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.
St. Olaf Creates New First-Year Dialogue Program
The newly offered fifth topic in the college’s Conversations program, the Environmental Conversations path gives first-year students an opportunity to engage in discussion-based learning with a focus on sustainability. The college recently designated Kittelsby-Hilleboe Hall as housing for those interested in sustainable living and learning.
SUNY ESF Showcases New Green Building
The university’s recently opened Gateway Building, which houses a biomass-fueled combined heat and power system, contains a high efficiency building envelope that controls thermal loss and solar gain. The building hosts the university’s new sustainable energy management major and renewable energy minor.
SUNY Oswego Opens Sustainable Building
The new Richard S. Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation houses a geothermal well, LED touchscreens that monitor the building’s energy usage, foam insulation, reused flyash in concrete, low emission windows and accompanying shades, bike storage and showers, and amenities designed to encourage students to stay in the building, such as Wi-Fi, lounge areas and storage lockers.
U Arkansas Little Rock Installs Bottle Fill Station
In an effort fulfill the university Sustainability Committee’s mission to conserve resources and protect the environment, the Donaghey Student Center’s new water bottle filling stations help reduce the school’s waste stream. In the first two weeks over 400 bottles were filled.
U Buffalo Students Initiate Permaculture Garden
After attending a permaculture workshop at University of Massachusetts Amherst, the students have drafted a proposal for a garden based on the principles of permaculture containing herbs and other perennial plants.
U Idaho Awarded $3.1M from National Science Foundation
Recently awarded from the NSF’s Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program, the five-year program allows the university to expand its interdisciplinary water resources degree program and provide financial support for its 24 doctoral students.
U Idaho Professor Recognized by National Conservation Award
Professor Dennis Scarnecchia will be awarded the Fisheries Management Sections Award of Excellence from the American Fisheries Societies this month for his research and commitment to the sustainable management of fish resources. Professor Scarnecchia has worked for the conservation of some of the world’s oldest fish for over 20 years and includes study of the Missouri, Yellowstone and Columbia river systems. Most recently, Scarnecchia has served on the Independent Scientific Advisory Board, an independent scientific panel recommended by the National Academy of Sciences, which provides input to fish conservation, management and research in the Pacific Northwest.
U Maine Partners for Offshore Wind-Wave System
A recent $983,997 grant from the National Science Foundation will allow university researchers to create a new wind and wave generating system simulating conditions in the Gulf of Maine. Data collected from the project will be used to develop test standards and understand the effects of ocean wind and waves on offshore wind turbines.
U Maryland, Ohio State U Wins Design Competition
Officials with the U.S. Department of Energy recently announced University of Maryland as the winner of the Max Tech and Beyond design competition for ultra-low-energy use appliances and equipment, and Ohio State University as runner up. UMD developed a heat pump clothes dryer that is almost 59 percent more efficient than a traditional electric dryer, while OSU designed a hybrid air/water conditioner with 73 percent energy cost savings over a conventional system.
