The University of Texas at Dallas
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Gary
Cocke Sustainability Director Office of Sustainability |
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement:
Sustainability/Recycling Art: A UT Dallas student, in collaboration with art faculty at UTD, is in the planning process to create a sculpture at the UT Dallas Eco Hub to highlight the use of single-use plastics on campus. This will be installed in fall 2022.
Sustainability and the UTD art department: The Office of Sustainability has partnered with the UTD art department (faculty member SV Randall) to have sustainability-themed art installed on campus. 4 murals will be painted in fall 2022 by 4 teams of artists on the shed at the UT Dallas Eco Hub, which will be visible from the future DART Silver Line. These installations are meant to build a culture for sustainability on campus while providing student artists high-visibility art installations on campus.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Public Engagement?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Public Engagement:
RCE North Texas
The North Texas Regional Center for Expertise (RCE North Texas) is a collaborative effort by the University of Texas at Dallas Office of Sustainability and the University of Texas at Arlington Office of Sustainability to bring together sustainability stakeholders in North Texas to discuss regional problems and solutions. Resources and bandwidth are shared between these stakeholders to enact regional change. The North Texas RCE is the only RCE in Texas and one of only a handful in the United States.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Air & Climate?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Air & Climate:
Air North Texas/ No Vehicle Idling & Air Quality Research:
With leadership from the Office of Sustainability, UT Dallas has become a partner with Air North Texas. This is a regional public awareness campaign and partnership that seeks to improve air quality in North Texas. The campaign was formed by the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG).
UT Dallas is committed to reducing its environmental footprint and has adopted a no idling guideline through the Sustainability Committee to improve on-campus air quality. Dr. David Lary and students that work in his applied physics lab have developed air quality sensors that utilize machine learning to calibrate low-cost sensors to collect high precision data without requiring prohibitive investment in expensive sensors. The sensors are deployed on campus and in the DFW metroplex to monitor air quality and assist in research.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Buildings?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Buildings:
Green Buildings: UT Dallas has undergone tremendous growth over the past 10 years. To support the campus’ increasing enrollment and infrastructure, Facilities Management has taken steps to build more efficient buildings and pursued LEED Certification on 9 of them with the help of Eco Reps. Eco Reps are encouraged to learn about LEED buildings, educate the community about them, and earn their LEED GA certification through the Office of Sustainability.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Energy?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Energy:
Renewable energy at UTD
UTD is in conversation with Customer First Renewables to bring onsite and offsite solar and wind energy to campus. Once complete, students and researchers will be able to research wind energy, solar efficiency, and battery storage onsite.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Food & Dining?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Food & Dining:
Studying wait time effect on food waste:
Dr. Dorothee Honhon, Associate Professor of Operations Management with the School of Management, studied how wait time for food service may impact food waste, testing the hypothesis that longer wait times will cause students to over-serve in order to avoid another wait in line, thus increasing food waste. This project was built on many other projects related to food waste and began in Spring 2019.
Community Garden and Blanca Botello Garden:
Campus Gardens are utilized to teach students how to sustainably raise fruits and vegetables. The community garden allows UTD students, staff, faculty, and alumni to rent a garden plot to grow their own vegetables. The Office of Sustainability and Office of Student Volunteerism provide educational support for the gardeners. The Blanca Botello garden is a legacy garden maintained by Facilities Management staff members. All of the food that is grown at the Blanca Botello garden is given back to the Facilities Management employees.
Eco Hub:
Students grow food on campus and donate it to the Comet Cupboard (on campus student food pantry) or to a North Texas Food Bank partner pantry. Through the Eco Hub, students learn student leadership, basic vegetable gardening skills, and the importance of giving back to their communities.
Comet Composting
This program is used by students, faculty, and staff to compost organic material on campus. Participants are trained in composting, provided with a personal caddy, and given access to 11 large composting bins located around campus all provided free of charge to the UTD community.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Grounds?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Grounds:
Bio Blitz:
UT Dallas has hosted several annual BioBlitz events since 2019 at its 10-acre Monarch Waystation in order to assess biodiversity in the area and to help with the DFW metroplex effort in the City Nature Challenge.
Bee Campus USA:
UTD utilizes 3 apiaries on campus for classroom teaching, student and faculty research, and for outreach programs. Led by a Bee Campus USA Committee, students/staff/faculty intended to coordinate and lend aid to individual conservation efforts, to evaluate the current state of conservation on campus, and to oversee the progression and improvement of conservation efforts in the areas of habitat, service learning, and outreach by helping to create long term policy and structural changes in the university to support pollinator conservation.
The Honey Helpers Program also provides students with the opportunity to participate in honey collection, hive inspection, and swarm trapping. Honey Helpers is open to all students at UTD.
Tree Campus USA/ Living Trees:
UT Dallas has received Tree Campus USA designation from the Arbor Day Foundation every year since 2016. The program helps colleges and universities establish and sustain healthy community forests. Tree-planting events also take place annually on campus with education provided to students regarding proper tree planting and tree care techniques.
Eco Hub
In fall 2021, The Office of Sustainability launched its brand-new UTD Eco Hub, which is a hive for student leadership for sustainability on campus and in our community. The facility features about 20,000 square feet of high-quality soil, built with the compost that was on site from the compost operations at the location, and an apiary where students can participate in the care for the honeybees while learning from UTD’s experts, Dr. Scott Rippel and Dr. Christina Thompson.
Soil sensor tests
A phD student in Dr. Shalini Prasad’s lab began work in spring 2022 to test soil sensors on campus. These soil sensors take a variety of measurements over an extended period of time.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Purchasing?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Purchasing:
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Transportation?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Transportation:
City of Richardson Active Transportation Plan
UT Dallas is assisting the City of Richardson by advising its new Active Transportation Plan. This plan will create safer bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure on campus. Students took part in a transportation survey put out by the city, which will be used to make transportation infrastructure decisions.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Waste?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Waste:
Student participation in Campus Race to Zero Waste
Students from Sustainability Club, Student Government, and Eco Reps support UTD's CR2ZW effort by collecting data and educating peers about waste reduction and recycling. In 2022, students hosted e-waste recycling drives and campus cleanups.
Campus Cleanup Program
A program for students, by students, designed to help beautify campus grounds and protect our wildlife. Created and led by Eco Reps, registered students will participate in a 3-hour litter pickup (training included).
Sustainability Committee single-use plastics phase out
The UT Dallas Sustainability Committee is working towards getting the university to sign on to the Post Landfill Action Network’s Break Free From Plastic Pledge. As of fall 2022, the final draft of the pledge is awaiting a signature from President Benson. If signed, the University of Texas at Dallas will be the first university in Texas to make such a commitment.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Water?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Water:
Water Hub
The UT Dallas Office of Sustainability is in initial discussion with Nextera to bring a water hub to UT Dallas campus. The WaterHub® reclaims wastewater that would otherwise be discharged and treats it for reuse to meet non-potable water demand onsite. Once built, the water hub can provide a plethora of data that can be utilized by students and researchers at UTD. https://www.nexteraenergyresources.com/products-solutions/regenerate/the-waterhub.html
Texas Stream Team
Beginning in 2021, UTD partnered with the Texas Stream Team (TST) to promote environmental stewardship. TST is a statewide initiative and a volunteer-based water quality monitoring program that is administered through partnership between The Meadows Center at Texas State University, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Trained volunteers collect water quality information that can be used for scientific research and to preserve the waterways. Once trained, the volunteers become a “Certified Citizen Scientist” and can volunteer to monitor the cottonwood creek that runs through our campus.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning:
STARS Reporting
STARS Reporting itself has included student participation and served as a mechanism to teach students about campus sustainability. Eco Reps in the Office of Sustainability have helped with data collection and organization and led many projects to directly contribute to the report.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
A committee of faculty and staff led the campus climate survey to assess equity on campus and find strategies for improvement.
Climate survey at https://employeesurvey.utdallas.edu/
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance:
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
Website URL where information about the institution’s living laboratory program is available:
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.