Vassar College
EN-10: Inter-Campus Collaboration

In May 2013, Vassar organized and hosted a regional conference in collaboration with the DEC's Hudson River Estuary program for colleges on green infrastructure. The conference was attended multiple colleges in the region and acted as a space to share best practices and reduction strategies.

In May 2013 Vassar organized and hosted the Dutchess Chamber of Commerce's annual green symposium. Vassar Sustainability gave an overview of our green initiatives and how they could be applicable to local businesses and organizations, there was a focus on waste reduction, purchasing and stakeholder engagement.

In September 2013 Vassar attended and presented at a regional roundtable discussion on food waste management strategies.

In January 2014 Vassar presented a poster, "Climate Change, Flooding, and Local Efforts at Resiliency: Opportunities, Challenges, and Lessons" at the National Council for Science & the Environment (NCSE) annual conference. The poster outlined the growing importance of green infrastructure on college campuses and how a school might overcome barriers or challenges to implementing projects on their campus.

NYCSHE (New York Coalition for Sustainability in Higher Education)
The Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Colleges and Universities
HRES (Hudson River Environmental Society)
NCSE (National Council for Science & the Environment) & CEDD (Conference of Environmental Deans and Directors)
AESS (Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences)
AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
NECSC (Northeast Consortium for Campus Sustainability)

Vassar College collaborates with other colleges and universities to help build campus sustainability through the New York Coalition for Sustainability in Higher Education (which we helped to start), the Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Colleges and Universities, the Mellon grant.

New York Coalition for Sustainability in Higher Education (NYCSHE) began with a small meeting at Vassar of sustainability coordinators from nearby institutions, but has grown to include over 60 sustainability coordinators from across the state. We meet in person once a year, and by conference phone call approximately two other times. The Annual meetings often include a tour of sustainability projects at the host institution, and roundtable discussions about sustainability best practices. Alistair Hall, the Sustainability Assistant currently serves on the Steering Committee for NYCSHE.

Vassar faculty were instrumental in establishing the Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Colleges and Universities, and have been active in its governance. The consortium coordinates environmental programs and interests at over 50 higher education institutions in the Hudson River Watershed and its annual conferences often focus on sustainability issues. Both Vassar faculty and students have served and are serving on the Consortium’s Steering Committee, and a Vassar faculty member is currently chair of the steering committee.
The website for the Environmental Consortium is http://environmentalconsortium.org/

Vassar faculty member Mary Ann Cunningham was one of the primary organizers of a traveling seminar on sustainability in Denmark and Germany in June, 2011. The purpose of this seminar is to observe and learn about sustainability initiatives in Europe, and to develop conversations and collaboration among institutions, as we explore how our institutions and our classes can learn from those examples. The trip included 18 faculty members drawn from the 7 schools in the eight-institution cluster, and was funded by the Faculty Career Enhancement Project of Mellon Foundation.