California State U System Funds Sustainability Curriculum Development
The university's systemwide Campus as a Living Lab (CALL) program provides up to $12,000 to each campus to support the redesign of an existing course that ties in sustainability and campus facilities. This year, 21 teams from 19 universities received grants supporting water conservation, energy and waste reduction, and enhanced partnerships with local utilities.
Sierra Magazine Releases Cool Schools Ranking
Sierra Magazine has published its ninth annual Cool Schools ranking of America's most sustainable four-year undergraduate colleges and universities, based on data submitted through AASHE's STARS reporting system. The rankings are intended to spur productive competition between schools, raise campus eco-standards and publicly reward the institutions. Photo courtesy of Peter Morenus/U Connecticut
16 Universities to Participate in Reusable Cup Contest
Kill the Cup recently announced the participating schools that will engage in a four-week, nationwide campaign that encourages students, staff and faculty across the country to reduce waste from disposable coffee cups. The campaign, which runs from Oct. 5-30, will reward the university that serves the highest percentage of drinks in reusable cups at participating coffee shops.
U Washington Receives NACDA Sustainability Award
Honored for the renovation and sustainable operations of its football stadium, the university was recently received the inaugural Sustainability Award from the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and USG Corporation. The stadium showcases the natural environment and carries a 75 percent waste diversion rate.
U California Merced Student Proposal Amplifies Student Engagement
Winning the first-ever Chancellor's Advisory Committee's Sustainability Proposal Writing Contest, undergraduate student Andrew John De Los Santos' proposal includes providing information to residence halls during move-in and providing "triple zero" workshops. Triple Zero is the university's pledge to consume zero net energy, produce zero waste and zero net greenhouse gas emissions, all by 2020.
North Carolina State U to Salvage 55-Year Old Building
Opened in 1961 and is slated for deconstruction in 2016, the construction waste management plan for the university's round building indicates 95 percent diversion rate through donation or transfer of usable items and working with a facility that specialized in construction and demolition waste in order to reuse and recycle nonhazardous material.
Michigan State U Students Establish Beehive in Campus Neighborhood
The university's Bee Club is combining pollinator research and student learning by engaging Bailey Hall residents with a honeybee hive atop their green roof. The honeybee hive is providing students with a unique opportunity to manage a fully-functional colony and helping to diminish the fear associated with these critical pollinators.
Indiana U Bloomington Sustainability Office Hosts Students from Istanbul
Following a 2014 program that brought together Turkish and American students from five universities, seven Turkish students spent time with sustainability offices at the Indiana University and University of Chicago to learn about campus gardens and composting, fossil fuel consumption and alternative utility initiatives, and first year experiences that incorporate sustainability.
U California Merced Class Helps Certify LEED Buildings
In partnership with the university's Engineering Service Learning course, students will document and certify the campus’ applications for the LEED operations and maintenance program rating system and provide students with the opportunity to take the LEED credentialing examination.
U North Carolina System Avoids Over $900M in Utility Costs
The fourth annual University of North Carolina Energy Leadership Challenge revealed that the state's universities and colleges have cumulatively avoided over $749 million in energy costs and over $158 million in water costs as of the 2013-14 academic year.
U Dayton to Hold Conference on Fossil Fuel Divestment
The conference will engage Pope Francis’ call to action by convening representatives from Catholic institutions to discuss theological and ethical underpinnings of divest and invest initiatives, financial mechanics of fossil fuel divestment and opportunities for renewable energy investment, lesson learned from the divestment movement, and ecumenical coalitions for responses to climate change.
U Toledo to Offer Disability Studies Major
The university's new undergraduate major in disability studies will be based on a 21-credit set of required courses that include an introduction to the field, courses on disability culture and a course on the history of disability in the U.S. The program at Toledo will join minors at Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University and the University of California at Berkeley.
Ireland Engages in National Review of Gender Equity in Higher Ed
(Ireland): Amid concerns over the lack of women in leadership roles in tertiary institutions, the country's Higher Education Authority appointed a review panel to investigate gender discrimination. Higher Education Authority figures revealed 19 percent of university professors are women as of December 2014.
Colorado State U & 13 Others Contribute to Water Research Network
The university will join 13 other academic institutions from the U.S. that will establish the Urban Water Innovation Network (UWIN). With $12 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, these institutions, led by Colorado State University, will create technological, institutional and management solutions to help increase the resilience of water systems and enhance crisis preparedness.
Second Nature Names Climate Leadership Finalists
The sixth annual Climate Leadership Awards resulted in 19 finalists out of nearly 50 applications, seven of which are from two-year institutions and 12 are from four-year schools. The awards are a national competition among higher education institutions that are signatories of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment.
Shippensburg U to Complete New Cooling System
As part of a $30.2 million project to replace the university's outdated heating and cooling systems and reduce its impact on the environment, four new chillers are replacing 24 separate building units to provide more efficient cooling. The new system is anticipated to reduce the overall footprint by eight percent.
Elmhurst College Expands Campus Garden
Tended by students, faculty, staff and volunteers, the college's Heritage Garden quadrupled in size this year and produces organic food for campus and local food banks. The garden has also become a research laboratory and service learning experience for local community members from a boys and girls home.
U Dayton Builds New Student Green Housing
Over the next two years, $17 million will build and upgrade student housing that will be certified under the National Association of Home Builders Green Building program, including building features such as additional insulation, energy-efficient furnaces and appliances, tankless water heaters and airtight windows.
U Virginia and USGBC Partner to Support Public Health
Supported by a $1.2 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the new research initiative aims to result in new tools that create and demonstrate the value of public health through the design, construction and operation of sustainable buildings and that bring a public health lens to assessments of commercial real estate portfolios.
U Kentucky Improves Connectivity for Bicyclists and Pedestrians
Because commuting cyclists faced limited and difficult options for traveling to and from campus, the university funded the construction of a new shared-use path and the city provided way-finding and pavement markings that link an existing bicycle route to a new campus facility.
Northwestern U to Implement Energy Efficient Lighting
After investing over $1.5 million since 2009 on updating lighting controls and adding occupancy sensors across campus, the next step of the university's energy savings initiative is to retrofit outdoor, athletic and theatrical lighting to LED.
U Albany to Host Sustainability Leadership Summit
During the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students Leadership Summit in early August, graduate student leaders from across the nation will convene to discuss the principles of leadership used to advance university sustainability capacity and how the principles can be applied to student governance.
Colorado State U Surplus Diverts 18 Tons of Move-Out Material
The university's Surplus Department and Housing and Dining Services diverted over 18 tons of reusable items this year through the Leave it Behind program, which netted just over $7,000 to fund eight students in the Eco Leaders Peer Education Program who raise sustainability awareness in the dorms.
U Kentucky Announces Bicycle Voucher Program
Inspired by the success of the University of Louisville's Earn-a-Bike Program, the University of Kentucky's Parking and Transportation Services' new pilot program is giving up to 100 students a $400 voucher for a local bike shop in exchange for not bringing a motor vehicle to campus for two years. The program aims to encourage commuters to consider alternatives to the single passenger vehicle.
U British Columbia Develops 20-Year Sustainability Strategy
Building on 20 years of sustainability achievement and following extensive community engagement, the strategy provides an overall framework to further integrate academic and operational sustainability efforts through the lens of regenerative sustainability. Using the campus as a societal test-bed, it seeks to explore and demonstrate net-positive approaches to human and environmental well-being.
Dickinson College Energy Efficiency Projects Earn Over $75K in Rebates
Thanks to the state of Pennsylvania incentives to lower power usage through Act 129, the college’s climate action plan projects have brought in $75,000 in rebates. Most recently it received a check for $47,000 for installing motion sensors in all laboratories of one of its science buildings.
U Maryland Partners with Community on Renewable Energy Awareness
The university's Center for Young Children and the Energy Research Center recently hosted 14 students, ages 4 and 5 years old, offering them the opportunity to see how the university uses clean and renewable energy. The children visit photovoltaic panels, an electric car and a research lab.
SUNY Fredonia Installs Solar Panels
The recently installed solar panels at the university's College Lodge will trim electricity consumption and aid in student learning. The array is expected to save $1,750 annually on utility costs and produce approximately 70 percent of the total electricity needs of the lodge.
Maharishi U Management Holds Inaugural Deep Sustainability Discussion
Hosted in June 2015, the Colloquy on Deep Sustainability was a closed discussion in order to distill the meaning of the term deep sustainability, how it differs from similar concepts and systems, and what a future with deep sustainability at its core should look like. Topics included philosophy, spirituality, mathematics, ecology, economics, governments and societies.
Maharishi U Management Holds Green Business Symposium
At its third annual Deep Green Business Symposium, the university focused on Global Green Opportunities and Technologies with 16 speakers discussing subjects including community development, optimization of a product’s life cycle, and philosophies of sustainability.
U Southern California Introduces Green Teams
Promoting environmental sustainability within athletics, the Green Teams Program, part of the Office of Sustainability, recently honored three teams, women's sand volleyball, women's rowing and men's club lacrosse, for their consideration of transportation, waste, energy and water impact, and food consumption. The program has four tiers of certification and seeks to highlight best practices.
Stanford U Dining Becomes REAL Certified
The United States Healthful Food Council recently announced that Stanford has become the nation's first campus dining program to obtain the Responsible Epicurean and Agricultural Leadership (REAL) certification. Honored for its commitment to holistic nutrition and environmental stewardship, the university was evaluated on whole-foods use, portions, behavioral components and procurement.
Elon U Receives 25th LEED Certification
Located in central North Carolina situated on 620 acres, six buildings in the Global Neighborhood on campus recently received U.S. Green Building Council LEED Silver certification. Five are residential and house a total of 600 students.
Michigan State U Terminates Coal Use
In early April 2015, as part of its Energy Transition Plan, the university president announced that it will retire its on-campus coal plant by 2016. Although this move results in switching to natural gas, its ultimate goal is to generate 100 percent renewable energy.
College of the Sequoias to Complete 893KW Solar System
In an effort to minimize energy costs, the newly announced 893-kilowatt photovoltaic system is expected to deliver an estimated 25-year savings of approximately $6.4 million. Two installations comprise the 893kW system, one parking lot shade canopy at 285kW and the other is a ground-mounted, 632kW system covering 3.3 acres.
Kapi'olani CC Students Build Solar Cart
The community college's team of Engineers for a Sustainable World built the cart to demonstrate how science, technology, engineering and mathematics can be applied towards building a more sustainable campus. The apparatus has the ability to provide 0.5-kilowatt-hours of AC electricity.
Alfred U Receives $2.8M Grant for Renewable Energy Research Center
The $2.8 million grant for the center's construction is part of economic development funding for 19 projects across New York by Empire State Development. The new center will allow the university to conduct specialized research and testing on renewable energy systems and high-temperature battery applications.
Ohio U to Discontinue Coal-Fired Boilers
Located in southeastern Ohio coal-mining country, the university anticipates switching to natural gas fuel by the end of 2015 for steam generation to heat and cool campus buildings.
U Warwick Divests from Fossil Fuels
(U.K.): The university commits to moving all oil, coal and gas investments out of its 14 million pounds ($21.9 million) endowment, following a two-year student-led campaign.
U Illinois Urbana-Champaign Allocates $1.2M to 4 Interdisciplinary Projects
More than $1.2 million in seed funding was recently awarded to seed four interdisciplinary research projects through the university's Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment. The selected topics that received over $350,000 each were stormwater and mosquito control, crop response to climate change, renewable energy for transportation, and crude oil cleanup treatment.
San Francisco State U to Open Wellness Center
The 118,700-square-foot complex, scheduled for completion in 2017, will feature an indoor jogging track, fitness and weight areas, pools, a sauna, a climbing wall, racquetball courts, two multi-use courts, fitness studios and a large multi-use space. The university is pursuing LEED Platinum designation.
