| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.93 |
| Liaison | Meredith Moore |
| Submission Date | May 16, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Micah
Kenfield Sustainability Coordinator Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment |
Does the institution have one or more active student groups focused on sustainability?:
A brief description of active student groups focused on sustainability:
Student Sustainability Committee (SSC): recommends allocation of student green fees.
Students for Environmental Concerns (SECs)-
Red Bison - prairie restoration
USGBC - green building
Green Observer: student environmental newspaper
Environmental Law Society
ActGreen
The website URL where information about the student groups is available (optional):
Does the institution have gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects 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:
The farm serves as a production farm to supply our residence halls with locally grown, low-input sustainable food. In addition, the farm acts as a living laboratory to connect students, community members, and the state at large with regional, small-scale food systems. We plan to broaden our focus to include the research, education, and outreach missions of the university.
Currently, the farm operates between 45-48 weeks per year, occupying 3 acres for outdoor field production and nearly 10,000 square feet of year round high tunnel production. Every attempt is made to integrate educational aspects into all activities on the farm.
The website URL where information about the gardens, farms or agriculture projects is available (optional):
Does the institution have student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes (e.g. cafés through which students gain sustainable business skills)?:
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
Illinois BioDiesel Initiative - The Illinois Biodiesel Initiative’s mission is to lower the emissions of the university by recycling waste vegetable oil into useful products, and to promote renewable, alternative energy sources to the greater community. Our team strives to make the Illinois Biodiesel Initiative a model for university and community biodiesel production. Beginning in Spring 2006 as a local project within Engineers Without Borders, IBI has grown to be one of their largest projects incorporating students from a wide variety of majors within engineering and otherwise. Together, the group works to meet the needs of the initiative which includes but is not limited to the following: used vegetable oil pick-up from the dining halls, biodiesel production, quality testing, biodiesel integration, soap production from the by-product glycerin, project management, budgeting and accounting, publicity and outreach to other communities and universities. The group sells the final product to the Facilities and Services Garage and Carpool where it is blended with regular diesel for us in the campus fleet.
The website URL where information about the student-run enterprises is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives 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:
Students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are assessed a self-imposed sustainability fee which accumulates about $1,000,000 annually.
The Student Sustainability Committee is a funding board comprised of ten voting student members, five ex officio non-voting staff members, and six non-voting faculty members. At least three SSC student members are graduate students. SSC is responsible for allocating funds generated by two student fees--Sustainable Campus Environment and Cleaner Energy Technologies. SSC proposes funding recommendations to the Director of the Office of Sustainability for final approval.
Students are appointed by the Illinois Student Senate and serve a one-year term. Faculty and staff ex officio members are appointed by the Director of the Office of Sustainability and serve a one-year term.
Administrative support is split between direct advising by a coordinator employed by the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment, and financial support from the Division of Student Affairs
The website URL where information about the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives is available (optional):
Does the institution have conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability:
Each fall semester the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment sponsors Sustainability week, and each spring semester supports Earth Week. In addition, the institute supports the spring offering of the Scholarship of Sustainability Series - an in-depth examination of sustainability literature.
The website URL where information about the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability is available (optional):
Does the institution have cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability:
Established in 2015-16, Sonified Sustainability Festival celebrates ecological music and arts through a series of programs in 2016-17, culminating on Earth Day on Saturday, April 22, 2017 at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. This all ages event, is offered admission free to campus and community audiences and will feature music performances and interactive art making focused on sustainability.
The website URL where information about the cultural arts events, installations or performances is available (optional):
Does the institution have wilderness or outdoors programs (e.g. that organize hiking, backpacking, kayaking, or other outings for students) that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
Campus Recreation and the Kinesiology department offer several outdoor programs that follow Leave no Trace principles, like hiking, backpacking and kyaking.
The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors programs is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences (e.g. choosing a sustainability-related book for common reading)?:
A brief description of the sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
The website URL where information about the sustainability-related themes is available (optional):
Does the institution have programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall - Sustainability Living Learning Community. Tours available in summer.
The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills programs is available (optional):
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
The Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment routinely employs students to help with projects. Currently, we have one student working on outreach and engagement, and two students working on a bike-share program.
The website URL where information about the student employment opportunities is available:
Does the institution have graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
A brief description of the graduation pledges:
The website URL where information about the graduation pledges is available (optional):
Does the institution have other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives?:
A brief description of the other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:
The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available (optional):
Estimated percentage of students (full-time and part-time) that participate annually in sustainability-focused co-curricular education and outreach programs (0-100):
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.