| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 63.40 |
| Liaison | Olivia Herron |
| Submission Date | March 2, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Miami University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Susan
Meikle University News writer and editor University Communications |
Is the institution utilizing the campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in the following areas?:
| Yes or No | |
| Air & Climate | Yes |
| Buildings | Yes |
| Dining Services/Food | No |
| Energy | Yes |
| Grounds | Yes |
| Purchasing | No |
| Transportation | Yes |
| Waste | Yes |
| Water | Yes |
| Coordination, Planning & Governance | No |
| Diversity & Affordability | --- |
| Health, Wellbeing & Work | Yes |
| Investment | --- |
| Public Engagement | Yes |
| Other | Yes |
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Air & Climate and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Master's degree students in the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability are required to complete a Professional Service Project, M.En. student teams provide help to 3 clients that have requested assistance in solving environmental problems or to improve the sustainability of their organizations and practices.
In 2015-2016 a team is Updating Commuter and Air Travel Mileage for Miami University's Carbon Footprint, which is calculated triennially.This calculation informs decision making across campus and helps track progress towards achieving the University’s Sustainability Commitments and Goals. This PSP team will calculate commuter and air travel by conducting a transportation survey and converting data from multiple resources into air travel miles.http://miamioh.edu/cas/academics/programs/ies/academics/masters/psp/index.html
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Buildings and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Students in Miami's Urban Geography course, GEO 454 explore green urbanism and recent semesters, including fall 2015, have included class projects on designing communications strategies for making Miami's new LEED buildings (the current course is for the renovated Shideler Hall, opened Jan. 2016) sustainability learning laboratories. (focused on LEED site selection criteria). Student teams research the building's sustainable features and create signage and other communications for all students and visitors to learn about those features. Done in 2014-15 for the new LEED residence halls and dining center on Miami's Western campus.
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Dining Services/Food and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Energy and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Students in the Sustainable Marketing Management course each fall create teams that apply marketing principles to Miami's residence halls to help increase awareness and behavior modification of the halls' residents to achieve measurable reductions in electric consumption and electric demand. Energy use is measured during the semester to test if the strategies helped reduce consumption. Strategies include contests, education, communication and other marketing strategies.
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Grounds and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Students in English 414/514 - Designing and Testing User Documents for Technical and Scientific Communicators - in spring 2015 researched aspects of the new outdoor sustainability information signs on Miami's Western campus in order to determine the ways in which the signs engaged their audience and raised awareness about sustainable development on campus. The signs covered landscape and grounds, including aspects of the recently implemented stormwater management system and geothermal wells on that part of campus.
Also - students in the senior capstone course in Kinesiology and Health did research projects on the impact of Miami's new (fall 2015) bike lanes on campus, documenting bike riders vs cars during the semester.
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Purchasing and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Transportation and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Students interns and students earning undergraduate independent research credit work with Miami's Mobile Learning Center on creating mobile apps for different clients. One longterm project is the "MyMetro" - students are developing an extension to the Miami iPhone App that tracks the location of the BCRTA buses that run on campus and between Miami's main campus and regional campus.
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Waste and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering students in the MME451 Sustainability in Design course have in recent spring semesters conducted research projects in areas of sustainability on campus: the spring 2015 students researched the use of black soldier flies in composting, and the feasibility of using this method for composting organics at Miami. Especially of concern since commercial organic waste composting facilities are not local to southern Ohio.
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Water and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Students in the Sustainable Marketing Management course each fall create teams that apply marketing principles to Miami's residence halls to help increase awareness and behavior modification of the halls' residents to achieve measurable reductions in water consumption (such as shorter showers,). Water use is measured during the semester to test if the strategies helped reduce consumption. Strategies include contests, education, communication and other marketing strategies.
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Coordination, Planning & Governance and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Diversity & Affordability and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Health, Wellbeing & Work and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Miami's Benefits and Wellness office runs a Wellness program for staff that covers Fitness For Life programs, biometric screenings, blood pressure screenings (all on campus) , health coaching, nutrition workshops, financial wellness workshops and events and challenges (such as Hike a Thon at Miami's Natural Areas, Miami 5K). Up to 10 students a year are offered internships for the academic year (earning academic credit) to help run the wellness program for almost 8 or 9 years now. We take up to 10 students in fall and they work with us for a full academic year. The program has close to 100 alum from our internship and many of them go on to careers in health and wellness.
http://www.units.miamioh.edu/humanresources/benefitswellness/
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Investment and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Public Engagement and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Miami's Center for Business Excellence Student Fellows Initiative sponsors internships and educational experience for students in a variety of majors to work on Public Engagement/Sustainability-related projects, including: The CBE Beta Alpha Psi Sustainability Reporting Initiative, in which CBE Student Leaders work with members of the Beta Alpha Psi honorary organization to help Miami University faculty and administrators gather data and create the University’s first sustainability reports that are compliant with a number of university and external organization reporting criteria. The first external report was completed in April 2015.
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory in Other areas and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Students in Miami's Institute for Entrepreneurship program and others in Computer Science and Software Engineering earned credit hours and research experience developing an App targeted to their peers (those in their 20s) that helps raise money for local food banks. Called Nom Nom, the app was an idea first developed during Miami's Start Up weekend (area business leaders meet with students who pitch their ideas for social entrepreneurship).
The first major use of the app was during a Miami v. University of Cincinnati football game to see which school could raise the most donations for their respective food pantries. It resulted in more than 25,900 meals being donated,
http://miamioh.edu/news/campus-news/2014/09/food-race-done.html
http://miamioh.edu/news/top-stories/2014/05/nom-nom-nation.html
The website URL where information about the institution’s campus as a living laboratory program or projects is available:
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.