U Hawai'i Mānoa Plans for Net Zero Energy
The university continues to add occupied space and decrease energy usage through a focus on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and evaluating the natural qualities of a piece of land when assessing building design.
Eastern Washington U Divests from Fossil Fuels
In June 2015, The university's board of trustees unanimously supported a motion to divest its endowed funds from fossil fuel investments and further directed the university to pursue socially responsible investment strategies. The university in the process of developing a comprehensive sustainability master plan to align with its strategic plan.
U West England Tests Urine-to-Energy Project
(U.K.): Led by the university's Bristol BioEnergy Center, urine is used as a biofuel that generates electricity to light up urinals. The technology, tested at a music festival, is being developed to improve lives in refugee camps set up in areas suffering the impacts of environmental disaster, war zones, and areas without sanitation or electricity infrastructure.
U California System Supports Gender Identity Inclusivity
The university system is adding optional questions to undergraduate applications about sexual orientation and gender identity in an effort to allow its colleges and universities to track enrollment and graduating students from a range of orientations and identities. It also announced that, starting July 1, all new construction projects or major renovations will include gender-neutral restrooms.
Columbia U Divests from Private Prison Companies
Following a student activist campaign, the university's trustees decided to divest its endowment from two private companies that run prisons, detention centers, and militarized borders, and will refrain from investing in such companies again.
NY Times: 'A College in Maine That Tackles Climate Change, One Class at a Time'
The New York Times article cites the College of the Atlantic for using project-based learning to engage students outside of the classroom specifically around the issues of climate change and energy. The article says the college "takes an interdisciplinary approach to human ecology, the study of the interaction between people and their social and physical environments."
U Illinois Urbana-Champaign Institutes Net Zero Growth Space Policy
To halt growth of gross square footage in buildings on the university's campus, a commitment made in the 2010 Illinois Climate Action Plan, the new policy, which went into effect July 1, 2015, is meant to reduce the campus carbon footprint with more efficient space use in future projects and renovations.
New Mexico State U Student Gardens Display New Irrigation System
A newly constructed rainwater harvesting system, consisting of the collection and storage of precipitation for use on site, will serve as a teaching and learning tool for students by encouraging cost-benefit analysis, calculating storage tank capacity, and how much water is needed for each crop.
Three Universities Receive $600K From Energy Dept
Drexel University, Georgia Tech and University of California, Davis have been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to receive $200,000 each to support building energy efficiency research and development funding, develop partnerships with industry, and improve manufacturing education. More than 50 percent of expenditures in each project will be used to support undergraduate students.
Boston U Publishes 2014 Sustainability Report
The recently published report indicates the university has reached it's greenhouse gas emissions reductions goals six years early, along with a 13 percent reduction in waste from 2006 to 2014. The report also discusses achievements and future work in the areas of curriculum, buildings, climate, dining services, grounds and purchasing.
North Carolina State U Gets Water Re-Use Line
A mutually beneficial water reclamation project jointly run by the city of Raleigh and the university’s Centennial Campus will provide a cheaper source of non-potable water for irrigating the campus' golf course, and eventually the central utility plant, on the 1,100-acre research campus.
Bowdoin College Earns EPA Recognition for Reducing Emissions
The college was recently named a 2015 winner of the Energy Star Combined Heat and Power Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA commended the college for high operating efficiencies on its combined heat and power system, which provides space heating and hot water for 56 buildings totaling 1.4 million square feet, and saving the college $138,000 a year.
Pennsylvania State U Helps Earn Cycle-Friendly Status
Walk Score, a company that gathers data about a location’s walkability, bikeability and access to public transit, recently ranked State College, the town surrounding the university, in the top 10 most bicycle-friendly cities. Walk Score rated 154 cities based on a locations bike lanes, hills, destinations and road connectivity, and bike commuting mode share.
Auburn U Recognized Green Ribbon School by Energy Department
The university was recently recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy as a 2015 Green Ribbon School in its inaugural postsecondary sustainability award category. The Green Ribbon School initiative aims bolster reduction of environmental impacts and costs, improve health and wellness of schools, students and staff, and provide an environmental education.
Florida International U Students Produce Video on Rising Sea Level
The documentary, a compilation of stories that were produced by 33 video production students at the university’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, features first-person narratives that take viewers through the Everglades, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale beach and the Keys where community leaders describe themselves as “the canary in the coal mine” of sea level rise.
Pennsylvania State U Students Plan Student Farm
Dozens of students are now involved in planning a student-centered farm initiative that includes plans for a new minor in sustainable food systems. Students are involved in strategy for the future farm including what farming techniques will be deployed, research about financial resources and workforce of other student farms, and fundraising.
Towson U Honored by Energy Department for Reductions
The university's Better Building Challenge goal to reduce usage 20 percent by 2020 and 13 percent reduction since 2010 was lauded by the U.S. Department of Energy at the recently held Better Buildings Challenge Summit.
Inside Higher Ed 'Sugar Out, Diet In'
A recently published article spotlights the University of California at San Francisco, where all programs are in the health professions, for becoming the first college to stop the sale of sugary beverages on campus but wouldn't prevent diet sodas from being sold. The move comes after work from university researchers identified negative health effects from a large intake of sugar-filled beverages.
Barnard College Announces Transgender Admission Policy
Following a full year of conversations and consultation with a wide range of resources, a recent board of trustees meeting approved a policy to "consider for admission those applicants who consistently live and identify as women, regardless of gender assigned to them at birth."
Stanford U Pilots Green Lab Program
The new university Cardinal Green Labs program aims to provide resources specifically tailored for laboratories to help them operate as sustainably as possible. The pilot program is a 30-minute online assessment that identifies how sustainable the lab currently is and points out tips for improvement.
San Diego State U Buildings Earn LEED Certifications
The university's student union received Platinum with a green roof, Forest Stewardship Council certified doors, daylighting, solar panels and rainwater capture and reuse. The recreation center earned a Gold rating after being renovated with photovoltaic panels and high-efficient fluorescent light fixtures.
U Florida Tackles Student Hunger With Food Pantry
The university will soon open its first food pantry in summer 2015 to provide food-insecure campus members with nonperishable and fresh goods from the on-campus farm. The pantry will also provide the campus community with education tools to improve their lifestyle, including cooking and nutrition classes for people who want to establish healthier eating habits.
Pennsylvania State U to Participate in Emergency Electricity Reduction Test
The university will soon request that all campus employees and students reduce the overall electrical load for one hour. The objective of the program is to protect the day-to-day electric grid reliability to help avoid blackouts. If successful, the university will receive compensation proportional to the load drop, and those funds will be used to support additional energy conservation projects.
Florida International U Collaborates on 1.6MW Solar Power Research Operation
The university and Florida Power & Light Company recently agreed to build a commercial-scale, 1.6-megawatt solar electric facility that will both generate electricity for 4.8 million customers and serve as an research operation. The project involves the installation of more than 5,700 solar panels on 23 canopy-like structures.
Northwestern U Signs Real Food Commitment
First university in the Big Ten to sign a campus commitment to increase the percentage of "real food", the commitment calls for 20 percent of the university's dining hall food to meet the Real Food Challenge's definition of real food, defined as ecologically sound, community-based, humanely produced or fair trade.
U Illinois Chicago Proposes Sustainability Teaching and Research Plan
The overarching goal of the newly proposed investment in sustainability is to advance the frontier of knowledge about attitudes towards and the practice of sustainability among all campus members through education, research and leadership. The document calls upon institutions of higher ed to expand educational goals and outcomes, and adopt policies that integrate principles of sustainability.
U Illinois Hosts Energy Boot Camp
In its fifth year, the university's Summer Institute on Sustainability and Energy held a workshop that included energy-focused lectures, panel discussions, site visits, networking events and collaborative projects that give participants the opportunity to create a real-world solution through an intense project that addresses the scientific, economic, business and policy side of implementation.
Three Schools Cutting Annual Energy Costs by Over $5M
With assistance from National Grid and GreenerU, Clark University, College of the Holy Cross and Worcester Polytechnic Institute are collaboratively participating in an initiative that encourages energy conservation, carbon reduction measures, and campaigns involving behavior change and are estimated to generate approximately $5 to $6 million in cost avoidance over the next five years.
Ohio State U Students Create Recycling App
Funded by an Alcoa Foundation grant of $100,000, the new Android app, RecycleNow, helps communities maximize their recycling efforts by providing municipalities the ability to explore the economic, environmental and social impact of potential changes to their existing recycling programs.
Williams College Opens Environmental Center
Designed to be a Living Building Challenge (LBC) building, the college's newest structure has office space for faculty and staff, a classroom, study areas, two small conference areas, a commercial kitchen, an outdoor amphitheater, and a number of gardens all related to the LBC's guidelines that stipulate minimal negative impact on human and ecosystem health, and support local manufacturers.
U Oregon Selects New Bicycle Registration Partner
With bike thievery the single largest category of crimes on the university's campus, Project 529 allows campus community members to easily register their bicycle, and includes an identity sticker that allows police officers to easily identify the true owner.
U Utah Wins Accolades from EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized the university as a top school for green power purchasing in its College and University Green Power Challenge. The university ranked eighth in the nation by purchasing 85,926,100 kilowatt-hours of renewable energy.
Net Impact's Small Steps, Big Wins Announces Winners
For the third year, students around the world proved that a big difference can start with a small step. Over the course of the 2014-15 academic year, almost 5,000 students across 71 campuses completed 113,000 small actions, ranging from recycling and taking public transit to volunteering in their communities.
U Washington Awards Environmental Grants to Students
The university's Campus Sustainability Fund awarded 13 projects a total of more than $270,000 recently. The project included outreach on the harmful effects of single-use water bottles, an expansion of a native plant nursery, a wood salvage program on campus, and starting work toward creating a sustainable shellfish aquaculture farm.
NY Times: 'Anxious Students Strain College Mental Health Centers'
Anxiety has now surpassed depression as the most common mental health diagnosis among college students, though depression is on the rise too. Treating anxiety has become an enormous challenge for campus mental health centers. Many institutions are designing a variety of workshops and therapy groups to address anxiety, depression and their triggers.
Ithaca College Adjuncts Vote in Favor of Union
The preliminary results of the election, announced by the National Labor Relations Board, for a union among part-time and adjunct faculty at the college were favorable says the college's president in the recently published letter.
Students Send Aramark Letter of Support for Sustainable Tuna
Opening with the peril of our ocean's, the letter asking that Aramark make a prompt switch to serving sustainable tuna warns of problems associated with many tuna fisheries and mentions alternative means that are fully traceable and socially responsible.
