| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 55.77 |
| Liaison | Susan Kaspari |
| Submission Date | July 16, 2022 |
Central Washington University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Kathleen
Klaniecki Sustainability Coordinator Operations |
Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:
Charter available online (http://www.cwu.edu/sustainability/sustainability-council)
CWU Sustainability Council Charter
This charter defines the purpose, responsibilities, function, and membership of CWU’s
Sustainability Council.
I. Purpose
The CWU Sustainability Council collaborates with students, faculty, and staff to create and implement sustainability initiatives, and fosters a culture of environmental, social, and economic sustainability that reduces CWU’s environmental impact and improves resource use efficiency.
II. Responsibilities
▫ Recommend and advise the VP of Operations, the Sustainability Coordinator, and the campus community on matters pertaining to campus sustainability
▫ Monitor and contribute to the development and implementation of campus sustainability policies and action plans
▫ Recommend and review campus sustainability goals and program metrics
▫ Lead and support sustainability programming on campus
▫ Advise on the integration of sustainability practices into campus operations, academics, and planning
▫ Create and provide oversight to Sustainability Council working groups
▫ Serve as an effective forum for communication to, from, and among various University constituencies
III. Membership
The Sustainability Council aims for broad and representative membership from all divisions and colleges (i.e. COTS, BOB, CAH & CEPS), the university centers, the student body, external community, Sustainability Coordinator, and other designated constituents. Members serve for a term of one year, with no limit on the number of terms a member can serve. If there is a member vacancy, a new member must be identified prior to the next scheduled meeting. If a member is unable to attend a meeting, the member should inform the Chair and mention whether a proxy will be sent. The Chair shall be elected from among the membership of the council and be responsible for documenting attendance, creating agendas, and leading meetings. The Chair will serve for at least one academic year and may not serve more than two consecutive terms.
IV. Meetings:
The CWU Sustainability Council will meet monthly during the academic year. Summer term meetings will be subject to consideration by the Chair. CWU students, staff and faculty may attend Sustainability Council meetings for the purpose of
observing the meeting.
V. Reporting
Meeting dates, agendas and minutes will be posted on the CWU Sustainability website by the Sustainability Coordinator. Annual reporting of progress will be made to the VP of Operations.
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:
2021-2022 Sustainability Council Members:
Clay Arango(Associate Professor, Department of Biology & Environmental Studies)
Joe Bach (Director of Housing Facilities, Housing and Residence Life)
Sunny Bloxham (Director of Custodial, Grounds & Transportation Services)
Andreas Bohman (Vice President of Operations)
Kate Doughty (Farm and Sustainability Manager, Auxiliary Enterprises)
Susan Rivera (Senior lecturer, ITAM)
Susan Kaspari (Associate Professor, Department of Geology & Environmental Studies)
Jake Kuckuck (Manager of Custodial Services Operations, Auxiliary Facilities)
Blair McNeillie (Grounds Supervisor)
Andreas Moreno Benito (Assistant Director of Admissions / Student Visitation Programs)
Teri Olin (Senior Marketing Manager, Public Affairs)
Joseph Pearson (Executive Director, Auxiliary Enterprises)
Toni Sipic (Associate Professor, Economics)
Katrina Whitney (Assistant Director, Diversity and Equity Center)
Tim Hargrave (Associate Professor, Management)
Heather Spalding (Coordinator of Field Experiences, College of Education and Professional Studies)
Bridgette Flamenco (Association of College & Research Libraries Diversity Alliance Resident Librarian)
Joey Packer (Undergraduate student, College of Education and Professional Studies)
Rachael Medalia (Undergraduate student, College of the Sciences)
Jerry Fussell (Undergraduate student, College of the Arts and Humanities)
Maggie Mussard (Undergraduate student, College of Business)
Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent employee?:
A brief description of each sustainability office:
The Sustainability Coordinator (1.0 FTE) and the Sustainability Education Program Specialist (1.0 FTE, AmeriCorps) are positioned within the Operations Division. The Sustainability Coordinator reports to the Vice President of Operations and the Sustainability Education Program Specialist reports to the Sustainability Coordinator. The office is charged with sustainability coordination for Central Washington University. The Sustainability Coordinator provides broad institutional sustainability leadership and is tasked with infusing sustainability principles into curricular, co-curricular, and operational aspects of the university.
The Farm and Sustainability Manager (1.0 FTE) oversees the leadership, management, coordination, and continual development of the Wildcat Neighborhood Farm and leads sustainability efforts within Auxiliary Services.
The 2021/2022 Fellows for the Provost's Sustainability Initiative received 15 WL (0.33 FTE, Faculty Fellow) and 0.25 reassignment (0.25 FTE, Staff Fellow) to serve in a leadership role in the Provost's Office. The Fellows are focused on: enhancing student success by continually improving curricular, co-curricular and extracurricular programs; creating and sustaining a diverse and inclusive community; investigating opportunities for infusing sustainability into research, scholarship and creative expression; and enhancing the level of engagement collaboration and goodwill between the university and surrounding communities.
Full-time equivalent of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Does the institution have a mechanism for broad sustainability coordination for the entire institution?:
A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:
The CWU Sustainability Council is tasked with institution-wide sustainability coordination. In August 2019 the Sustainability Council developed and launched a search for a full-time Sustainability Coordinator, which concluded in December 2019 with a successful hiring. In May 2020, the Sustainability Council received a formal charge and approved a charter that defines the purpose, responsibilities, function, and membership of the council. The Council provides recommendations for campus sustainability project implementation, advises on policy development, and provides institutional guidance on sustainability goals and targets.
CWU's Sustainability Coordinator is responsible for coordinating campus-wide sustainability efforts across academics, engagement, operations, and planning and administration. Achievements of notes from July 2019-July 2022 include:
- Development of Green Building Standards, which set a LEED Gold minimum for all new construction and major renovations
- Addition of a 9,500 sq ft solar PV array and EV charging stations to the Health Science Building
- Advocating for the creation of a Sustainability Senator position in ASCWU Senate
- Complete redesign of the Sustainability website
- Overhaul and streamlining of the campus trash and recycling system
- Overseeing a comprehensive sustainability outreach and engagement program, including the launch of a sustainability peer-educators program
- Creation of a sustainability living learning community
Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
The Sustainability Coordinator will work collaboratively with administration, faculty, staff, and students to lead campus efforts to develop, coordinate, and implement effective sustainability initiatives. The focus of the position is to reduce CWU’s environmental impact and improve resource use efficiency, which inherently includes environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability. The Sustainability Coordinator will provide broad institutional leadership in CWU’s efforts to infuse sustainability principles into curricular, co-curricular, and operational aspects of the university.
Duties:
- Develops, implements, and leads sustainability-related projects that are aligned with institutional strategies and long-term goals, such as Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Sustainability Tracking and Reporting System (AASHE STARS), the establishment of a Green Loan Fund, Tree Campus USA designation, and Bicycle Friendly University program certification.
- Develops, plans, and implements sustainability awareness and education programs for the campus community and coordinates and hosts sustainability events. Assist units in developing and implementing changes that reduce CWU’s environmental impact.
- Create, maintain, update and execute an environmental sustainability action plan for the university and pursue funding opportunities to support sustainability initiatives.
- Work closely with individual students including those enrolled in the sustainability certificate and sustainability-related coursework, student groups, faculty, and staff, assisting them in pursuing sustainability initiatives and creating a culture of sustainability.
- Chair CWU’s Sustainability Council. Maintain and update CWU’s Sustainability Website
- Other duties as assigned.
Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
The Farm and Sustainability Manager oversees the leadership, management, coordination, and continual development of the CWU Wildcat Neighborhood Farm Sustainability Center and Outdoor Classroom. The Manager will lead sustainability efforts within Auxiliary Services and engage the CWU campus community to collectively lower our environmental footprint and enhance the student experience.
Job Duties
Operational Leadership of Wildcat Neighborhood Farm:
-Manage and Lead the Wildcat Neighborhood Farm Sustainability Center and Outdoor Classroom which includes the CWU community garden, on campus production fields, greenhouse production areas, composting complex, and future expansion efforts.
-Coordinate the care, maintenance, and production activities of associated program areas.
-Actively partner with Student Organizations.
-Recruit and manage volunteers to work in the Wildcat Neighborhood Farm.
-Develop a Farmers Market on Campus
Manage Food Insecurity Support Efforts:
-Manage CWU PUSH funds and other food insecurity efforts on campus as well as partner with, develop, support, and market CWU community food pantries.
Sustainability Leadership:
-Work to build sustainable food program between Dining Services and the Wildcat Neighborhood Farm
-Assist Dining Services in creating opportunities to develop local partnerships to procure raw goods and sustainable services.
-Work with the campus community to develop and promote a culture of conservation on campus among students, faculty, and staff.
-Develop and implement strategies to achieve reductions in campus waste.
-Assist Auxiliary Units with building an understanding of sustainability efforts, solidifying sustainability goals, and monitoring progress on these goals.
Leadership:
-Actively engages in recruitment and hiring employees.
-Clearly defines performance expectations, ensure accountability, and provides ongoing informal feedback, coaching, and mentoring. Conducts formal performance evaluations.
-Ensures employees have necessary resources.
-Oversees and directs the work of staff; serves as mentor, coach and leader, and resolves complaints or issues.
-Promotes professional development opportunities.
-Develops and fosters supportive working relationships, motivation and engagement.
-Communicates information to staff on an ongoing basis to influence staff engagement and to be a part of a larger community.
-Takes corrective action in a timely manner.
-Recognizes and rewards employees for good performance.
-Schedules employee work hours/shifts; monitor hours worked; approve payable time and absence requests.
-Adjusts leadership style as needed to achieve results.
-Recognizes value of and promotes diverse workforce. Values and encourages diverse perspectives, creativity and teamwork.
-Other duties as assigned
Job title of the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
The AmeriCorps Member will build a culture of sustainability, foster environmental stewardship, and increase sustainability literacy among CWU undergraduate students. Following best practices in higher education, the AmeriCorps member will develop and launch a sustainability peer-educators program to engage and educate students around social, environmental, and economic sustainability topics.
The AmeriCorps member will support two sustainability goals set by the university: reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 5% in 5 years and achieving an AASHE STARS Gold rating by 2022. The Member will research best practices in sustainability leadership and peer-education in higher education. The Member will develop a peer-educator program designed to train undergraduate student leaders to foster environmental responsibility, promote sustainable living behaviors, and increase engagement in campus sustainability initiatives. The Member will write a training manual on effective outreach, communications, and behavior-change strategies and recruit and train the first cohort of peer educators in fall 2021. The Member will host regularly scheduled meetings and leadership trainings for peer-educators. The Member will track the impact of peer-educator education and outreach events on increased sustainability literacy and the adoption of sustainable behaviors among CWU students.
Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability coordination is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.