AASHE 2015 Sustainability in Higher Education Staffing Survey
The 2015 Higher Education Sustainability Staffing Survey is open! We encourage anyone in a paid sustainability position in higher education to take the survey and be entered to win a FREE AASHE 2015 Conference & Expo registration pass! To qualify for the survey, you must be in a paid sustainability position in a higher education institution or college/university system office with either broad responsibility for campus sustainability, or focus on a particular area such as energy, recycling or curriculum. If you qualify, click here and be entered to win a free conference pass!
Call for Submissions: MIT Clean Energy Prize
The MIT Clean Energy Prize is a multi-stage, student-organized business plan competition in which teams compete for a $250,000 grand prize and category prizes. University teams from across the U.S. can enter their business ideas in one of three categories: energy efficiency, renewable energy, or infrastructure and resources. Entries must be submitted no later than Feb. 8.
Biomimicry Global Design Challenge
The Biomimicry Institute and the Ray C. Anderson Foundation announced the opening of the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge. Students are invited to submit commercially viable, nature-inspired solutions to global food system challenges. All participants get access to the Design Challenge Toolbox and supporting resources, including sessions with mentors and biomimicry professionals. The grand prize, to be awarded in 2016, is $100,000. Submissions are due August 3.
Call for Reviewers: AASHE 2015 Conference & Expo
Calling all interested parties to review abstract submissions for the AASHE 2015 Conference & Expo, themed Transforming Sustainability Education. Reviewers will be asked to review 20-25 proposals on topics of which they offer the strongest level of expertise, and will not review any personally submitted proposals.
Call for Submissions: INSS 2015 Conference
The Integrated Network for Social Sustainability is now accepting abstracts for its 2015 conference themed Social Sustainability and Infrastructure. Academic papers and non-traditional written media can be submitted that examine one of the two areas: defining social, political or ethical issues that emerge in the pursuit of sustainability, or encountering social, political or ethical approaches to addressing broad issues of sustainability. 500-1,000 word abstracts are due by February 15.
Call for Proposals: AESS 2015 Conference Deadline Extension
The Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences 2015 Conference is currently accepting individual abstracts for paper and poster presentations, workshops and panels to its theme Confronting Frontiers, Borders, and Boundaries taking place at the University of California San Diego on June 24-27. The conference theme will allow for interdisciplinary discussions about issues such as transboundary pollution, environmental equity and representation, international connections and collaborations, and teaching across disciplines. Submissions are due by January 30.
Call for Proposals: Campus Sustainability in the Northeast Region
The Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium and the New England Campus Sustainability Forum are accepting proposals for the April 2015 conference titled Strengthening Ties for Collective Impact: Campus Sustainability in the Northeast Region. Key conference objectives are to understand and discuss the most important and urgent regional sustainability issues, determine collective impact to address these issues and to grow as sustainability professionals. Submission deadline is January 23.
Call for Papers: BioCycle West Coast Conference 2015
Organized by the editors of BioCycle magazine, this year's conference, April 13-16, is currently accepting 250-word abstracts for conference presentations about composting, anaerobic digestion, food recovery and recycling, climate resilient communities and urban agriculture connections. The abstract submittal deadline is December 31.
Call for Papers: Business, Peace and Sustainability Development
The new journal from Greenleaf Publishing is currently accepting papers between 3,000 and 6,000 words. Acceptable topics include and are not limited to social impact of corporate peace, tools and mechanisms of corporate peace and sustainable development, and business and disaster reduction.
Call for Proposals: Greenbuild International Conference & Expo
Greenbuild is now accepting proposals for presenters and topics for Greenbuild 2015 including climate, certification systems, design innovation, energy efficiency, green schools, health and well-being, and net zero. This conference features educational sessions covering aspects of sustainable design, construction, and operations practices for buildings and communities, including their impact on people, and environment and the domestic and global economy. All proposals must be submitted by January 16.
Call for Submissions: International Film Festival
The International Film Festival for Environment, Health and Culture is accepting submissions for films pertaining to environment, health and culture issues. There are five submission categories: international feature film, international short film, documentary feature, documentary short and newcomer. The film festival will be held on May 27. Deadline for submissions is May 4.
End of Year Discount for New STARS Users
To encourage new participants, AASHE is offering a $250 discount on a STARS full access subscription for any institution that has yet to submit its first report. To take advantage of this offer, use the following discount code when registering or purchasing a subscription in the STARS Reporting Tool: NEVERSUBMITTED Valid until December 31.
AASHE Member Discount: Northwest Earth Institute Course Books
The Northwest Earth Institute offers AASHE members a discount of $5 off each $25 sustainability-focused course book. Course book titles include Choices for Sustainable Living, Menu for the Future, Seeing Systems, Voluntary Simplicity, and more.
Save the Date: Campus Sustainability in the Northeast Region
Offered by the Northeast Campus sustainability Consortium, Strengthening Ties for Collective Impact: Campus Sustainability in the Northeast Region is a conference hosted by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst April 9 -10, 2015. A call for presentations and conference details including lodging, schedule, speakers and sponsors will be updated as available.
Working on your first STARS report?
To encourage new participants, AASHE is offering a $250 discount on a STARS full access subscription for any institution that has yet to submit its first report. To take advantage of this offer, use the following discount code when registering or purchasing a subscription in the STARS Reporting Tool: NEVERSUBMITTED Valid until December 31.
AASHE Advisory Council Opportunities
AASHE’s Advisory Council promotes and supports the organization’s growth and development, and advises staff on complex or specialized matters and general programmatic goals. The Advisory Council consists of leaders from higher education, business, nonprofit and government sectors, are nominated by AASHE members, volunteers and staff, and approved by the Board of Directors. There are 10 open positions. All applicants must be associated with a current AASHE member organization. Applications must be completed by December 3.
Climate Studies Course Implementation Workshop for MSI Faculty
Offered by Second Nature and the American Meteorological Society (AMS), AMS is now enrolling 25 Minority-Serving Institution faculty members to attend the next expenses-paid Course Implementation Workshop. The event will take place in Washington, DC from May 17-22, 2015. The deadline for application is March 13.
STARS Steering Committee Opportunities
AASHE is currently seeking 4 campus representatives to join the STARS Steering Committee. In order to be considered, you must complete the application on the AASHE website by Wednesday, December 8. To more fully engage the community, this year STARS participants will have an opportunity to select two of the new members. For more information, see the application instructions or email stars@aashe.org.
Energy Dept $1M Funding Opportunity for University Research
This funding opportunity makes available competitive, 2-year cooperative agreements for teams at U.S.-based institutions of higher education to research and develop innovative building energy efficiency technologies. Submission deadline for concept papers is December 19.
Transformative Dialogues Teaching & Learning Journal Submissions
With a special theme, Post-secondary Sustainability Leadership and Education, the journal is seeking submissions on any aspect of post-secondary sustainability education and/or leadership, including examples at the educational developer, instructor, curriculum, institutional and national levels. Deadline for submission is April 15.
Call for Nominations: 2014 Best of Green Schools
The Best of Green Schools list is an annual announcement made by the Center for Green Schools highlighting schools, districts, individuals and communities in 10 categories for their efforts to create healthy, efficient learning environments. Higher education leaders can be recognized for a variety of sustainable measures including energy conservation, environmental innovation, collaborative platforms and policies to green school infrastructure. Submit your nominations online by November 22.
Call for Nominations: AASHE Board of Directors
AASHE invites any AASHE member to nominate candidates to the board of directors, which advises, governs, oversees policy and direction, and assists with the leadership and general promotion of AASHE so as to support the organization’s mission and needs. The full board holds multi-day, in-person meetings at least once a year and holds bimonthly phone meetings. Overall, board members should expect to contribute an average of 5 to 10 hours per month to AASHE. The closing date for nominations is November 24, and applications are due by December 3. Nominees will receive an email with application instructions.
2016 Collegiate Wind Competition Call for Proposals
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory Request for Proposals seeks teams of students to participate in the Collegiate Wind Competition, which challenges teams to design and construct a wind-driven power system, develop a business plan to market their product, and demonstrate their knowledge of current and emerging issues facing the wind industry.
Post STARS Submission Ideas to Share Your Story
Congratulations! You've navigated through STARS, collected data, documented it, and submitted a report. What’s next? Showcase your efforts by showing off the newly earned STARS seal, share STARS with campus stakeholders, create a communication plan, and use STARS as a recruitment tool. In addition to actions you can take at your institution, AASHE encourages feedback from its participants. Now that your institution's report is complete, we encourage you more than ever to share questions and feedback to help shape the system. Click here to read more about how to keep momentum moving forward.
Energy Dept 2015 Race to Zero Student Design Competition
Open to students and faculty in the U.S. and Canada, the competition, formerly known as the Challenge Home Student Design Competition, poses teams with a specific design problem and requires either a redesign an existing floor plan or creation of a new house design that satisfies the project requirements.
Call for Papers: Int'l Journal of Sustainability in Higher Ed
This issue of the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education aims to present contemporary, state-of-the-art applications of how social science theories, models, and findings can help overcome campus sustainability challenges and to illustrate the diversity of social science campus sustainability research conducted across the world. Papers are sought from a range of social sciences including but not limited to anthropology, communication, economics, education, geography, psychology, political science, and sociology. Interdisciplinary social science contributions are also welcome. Submissions are accepted through November 15.
Campus Sustainability Day Keynote Broadcast: RSVP
The theme for the upcoming Campus Sustainability Day (CSD) keynote broadcast is Empowering Change on Campus and in the Community. Campuses are invited to view this short webcast at their CSD events, as a way to compliment planned activities and foster discussion. The broadcast will feature higher education sustainability leaders discussing ways in which students can make a difference, be a part of sustainability solutions, and build a career in the sustainability field.
Energy Dept Funding for Next Generation HVAC Systems
The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced nearly $8 million to support research and development of the next generation of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) technologies. The research and development will focus on developing regionally appropriate HVAC solutions that would offer significant potential energy savings for new and existing buildings, and on developing innovative approaches that could replace current vapor compression HVAC technologies and their use of refrigerants that harm the global environment.
Sustainability Across the Curriculum Leadership Workshop
Applications now open for AASHE’s Sustainability Across the Curriculum Leadership Workshop at Emory University, Jan. 8-9, 2015. These highly-rated workshops, for faculty leaders of all disciplines who wish to develop campus-wide curriculum change programs for their schools, involve an intensive two days of presentations, exercises, discussions, outdoor place-based activities, and planning. Participants also reflect on their own roles in the transformation of higher education, while learning the Piedmont/Ponderosa model for curriculum development. Over 500 campus leaders from across the U.S. and eight foreign countries have praised the workshop’s assistance for their campus’s sustainability efforts. Participants receive readings and organizational materials and return to their campuses with a national network of supportive fellow leaders.
Call for Submissions: Canada’s Water Wise School Case Competition
Hosted by the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating and open to all Canadian post-secondary students, the competition invites teams of four to six to submit an on-campus case study with the objective of decreasing water consumption in honor of World Plumbing Day on March 11. First place prize is $3,000 and second is $1,000. Registration is open from now until December 1 with submissions due February 2.
Call for Submissions: Sustainability Teaching Activities
Submissions are now being accepted for the peer-reviewed and edited book Learner-Centered Teaching Activities for Environmental and Sustainability Studies. Instructors are invited to submit descriptions of novel, easy to implement and engaging in-class activities. To be considered for publication, contributions must be submitted by Jan. 20, 2015.
Halloween Costume Swap via Tradepal
Tradepal, in partnership with Campus Sustainability Day, invites students to list and trade holiday items of interest on their Tradepal campus network.
SustainUS 2015 Lead Now Fellowship
SustainUS is now accepting applications from university and college students who are working on a community project and/or seeking to further develop leadership and project skills. The Lead Now fellowship focuses on trainings, mentorship, peer community and recognition. Deadline to apply is November 1.
Call for Proposals: Smart & Sustainable Campuses Conference 2015
The 10th annual conference hosted by the University of Maryland, slated for March 30-31, 2015, seeks proposals in the themes of community-campus partnerships, change management, social responsibility, the built environment and the campus as a learning laboratory. The proposal submission deadline is October 10.
Northwest Earth Institute EcoChallenge
Hosted by the Northwest Earth Institute, this challenge asks participants to stick with one action to reduce their environmental impact for two weeks. Sign up as an individual, class or university team starting now. This year's EcoChallenge takes place October 15-29.
Yale U Introduces New Carbon Focused Competition
A new national low-carbon investment case competition, sponsored by the university, is now accepting team registration. This competition will allow students to explore identical data and through research will develop a strategy to reduce the carbon intensity.
Annual Membership Survey
AASHE’s annual Membership Survey recently opened for feedback from all AASHE member institutions, organizations and businesses. The survey includes questions on sustainability and AASHE as an organization, and includes follow-up questions as part of AASHE’s ongoing Listening Project. There are 32 to 33 questions, many of which are optional, and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Real Food Media Contest: Submissions Now Accepted
Video submissions between 30 seconds and 4 minutes are currently being accepted about sustainable food and farming. Videos should feature under-reported issues, innovative sustainability strategies, compelling stories of food producers and workers and more in a variety of formats. Submissions are due by January 5, 2015.
[Em]Powering Grid Resilience Student Innovation
Student applications are now being accepted for an award competition that evaluates solutions to combat the climate change impact on the electric grid. Deadline to submit is November 10, 2014.
Illinois Governor's Sustainability Awards
This award recognizes companies or institutions that implement techniques or technologies that reduce or eliminate pollutants, toxicity and other environmental impacts.
Registration Opens for Campus Conservation Nationals
The USGBC Students program, Lucid, the Alliance to Save Energy and the National Wildlife Federation recently announced the opening of registration for a challenge to reduce electricity and water consumption in a conservation competition. Registration closes November 7, 2014.
AASHE, The Princeton Review and Sierra Magazine Collaborate
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), The Princeton Review and Sierra Magazine are continuing their collaboration on sustainability data collection. Please mark your calendars, both organizations request data to be submitted through the STARS Reporting Tool by February 27, 2015.
Chevrolet Promotes Clean Energy in Campaign
Chevrolet is now providing funding to purchase and retire carbon reductions arising from clean energy efficiency projects on college campuses across the U.S. in a collaboration with AASHE, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and other stakeholders across the country.
NSSE Registration Closes September 25
Registration closes on September 25, 2014 for the 2015 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) with a goal to refocus the national discourse about college quality on teaching and learning, and provide colleges and universities with diagnostic, actionable information that can inform efforts to improve the quality of undergraduate education.
Executive Education for Disruptive Sustainability Workshop
At this year's AASHE 2014 Conference & Expo, AASHE has invited Leith Sharp from Harvard University's Center for Health and the Global Environment, in collaboration with the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, to deliver a new one-day intensive session for senior leaders and experienced sustainability professionals who are wanting to integrate sustainability into the core of their university or college as a driver of innovation, effectiveness and growth. This all-day workshop is on October 26 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
AASHE 2014 Membership Survey Now Open
The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete and is meant to reach individuals at AASHE member institutions, organizations and businesses, who are working or interested in campus sustainability.
STARS 2014 Survey
As part of the 2014 Listening Project, the STARS 2014 Survey is now available. AASHE invites everyone, regardless of STARS participation status, to take this survey. The survey is meant to reach campus sustainability practitioners at any higher education institution who have an interest in tracking and bench-marking campus sustainability performance.
EPA Food Recovery Challenge
The new free and voluntary program from the Environmental Protection Agency challenges participants to reduce food waste and provides information on ways to save money, help communities and protect the environment. Participants choose one of three categories from which to compare baseline data against stated goals.
