Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 47.51
Liaison Chris Frantsvog
Submission Date May 1, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Luther College
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Jon Jensen
Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies
Philosophy, Environmental Studies
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee, office, and/or officer that focuses on sustainability broadly and covers the entire institution?:
Yes

A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the committee(s), office(s), and/or officer(s) during the previous three years:
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Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
Yes

The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:

The Campus Sustainability Council, comprising students, faculty, and staff, began its duties in fall 2008. Each member of the council will serve on at least one of four sub-groups that will include other members of the Luther community. All task group and sustainability council meetings are open to the campus community. The Sustainability Council is responsible for voting to recommend policies and programs to the cabinet for approval, approving funding for sustainability grants and providing feedback on new programs, initiatives and ideas coming from the task groups. The task groups are:
* Student Learning: This committee consists of two groups - one focused on sustainability in the curriculum and the other focused on out of classroom learning. The goal of this group is to encourage education as a way of promoting sustainable practices on campus and in the larger community.
* Food, Purchasing, and Waste: As the name implies, this group's main focus is food, purchasing and waste. Throughout the years this committee has worked with dining services as the 35% local food goal was achieved, developed purchasing guidelines for items such as paper and cleaning supplies and worked closely with students looking to make positive change on campus.
* Energy and Water: The Energy and Water Task Group promotes sustainability by looking at Luther's energy and water usage and seeking ways to reduce the use of these resources.
* Land Use: The Land Use Committee is concerned with issues related to the use and management of Luther's 1000 acres and comes together to make decisions and review proposals related to central campus and natural areas.


Members of each committee, including affiliations and role (e.g. staff, student, or faculty):

Elena Anderson '17, Student, ECO Representative
Erick Baack, Biology Faculty (Land Use Chair)
Ellen Badger '16, Student, Student Senate Representative
Dan Bellrichard, Student Life
Paul Berland, Northeast Iowa Resources Conservation & Development
Emily Dufford '16, Student, Student Representative
Kris Franzen, Staff, Resident Life
Stratis Giannakouros, Assistant Director, Center for Sustainable Communities
Xiao Hu, Music Faculty
Jon Jensen, Director, Center for Sustainable Communities
Jeanie Lovell, Staff, Development
Jim Martin-Schramm, Religion Faculty (Energy and Water Chair)
Karen Martin-Schramm, Staff, President's Office
Maren Stumme-Diers, Staff (Food, Purchasing, and Waste Chair)
Wayne Tudor, Staff, Resident Dining
Jay Uthoff, Director, Facilities Services


The website URL where information about the sustainability committee(s) is available:
Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent (FTE) employee?:
Yes

A brief description of each sustainability office:

The Sustainability Department works on many initiatives including recycling, composting, waste reduction, first year immersion programs, backyard wilderness pursuits, college gardens, student projects, etc.


Full-time equivalent (FTE) of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
5

The website URL where information about the sustainability office(s) is available:
Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Yes

Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Jon Jensen, Jim Martin-Schramm, Stratis Giannakouros, Emily Neal, and Maren Stumme-Diers

A brief description of each sustainability officer position:

The Center for Sustainable Communities staff at Luther College are charged with helping the college achieve its specific sustainability goals and reducing the environmental impact of the institution as a whole. They engage students, faculty, and staff in sustainability initiatives related to campus operations, student life, and teaching and research.

Sustainable Foods Educator (Maren Stumme-Diers): is responsible for the Edible landscaping gardens, campus gardens, community gardens and the facilitation of education opportunities related to food. They work with Food and Fitness to provide support to school gardens and food service directors throughout the region as they work to incorporate more local food into the Luther College menu.

Director of School Outreach (Emily Neal) is responsible for supervising FoodCorps and AmeriCorps members that serve in over 18 districts throughout Northeast Iowa. Together, they help districts foster healthy environments for students, staff and the communities they serve.

Jim Martin-Schramm is Professor of Religion and coordinates the Energy and Climate Program for the Center for Sustainable Communities. He recently completed a term of service on the board of the Iowa Wind Energy Association and is currently chair of the board of Iowa Interfaith Power & Light and the Winneshiek Energy District. He also serves as Secretary of Luther College Wind Energy Project, LLC.

Assistant Director of the Center for Sustainable Communities (Stratis Giannakouros): This new position combines the former sustainability coordinator position initiatives with teaching two courses for the Environmental Studies Program. Responsibilities include:
1. Campus Operations: Work with Facilities staff and the Campus Sustainability Council to: a. Develop and promote a culture of conservation on campus among students, faculty, and staff. b. Develop and implement strategies to achieve reductions in solid waste disposal as well as campus energy and water consumption. c. Develop and monitor sustainable purchasing policies of local foods and recycled goods. d. Manage the collection, organization and distribution of data in order to monitor performance and evaluate progress toward achieving Luther’s sustainability goals. e. Collaborate on recommendations to reduce the College’s greenhouse gas emissions via investments in renewable energy and other technologies.
2.Student Life: Work with Student Life and Residence Life staff to: a.Integrate sustainability issues into new student orientation. b. Develop programs to help students learn how they can become good stewards of personal and college resources in the dorms and elsewhere on campus with regard to recycling, energy consumption, etc.
3.Teaching and Research: Work with the Dean of the College and the Campus Sustainability Council to: a. Integrate sustainability education in teaching and research across as many academic disciplines as possible. b. Organize campus-wide sustainability programming such as seminars, workshops, and conferences. c. Provide teaching resources to faculty and occasionally teach about sustainability issues.
4.Other: a. Collaborate with the director of the Center for Sustainable Communities on sustainability initiatives in the Decorah area and in the wider community. b. Serve as an ex officio member of the Campus Sustainability Council. c. Research sustainability issues for the administration and the Campus Sustainability Council. d.Serve as a clearinghouse for information regarding sustainability initiatives at Luther. e. Collaborate with Public Information to publicize campus sustainability initiatives. f. Assist in fundraising, grant writing, and budgeting for sustainability initiatives. g. Assist with obligations associated with Luther’s participation in the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.

The Director of the Center for Sustainable Communities (Jon Jensen) provides oversight to all areas of sustainability at Luther as well as working to expand the Center's outreach to the community and region. They work to promote sustainability in the curriculum at Luther, in the Midwest, and throughout the country, and share the responsibilities formerly assigned to the sustainability coordinator with the Assistant Director.


The website URL where information about the sustainability officer(s) is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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