community Garden
A doctoral student is spearheading a new community garden that will largely be used by children in the university's Child Development Lab as a way to nurture the value of natural foods and where food originates in children ages two to five. A larger garden is also planned when the fundraising is finalized to pay for the cost of materials.
U Pennsylvania Eco-Reps Promote Community Service
The student sustainability educators recently partnered with UC Green, a local organization that works with the community to empower volunteers in sustainability, to assist in the cleanup of an urban cemetery.
U South Carolina Students Initiate Carbon Neutral Athletics
Student athletes have been hard at work planting trees and exchanging energy-efficient light bulbs around campus to offset the carbon emissions of a recent men's basketball game. The first carbon neutral athletic event at the university was intended to create awareness of the carbon emissions produced by sporting events and to pave the way for larger scale carbon neutral events around campus.
U Tennessee Knoxville Meets Challenge to Reduce Electricity Use
Since the university's chancellor issued a challenge to reduce energy consumption in February 2011, the university has reduced electricity use by one kilowatt-hour per square foot and saved $900,000 in utility costs. The university is also halfway to meeting the first interim goal of its Climate Action Plan to reduce campus operations emissions to 20 percent below the 2008 level by 2021.
U Vermont Joins the Real Food Challenge
The university has become the fifth school in the U.S. to join the nationwide challenge to institutions to ensure that at least 20 percent of the food served on campus is nourishing producers, consumers, communities and the Earth. Each participating institution receives a "Real Food Calculator” to see which foods qualify toward that goal.
Cal State U Los Angeles President Honored for Diversity Efforts
(U.S.): California State University, Los Angeles President James M. Rosser recently received the 2012 Reginald Wilson Diversity Leadership Award from the American Council on Education. Throughout his 33-year career as president, Rosser has championed for access to quality higher education among underserved communities and advanced programs that increase diversity.
CCs Instrumental to Increasing U.S. Energy Efficiency, Says Obama
(U.S.): The green energy training opportunities at community colleges are an integral part of increasing energy efficiency and decreasing the country’s dependence on foreign oil, President Barack Obama said during a recent visit to Prince George's Community College (Maryland). Reported by the American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Community College Times, the president said that community colleges are "the surest path to success in this economy."
