| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 49.88 |
| Liaison | Karen Marin-Hines |
| Submission Date | Feb. 29, 2024 |
Texas Tech University
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Karen
Marin-Hines Campus Sustainability Officer Operations |
Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
Tech Future Leaders in Transportation, Association of Natural Resource Scientists, Student American Society of Landscape Architects, Heart of Lubbock Community Garden, Society of Environmental Professionals, ecoTech, Engineers for a Sustainable World. These are all student-governed organizations, and there are likely more sustainability-focused events/activities held by other organizations listed on the student organization website.
Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
Heart of Lubbock Community Garden is run by a student group from Natural Resource Management. They manage a local CSA. The project is completely student-governed.
Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
Texas Tech Housing Services employs students and student interns in all aspects of their operation, including meal vending locations and trade shops. Housing Services actively practices sustainable operations and management, passing these mindsets and skills on to the students as part of their training and employment.
Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
The Climate Center hosts Science by the Glass, a weekly speaker series that covers a number of climate related topics. Now an online wonderful experience to learn about climate, the coronavirus, gardening, particles in the air, agriculture and more! Seminars can be viewed live on Zoom or at a later date on Youtube. https://www.depts.ttu.edu/csc/sciencebytheglass.php https://www.facebook.com/TTUClimateCenter/
Student Government Association (SGA) hosted a speaker event for Green Week, prior to Arbor Day. Dr. Hayhoe gave a talk regarding conversations on climate change.
Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
Students in Art 4304: Art, Environment, Sustainability put together a "Solar Powered Painting" event with students at Estacado High School. Artwork from the students are available for viewing at Professor Carol Flueckiger's website. https://view.publitas.com/texas-tech-school-of-art/ttu-aes-2021/page/8
"Art, Environment, Sustainability, is a spring course I developed for the School of Art, Texas Tech University. It is also offered as Independent Study at Elsewhere Studios in Paonia, CO. Both the spring course and the summer residency welcome university students to conduct research at the intersection of art, environment and sustainability. The idea for this group started in 2018 with Elsewhere Studio’s symposium, Inspired: Art at Work, a program that engaged artistic, environmental, cultural, social, and economic issues vital to preserving the natural world and the quality of life and sense of place."
https://www.carolflueckiger.com/artenvironmentsustainability
Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
The Wildlife Society hosts events at national parks. In FY21, the Wildlife Society visited Caprock Canyon State Park. The group shared on social media the importance of following "Leave No Trace" principles. https://www.facebook.com/TTUTWS/posts/this-past-weekend-some-of-the-members-of-the-social-media-committee-and-a-few-of/3271845906198307/
The Outdoor Pursuits Center Program offers many exciting trips and challenges. These trips are designed for a personal challenge, education and most of all – FUN. Our goal is to provide you with a great adventure experience. We offer a wide ranging number of trips throughout the year; from local favorites such as Palo Duro Canyon to ski-trips up in Colorado. The Outdoor Pursuits Program has something for you! https://www.depts.ttu.edu/urec/UREC_DEPT_LANDING_PAGES/OPC_LANDING.php
Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
The Honors college runs semester-long projects where students focus on environmental issues. The Honors College also runs semester-long projects where students focus on environmental issues. Creating Livable Futures prepares students to translate and communicate the work of sustainability thought-leaders, and engages them in using, describing, and discussing relevant research materials. The campus-wide initiative leverages the rich holdings and perspectives of TTU's Sowell Family Collection in Literature, Community and the Natural World. The Collection contains the papers of Barry Lopez, Bill McKibben, Paul Hawken, Gretel Ehrlich, and many other notable authors. Our initiative's points of focus include cleaner, safer, and healthier communities; reliable technology and energy; and new careers in sustainability.
The Home Utility Management System
Today, the world faces increasing and intensifying threats, both natural and man-made, to the vital resources that sustain modern life.
That threat, and the growing need for access to reliable water and power, inspired a group of Texas Tech University researchers to develop the Home Utility Management System, or HUMS for short. HUMS is an experimental home located in Junction, Texas, with the goal of capturing data that will help propel the development of future sustainable homes and infrastructure.
The experimental home is currently being custom outfitted with intelligent water and power conservation systems, including solar panels, a wind turbine, a data-rich water tank, and a residential battery. These tools allow researchers to closely monitor the home's water and energy usage and develop innovative conservation solutions.
These tools also work in unison to provide clean power to the home, inspiring an innovative approach to creating a decentralized utility power model. That model enables individual homes to produce their own sustainable portion of power and water.
The entire HUMS system is integrated into a home computer that displays both current power and water storage levels along with predictions for future water and power recharge, and it offers suggestions to help residents use these resources sparingly. This empowers HUMS residents with increased control of their own utilities use and an ongoing opportunity to preserve resources.
Today, HUMS is harvesting data and introducing residents to the possibilities of using self-sustaining water and power resources – on their own terms.
https://www.depts.ttu.edu/hums/about-project.php
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
The Office of Sustainability, Climate Center, and Housing offer student employment opportunities to students. The positions involve working on sustainability outreach efforts, reporting, and campus events.
Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
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.