| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 52.81 |
| Liaison | Chad King |
| Submission Date | Feb. 26, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Denver
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Chad
King Sustainability Coordinator Sustainbility |
Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee, office, and/or officer that focuses on sustainability broadly and covers the entire institution?:
A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the committee(s), office(s), and/or officer(s) during the previous three years:
The Sustainability Council and the Center for Sustainability updated the Campus Sustainability Plan.
The Transportation Subcommittee of the Sustainability Council led the application process to earn Bicycle Friendly University Bronze certification.
The Sustainability Council and the Center for Sustainability launched Zero Waste Hockey Games, and implemented composting on campus.
The Sustainability Council provides sustainability education in new employee orientation for all employees.
The Sustainability Council and the Center for Sustainability worked with community members and facilities to start a new community garden on campus.
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:
On June 5, 2007 Chancellor Robert Coombe signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). Under the terms of that Commitment, the University of Denver has pledged: (1) to integrate sustainability into our curriculum; (2) to complete a comprehensive inventory of all University related greenhouse gas emissions and update the inventory every other year and (3) to, within two years of signing, develop an institutional action plan for becoming climate neutral as soon as possible.
As the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment states:
We believe colleges and universities must exercise leadership in their communities and throughout society by modeling ways to minimize global warming emissions, and by providing the knowledge and the educated graduates to achieve climate neutrality. Campuses that address the climate challenge by reducing global warming emissions and by integrating sustainability into their curriculum will better serve their students and meet their social mandate to help create a thriving, ethical and civil society.
As a first step toward meeting our commitments, the Provost created a University-wide “Sustainability Council.” This Council will advise the University Administration and monitor DU’s progress toward meeting the goals of ACUPCC.
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role (e.g. staff, student, or faculty):
For the 2013-2014 academic year, official members of the Sustainability Council included the following:
Faculty--
Dale Rothman, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Fred Cheever, Sturm College of Law
Martin Quigley, Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Megan Kelly, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Thomas Nail, Department of Philosophy
Staff--
Sustainability Council
Purpose & Mission
Members
Meetings
Committees
Sustainability Council
Sustainability Council Members
Council Officers
Rebecca Powell, Co-Chair
Mollie Doerner, Co-Chair
Megan Kelly, Vice Chair
Faculty-at-large Members
Dale Rothman, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Fred Cheever, Sturm College of Law
Martin Quigley, Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Megan Kelly, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Thomas Nail, Department of Philosophy
Staff-at-large Members
Brittany Wilhelm, University Advancement
Dennis Jackson, Housing and Residential Education
Ethan Crawford, Graduate School of Social Work
Gina Johnson, Institutional Research and Analysis
Kristin Kemp, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Students--
Andrew Bishop, Daniels College of Business
Jessica Morton, School of Engineering and Computer Science
Megan Marshall, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Mollie Doerner, Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Stuart Coles, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Administrative representatives--
Jeff Bemelen, Director of Facilities Management
Linda Kosten, Assistant Provost, University Planning, Budget, and Analysis
Mark Rodgers, University Architect, Facilities Management
Scott Schrage, Facilities Management
Thomas Walker, Center for Multicultural Excellence
Tom McGee, Energy Engineer, Facilities Management
Ex-officio--
Gregg Kvistad, Provost
Chris MacMillan, Director of Strategic Planning and Rankings, Daniels College
Craig Woody, Vice Chancellor of Business and Financial Affairs
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?:
A brief description of each sustainability office:
The Center for Sustainability serves as a bridge between campus and community sustainability efforts, the curriculum, and student educational experience. The interdisciplinary nature of sustainability provides a platform for engaging graduate and undergraduate students in applied, experiential, project-based learning with authentic outcomes. Grounded in many disciplines, sustainability challenges facing the University, the Denver metro area, and the world provide complex problems that require creativity and innovation from a diverse community of stakeholders and learners. This challenge provides a model for student involvement, leadership, and knowledge development requiring collaborative teamwork. The Center also provides an interface between creative, emergent leadership opportunities for volunteer faculty, staff and students across the university, to allow this informal network to connect into university and community operations, maintaining high rates of engagement. As a repository and hub of campus sustainability information, the Center for Sustainability is also responsible for external institutional sustainability reporting (a broad approach addressing facilities practices, orientation, purchasing, curriculum, affordability, diversity, job satisfaction, community engagement practices, greenhouse gas reductions, etc). As the face of University of Denver’s sustainability efforts, and the only university office of sustainability in Denver focused on building community collaborations, the an important aspect of the Center for Sustainability is the development of partnerships for educational, outreach, and innovative solutions.
Full-time equivalent (FTE) of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
The website URL where information about the sustainability office(s) is available:
Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Name and title of each sustainability officer:
A brief description of each sustainability officer position:
The Sustainability Coordinator position was created in 2012. This position serves as the connection between the Sustainability Council and campus administration, working to connect the operational practices of facilities and community sustainability efforts to the curriculum. Collaborating with student organizations and providing student leadership development, work opportunities, and internships in applied sustainability efforts, this position provides a resource to the student experience. Working directly with faculty to develop applied class projects, this position provides a resource to faculty. The position reports to the chair of the Sustainability Council, and is a new initiative of the Provost's office.
The website URL where information about the sustainability officer(s) 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.