| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 58.55 |
| Liaison | Amy Brunvand |
| Submission Date | April 5, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Utah
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Amy
Brunvand Librarian Office of Sustainability |
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:
Campus Sustainability
In 2014, a campus-wide sustainability strategy was created to Institutionalize Sustainability by coordinating sustainability programs on campus under a common vision implemented by a Chief Sustainability Officer of a new Sustainability Office. Counseled by the President’s Sustainability Advisory Board, this Officer will have three core responsibilities, to:
(1) Encourage and coordinate teaching and sustainability-related curricula across campus;
(2) Facilitate coordination of interdisciplinary research on sustainability, and to assist in funding procurement for such research; and
(3) Promote implementation of sustainability on the U campus itself, by oversight of the Office of Sustainability.
The Sustainability Education Advisory Committee (SEAC)
SEAC is esponsible for guiding education at the University of Utah towards the goal of sustainability literacy for every student. The SEAC advances the Sustainability Education Action plan providing expertise on sustainability education initiatives while advocating for sustainability literacy at the University. Specific projects of the SEAC include designing the SUST designation, approving courses related to this designation, and building the Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Sustainability. The SEAC is composed of representation from multiple colleges, departments, and professional schools at the University of Utah and works closely with the General Education Curriculum Council.
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role (e.g. staff, student, or faculty):
Campus Sustainability Advisory Board includes the following individuals:
Chair: Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO)
Members
• Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer
• Director, Global Change and Sustainability Center (GCSC)
• Chief Wellness Officer for Health Sciences
• Director, Environmental and Sustainability Studies (ENVST) program
• Sustainability Director, Associated Students University of Utah (ASUU)
• Director, Environmental and Sustainability Studies (ENVST) program
• Director, Environmental Humanities (EH) program
• Director, US-Pakistan Centers for Advanced Studies in Water
• Director, Ecological Planning Center
• Associate Dean, College of Science
• Sustainability Manager, Facilities Operations
• Chief Design and Construction Officer (or Director of Campus Planning)
SEAC Membership is listed on the Website:
URL: http://sustainability.utah.edu/education/faculty-resources/sustainability-education-advisory-committee/
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:
University of Utah Sustainability Office:
The Sustainability Office coordinates sustainability education, research, and initiatives at the University of Utah. Headed by Amy Wildermuth, the Interim Chief Sustainability Officer for the University, the Office oversees the coordination of sustainability-related teaching and training, and academic programs across campus and supports the development of new curricula and student-engagement programs. The Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Sustainability program is a collaboration between the Graduate School, Sustainability Office, and the Global Change and Sustainability Center. The Sustainability Office facilitates inter-office coordination with Facilities Management and Hospitals and Clinics.
Three distinct but complimentary programs fall under the umbrella of the Sustainability Office:
Global Change & Sustainability Center (GCSC)
The Global Change & Sustainability Center coordinates, promotes, and accelerates interdisciplinary research and training on natural and human-built systems, the dynamic interactions and interconnections that exist in those systems, and the role of humans in the environment.
Sustainability Education Director
Facilitates transdisciplinary sustianability education and research through her work on initiatives including faculty workshops and learning communities, development of learning outcomes, and interdisciplinary scholars initiatives.
Sustainability Resource Center (Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer)
Develops and provides support for sustainability initiatives within the campus and community in order to create a culture of students, faculty and staff who are socially, economically and environmentally responsible.
Full-time equivalent (FTE) of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Does the institution have a mechanism for broad sustainability coordination for the entire institution (e.g. a campus-wide committee or an officer/office responsible for the entire campus)?:
A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:
Major projects of the Sustainability Office include:
--seek approval for the Red Butte Corridor to be added to the campus master plan as a significant protected research and learning watershed area; pilot restoration project funded and in planning phase
--include sustainability education as a required learning outcome in undergraduate education
-- develop a new Sustainability Action Plan for the university
--support and shepherd university’s participation in the Real Food Challenge, with a goal of 20% real food by 2020
--create a new revolving loan fund for energy efficiency projects
-- support a new community discounted electric vehicle program as well as a new solar program, both modeled on our 2014 program, the largest university-community discounted solar program in the nation with over 1.4 MW installed
Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Chief Sustainability Officer: Helps coordinate sustainability-related teaching, training, research,and facilities issues across campus. Reports directly to the SVP Academic Affairs.
Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Deputy Chief Sustainability Offer: Directly supervises staff in Sustainability Resource Center. Designs, plans, and coordinates the activities in the Sustainability Resource Center and across campus. He works with Campus Design, the Energy Management Office and Facilities Management to create efficiency standards and techniques to make all of our campus buildings more sustainable. Works with faculty and administration to integrate sustainability into curriculum, research, and operations.
Job title of the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Oversees Global Change & Sustainability Center programs in a faculty-led initiative to develop multi-college, interdisciplinary research and training related to the environment and sustainability, from local to global scales. The Global Change and Sustainability Center is composed of faculty from nine colleges at the University of Utah. GCSC affiliated faculty conduct cutting-edge research focused on reconstructing the past, understanding current and complex environmental challenges, and predicting future scenarios – all with the same overall goal of sustainable solutions.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Sustainability Resource Center: http://sustainability.utah.edu/resource-center/
Global Change & Sustainability Center: http://environment.utah.edu/
Facilities Management, Sustainability Manager:
Hospitals & Clinics, Sustainability Manager:
PUBLICATIONS
A history of sustainability at the University of Utah up to the previous STARS Report ( 2011) can be found in, Ross Chambless. "Seeking Sustainability: A Student-led Effort has helped make the U Campus a Leader in Being Green," Continuum: the Magazine of the University of Utah, (Summer 2012) pp. 23-33
URL: http://continuum.utah.edu/features/seeking-sustainability
Sustainability Resource Center: http://sustainability.utah.edu/resource-center/
Global Change & Sustainability Center: http://environment.utah.edu/
Facilities Management, Sustainability Manager:
Hospitals & Clinics, Sustainability Manager:
PUBLICATIONS
A history of sustainability at the University of Utah up to the previous STARS Report ( 2011) can be found in, Ross Chambless. "Seeking Sustainability: A Student-led Effort has helped make the U Campus a Leader in Being Green," Continuum: the Magazine of the University of Utah, (Summer 2012) pp. 23-33
URL: http://continuum.utah.edu/features/seeking-sustainability
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.