Southern Oregon U Student Creates Apiary Program
Graduate student Ryan King has partnered with the Southern Oregon Beekeepers Association to establish the Ashland Apiary Project on campus. Three new bee colonies mark the completion of the first stage of the long-term environmental education project. Next, King plans to start an official SOU Beekeeping Club by September 2012.
Stanford U Announces Green Energy Systems Makeover
The university's Stanford Energy Systems Innovations (SESI) project will convert all campus steam piping to hot water and replace the current cogeneration plant with a new heat recovery facility. Once complete, SESI is expected to reduce campus greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent and campus potable water use by 18 percent. The university has launched a website for those interested in following the project through an interactive campus map that shows current and upcoming areas of construction.
'Students on Ice Alumni Delegation' Lobby for Arctic at Rio+20
The Students on Ice Alumni Delegation, an international group of students under the age of 24, recently lobbied for sustainability in the Arctic and Antarctica at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The organization, which received full United Nations accreditation, created a global agreement that addresses the sustainable development challenges facing the Polar Regions.
Swarthmore College 'Trash 2 Treasure' Breaks Revenue Record
The college’s annual charity-driven yard sale has set a new record by raising more than $26,000 for the United Way of Southeast Delaware County. Shoppers rescued a total of 13.5 tons of goods from landfills this year, including more than 1,000 books, 876 pairs of shoes, 32 rugs, 12 printers and 126 mini-refrigerators.
U Arkansas Little Rock Residence Hall Receives LEED Gold
Sustainable features of the second LEED-certified project on campus include: a roof constructed with reflective materials, landscaping that combines native and adapted vegetation with efficient irrigation, and low-flow plumbing fixtures. More than 88 percent of the construction waste was diverted from landfills.
U California Berkeley Signs Up for Plastic Disclosure Project
The university has embraced the Plastic Disclosure Project, an international initiative that uses the concept of a plastic footprint as a way of stimulating change in the way the world deals with this resource. Campus Recycling and Refuse Services, in partnership with the Office of Sustainability, will start with a campus audit to quantify its plastic use. The campus will then involve faculty, staff and students in strategies for reducing its plastic waste.
U Michigan Hosts Interactive Sustainability Fair
The university's Division of Student Affairs recently hosted an interactive sustainability fair showcasing its projects and programs in an effort to streamline sustainability efforts on campus and identify opportunities for collaboration. Activities included a "Swap & Shop," where participants swapped unwanted items for needed ones; Sustainability Jeopardy; and chef demonstrations with fresh, local food.
U San Diego, Penn State Brandywine Earn Fair Trade Status
The designation from Fair Trade Colleges & Universities recognizes both universities' commitment to using goods produced according to standards that address fair prices and wages, safe working conditions and environmental sustainability. The commitment also includes integrating fair trade educational and advocacy efforts into the school’s culture. The Fair Trade TrailBlazers at Pennsylvania State University's Brandywine campus, for example, are working to include an educational component to the university’s Fair Trade Live festival.
U Southern Mississippi Named Tree Campus USA
The university has received its first Tree Campus USA designation by the Arbor Day Foundation. With the help of students, the university began implementing standards for sustainable campus forestry in 2010.
U Wisconsin System Launches Water Technology Initiative
In partnership with the Milwaukee Water Council, the University of Wisconsin System's water technology project will tap the specific strengths of its five campuses to integrate STEM education and create new approaches to the sustainable use of water systems. The initiative will receive ongoing guidance from the Business-Higher Education Forum, an organization working to close gaps between higher education and the professional workforce.
Wake Forest U Launches Paperless Payroll
In an effort to reduce paper consumption, the university has discontinued the printing of pay statements and salary letters. A new web application allows employees secure online access to their pay and benefits information.
York U Greens Spring Graduation Ceremonies
The university's recent graduation ceremony featured refillable water bottles for staff and faculty members, eliminating the use of hundreds of disposable water bottles. The initiative is part of a pledge to phase out the sale of disposable water bottles on campus by 2015.
Australian Higher Ed Sees Rise in Number of Low-Income Students
(Australia): A record number of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are flocking to Australian universities this year, reports a recent Canberra Times article. The number of university places offered to students from these backgrounds has risen 18.9 percent since 2009, when the cap on the number of university spots was removed. According to the article, young people from rural and regional Australia, migrant backgrounds and low socioeconomic suburbs have taken advantage of this removal of access barriers.
Campus Sustainability Planning: A Global Update
(Pakistan): The University of Agriculture, Faisalabad has created a campus master plan toward more sustainable operations. In the first phase, a 5-megawatt solid waste power generator will be constructed. The plan also highlights the advantages of generating electricity through the use of geothermal energy. (U.S.): Lehigh University has adopted its first campus sustainability plan. The creation of the plan was an interdisciplinary and interdepartmental effort to integrate the university’s Climate Commitment with the university's Campus Master Plan and Strategic Plan. (Australia): In related news , La Trobe University's 2010 sustainability report has received the "Best First Time" sustainability report award from the corporateregister.com global sustainability reporting awards.
Green River CC Hosts Gender-Neutral Bathroom Week
(U.S.) The college participated in gender-neutral bathroom week, a student-led campaign to raise awareness for gay, lesbian and transgender issues and for students with disabilities who have a caregiver of the opposite sex. Community bathrooms in five buildings on campus will have gender-neutral signs.
Jawaharlal U, Delhi U to Create Infrastructure for Disabled
(India): Both universities have received a grant from the ministry of social justice and empowerment to create infrastructure accessible to persons with disabilities. Jawaharlal University will install elevators and create special pathways on campus. Delhi University will make 80 buildings in its North and South campuses accessible including administrative and academic blocks, conference center, libraries, hostels and two guest houses.
Loyola U Chicago Expands Farmers Market
(U.S.): Initiated and run by students, the second season of the university's farmers market will feature 11 vendors providing fresh produce, local dairy and baked goods through October. This year, the market has filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to accept food stamps and senior food coupons.
Madurai Kamaraj U Creates Campus Greening Panel
(India): The university has formed a special committee to prepare proposals for “Go Green" campus initiatives including solar panels. The proposals will be submitted to funding agencies and the state government.
Masdar IST Offers Sustainability Lessons to K-12 Students
(United Arab Emirates): The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology recently partnered with renewable energy company Masday on a science fair for Emirates National School students that displayed projects focused on sustainability, energy and the environment with the aim of promoting renewable energy and the importance of a sustainable lifestyle.
Montclair State U to Develop CHCP Power System
(U.S.): The university has partnered with Energenic-US, LLC to develop a new environmentally friendly combined heating, cooling and power system for its campus. The new facility and its related infrastructure improvements will replace the campus' existing energy plant, which began generating steam in the 1940s.
NY Times Blog Post: ‘Farming on the Campus Quad’
(U.S.): A recent New York Times blog profiles a handful of colleges and universities that have planted small student-run farms on formerly grassy areas that required a lot of maintenance including Green Mountain College’s Lawn to Edible Garden Project, Duke University’s Campus Farm and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst’s permaculture project. The projects demonstrate the opportunity for students and the community to learn about local food production, as well as benefits including locally grown produce in campus dining halls.
Obama Administration Announces 'Clean Coal' Research Awards
(U.S.): Student-led teams at nine colleges and universities across the country have been selected to advance "clean coal" energy production. The institutions will receive about $300,000 each to research cleaner and more cost-competitive coal-fired energy.
Obama Officials Aim to Ease College Cost Process
(U.S.): A recent New York Times story reports that Arizona State University, Miami Dade College (Florida) and the state university systems of New York, Massachusetts, Maryland and Texas have volunteered to provide a consumer-friendly “shopping sheet” in the financial aid packages they send to incoming students, starting with the 2013-2014 school year. Proposed by the Education Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in January, this sheet will clearly state the cost of a year of classes, the student’s net cost after grants and scholarships, financial aid options to pay that cost, and estimated monthly payments for federal loans. It will also provide information about the colleges’ retention and graduation rates and the share of graduates who default on their student loans. While only Congress can make the form mandatory, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that he hoped the voluntary adopters would induce other institutions to do the same.
Ohio State U Holds Zero Waste Commencement
(U.S.): The university's 400th graduation ceremony is honoring its Zero Waste at Ohio Stadium initiative, which aims to divert 90 percent of materials generated at events from landfills by having attendees place all fiber and food items into assigned compost and recycling bins. The event had Zero Waste ambassadors stationed at the bins to help educate commencement attendees about the program.
South Africa Pledges to Improve Vocational Training Options
(South Africa): As universities strain under the burden of too many applicants, the government has pledged to improve the high attrition and low job-placement rates at vocational training schools to make them a viable alternative, reports a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article. The South African Department of Higher Education and Training has released a report calling for an expansion of the country's vocational programs from the current 359,000 students to four million by 2030. To succeed, the system will have to undo a history of segregation, says the article: "Until only two decades ago...many professions for which vocational colleges trained students were legally reserved for whites. A generation later, those same colleges are faced with the task of not only rescuing themselves from irrelevance but also working to undo their own history." Among the strategies in the report is for vocational schools to overhaul their curricula in a way that allows students to apply their diplomas toward university degrees.
Sultan Qaboos U Installs Photovoltaic Test Bed System
(South Korea): The 1-kilowatt Desert Photovoltaic Test Bed System will provide students with the opportunity to study and develop solar power systems. The university has also announced plans to introduce a postgraduate program in renewable energy in the near future.
Telford College Begins Renewable Energy Overhaul
(U.K.): The college has announced plans to install up to 650 solar roof panels as part of a phased program to introduce a range of low carbon technologies expected to power the campus when complete. The first phase of the Solar Roof Project was developed in partnership with Heriot-Watt University and iPower. The second phase of the project will involve research to look at additional ways to generate greater amounts of energy and educational co-benefits including fuel cell and solar thermal technology.
Texas A&M Announces Green Fee Projects
(U.S.): The university has announced $335,000 in awards for campus sustainability projects including the installation of bike racks, high-tech recycling bins and more water-bottle filling stations; the creation of an educational organic agriculture facility that will use solar and rainwater technologies; and a project to recapture and preserve open green spaces. The funding comes from a $3 per semester student green fee.
U Plymouth Receives Funding to Start Local Food-Growing Network
(U.K.): The National Union of Students has received more than £260,000 in funding from Local Food, a £57.5 million program supported by the Big Lottery Fund, which provides funding for projects working to make local food more accessible and affordable to communities. The money will be spent on creating a network of 18 new local food-growing projects on campuses across the country.
U York Students Launch Fair Pay Campus Campaign
(U.K.): The student branch of the Green Party, Young Greens, has launched its Fair Pay Campus campaign at the university. Among the demands: a pledge to work toward a 10:1 pay ratio; transparency regarding administrative pay; and that all contracted workers are paid a Living Wage. Universities that adopt fair pay policies will be recognized as "Fair Pay Campuses" by the Green Party and publicly celebrated.
Baylor U Installs 200 kW Solar Array as Teaching Tool
In addition to providing power for a portion of core campus buildings, the 858-module array will also be used as a tool for students to learn about sustainable energy. The panels are expected to pay for themselves within 10 years through energy cost savings.
Black Hills State U Creates Garden for Dining Services
A group of student, staff and community volunteers have created a campus garden to provide fresh produce to dining services. The organic produce includes tomatoes, squash, peas, carrots, cucumbers and onions. A South Dakota State University Extension Grant funds the program.
Chatham U Graduate Student Initiates Community Seed Bank
A food studies graduate student has partnered with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh to provide a public, regionally adapted seed bank, gardening and seed-saving classes, and a place to hear and share some of the local gardening history. The public can "borrow" or "check out" seeds, with the hope that they will grow the crops past harvesting stage, letting them go to seed. The public is then encouraged to return these seeds to the Pittsburgh Seed and Story Library.
College of the Holy Cross Residence Hall Earns LEED Gold
Sustainable features of the $19.2 million dorm include a secure interior bike storage room, low-flow fixtures, occupancy sensors and regionally sourced and recycled materials. This is the second LEED Gold-certified project on campus.
Concord U Launches Recycling Program
The university has partnered with the Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority to create a recycling program. A recycling bin has been placed in the campus education center and the university is working on a recycling education program to raise awareness among the campus community.
Florida A&M U Plans Energy Efficiency Campus Makeover
The university has partnered with Siemens to implement a $12.2 million performance contract that will generate about $1.2 million in annual energy savings. The 18-month project will include the decentralization of the university’s central steam plant heating system, a solar thermal heating system for the swimming pool, and building automation improvements.
Harvard U Receives 8th Biolab LEED Certification
The Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ Mango Lab is the eighth space within the university’s Biological Laboratories Building to receive LEED certification. Sustainable features of the LEED Silver-certified space include efforts to divert waste from landfills, locally sourced materials and occupancy sensors.
Massachusetts Institutions Partner to Advance Sustainability
Clark University, College of the Holy Cross and Worcester Polytechnic Institute have partnered with National Grid and GreenerU to establish "SynergE Worcester,” an initiative that will facilitate energy efficiency and other sustainability advances within the regional higher education community. The program will target energy efficiency installations that reduce fuel and utility costs for the schools; engage students, faculty and staff in energy and sustainability initiatives; and use innovative financing to bring about reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
MIT Pilots Earth Day Challenge Focused on Individual Action
Nearly 100 students and staff performed 151 individual green actions for points and prizes as part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's inaugural Earth Day Challenge. Sponsored by student organizations, departments, community groups and businesses, action projects ranged from taking public transportation, to joining a local clean-up, to performing an energy upgrade of a local community building. The grand prize winner earned $500 and the six highest point-earners received green-themed prizes provided by local businesses and organizations.
New Installation at Harvard U Brings Solar Capacity to 1 MW
The university has installed its largest solar project to date, an array of 2,275 solar photovoltaic panels on 1.5 acres of roof space. The project will deliver energy directly to the university’s electrical grid and is expected to provide 591.5 kilowatts of electricity to homes, buildings and lighting for the university’s athletic fields. Together with the 500-kilowatt Arsenal Mall solar project installed in 2009, the university now has more than 1 megawatt of installed solar photovoltaic capacity on campus.
Ohio State U Hires Energy, Environment, Sustainability Director
The university's Office of Energy and Environment has hired Paul Laurent as its director of student services and programs, a new position created to enhance connections between university sustainability efforts and students. Laurent, who previously developed and managed renewable energy and energy efficiency programs at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, will coordinate student groups interested in energy, environment and sustainability; develop student research and project initiatives; and connect students and industry.
Ohio State U Offers New Sustainability Major
The recently launched environment, economy, development and sustainability major is a multidisciplinary degree program that focuses on the human dimensions of sustainability. Coursework includes environmental economics, business management, environmental sociology, community and international development, ecological engineering and environmental sciences. Students will have the opportunity to specialize in one of four areas including sustainability and business, environmental economics and policy analysis, community development and international development.
Oregon Institute of Technology Installs Solar Array
The recent installation is expected to save the institute $3.3 million in energy costs over the next 25 years. With a large portion of its energy already supplied by an on-site geothermal plant, the addition of solar panels will set the institute up to receive the majority of its power from an alternative energy source.
Student Loan Debt Rises 8% as Tuitions Climb
Americans owed $904 billion in student loans at the end of March, nearly 8 percent more than a year ago, according to a quarterly report on consumer credit by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. A recent Wall Street Journal article says that this number is quickly rising because of higher tuitions and because alternative ways of paying for college—such as home-equity loans—have dried up. College enrollment has also surged in a weak job market.
Students Gear Up for EcoCar2 Competition
Fifteen teams of undergraduates recently gathered in Los Angeles for the first-year assessment of the U.S. Department of Energy's three-year world-wide competition to design environmentally friendly cars, known as EcoCar. All teams proposed some type of plug-in hybrid arrangement using rechargeable batteries, reports the Chronicle of Higher Education. While about 75 percent of EcoCar alums have ended up with jobs in the automotive industry, the article looks at ways that the competition series could do more to advance new energy technologies in the marketplace.
