| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.35 |
| Liaison | Andrew Porter |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2023 |
University of Cincinnati
PRE-2: Points of Distinction
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Andrew
Porter Director Planning + Design + Constuction |
Name of the institution’s featured sustainability program, initiative, or accomplishment:
A brief description of the institution’s featured program, initiative, or accomplishment:
The University of Cincinnati's Office of Sustainability is now providing students the opportunity to earn a Environmental Literacy Certificate of Achievement through registration and active participation in the Office's co-curricular educational events and programs. The intention of the certificate program is to provide students with foundational knowledge related to sustainability, ecological principles, and systems thinking. The certificate is unique as it is free for all students and is co-curricular and not for credit, breaking down some of the often prohibitive barriers related that can accompany for-credit certificates and minors. The program recognizes that many students are often inundated with for-credit courses and adding additional minors and for credit certificates can be prohibitive to some , so this certificate program provides students who might not be environmental or sustainability focused majors the opportunity to earn a professional certificate in Environmental Literacy outside of their course requirements. For more information on UC's co-curricular Environmental Literacy Certificate program, please visit the link to the program's website or check out this news article highlighting the program: https://www.newsrecord.org/news/uc-sustainability-revamps-environmental-literacy-certificate/article_9a6d85ae-1478-11ea-9a0e-ab871cb82290.html
Which of the following impact areas does the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Campus Engagement
Coordination & Planning
Website URL where more information about the accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment:
Name of a second highlighted sustainability program/initiative/accomplishment:
A brief description of the second program/initiative/accomplishment:
UC has many initiatives to conserve water resources and to sustainably manage stormwater, including a significant and growing array of green infrastructure features. UC's most recent water-related effort is a water reclamation effort undertaken by UC Utilities, working in collaboration with faculty and students from UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science. One component of this system, already installed, is equipment that allows water used for cooling in UC's Central Utility Plant to be captured and reused in the plant rather than being released after first use. That same system is in the process of being installed in the East Utility Plant. In addition, the team is working on designing an additional component that will collect stormwater for processing and use in the utility plants, which will have multiple benefits (i.e., better stormwater management, reduced treatment costs and reduced upstream and downstream greenhouse gas emissions associated with water treatment.)
Which impact areas does the second program/initiative/accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Grounds
Water
Website URL where more information about the second program/initiative/accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the second program/initiative/accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the second program/initiative/accomplishment:
Name of a third highlighted program/initiative/accomplishment:
A brief description of the third program/initiative/accomplishment:
The Ohio Innocence Project (OIP) at Cincinnati Law is part of the University of Cincinnati College of Law. OIP is a member of the Innocence Network. The Innocence Network is an informal coalition of independent innocence organizations dedicated to combating wrongful convictions worldwide and reforming the criminal legal system. Innocence Network’s members are based in the United States or outside of the United States for organizations that meet the membership criteria. Members and are mainly With their focused on criminal legal reform, they are working directly in pursuit of two of the Sustainable Development Goals: Reduced Inequalities (SDG#10), and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (SDG#16) which seeks to "provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels." UC is one of less than two dozen institutions of higher education to be a member of the Innocence Network.
The OIP has a simple goal: They want to free every innocent person in Ohio who has been convicted of a crime they didn't commit. OIP is proud to be a part of the University of Cincinnati, where they made our home in 2003. Since their inception, their work has led to the release of 39 wrongfully convicted Ohioans, who collectively served more than 700 years behind bars. This makes OIP one of the top-performing members among the Innocence Network.
Their work includes helping develop and advocate for lasting criminal justice reform through legislation as well as launching Ohio Innocence Project University, an active network of student groups at colleges across the state.
This work has been featured widely; for example, in "Blind Injustice," an innovative opera drawing on the lives of six people freed through the work of the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. This premiered July 22 at the world-renowned Cincinnati Opera to national acclaim. The event was recognized by many in the Wall Street Journal and NPR, local media and the opera world.https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2019/07/
Which impact areas does the third program/initiative/accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Diversity & Affordability
Website URL where more information about the third program/initiative/accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the third program/initiative/accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the third program/initiative/accomplishment:
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.