| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 47.51 |
| Liaison | Mike Evans |
| Submission Date | Feb. 2, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Williams College
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.80 / 4.00 |
Mike
Evans Assistant Director Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives |
Is the institution utilizing the campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in the following areas?:
| Yes or No | |
| Air & Climate | --- |
| Buildings | --- |
| Dining Services/Food | Yes |
| Energy | Yes |
| Grounds | --- |
| Purchasing | --- |
| Transportation | Yes |
| Waste | Yes |
| Water | --- |
| Coordination, Planning & Governance | --- |
| Diversity & Affordability | Yes |
| Health, Wellbeing & Work | Yes |
| Investment | --- |
| Public Engagement | Yes |
| Other | --- |
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Air & Climate and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Buildings and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Dining Services/Food and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A student was engaged in a summer internship that focused on campus food waste, composting, and calculating real food %. This internship had multiple learning components
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Energy and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A student was engaged in a summer internship that focused on campus energy use. This internship had learning components.
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Grounds and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Purchasing and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Transportation and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Comparative Literature - Winter Study 2014 - By Foot: Walking As Method and Experience (Same as COMP 15)
This is a course about walking and its relation to thinking, writing, and art. It combines discussion and analysis with audiovisual art making, and animates these practices through weekly outings in Berkshire County. We will investigate walking as a critical, artistic, and contemplative method, as well as an embodied experience inseparable from social relationships, identities, time, and place. Discussion will be informed by writers as well as artists, among them, Baudelaire, Debord, Fulton, Thoreau, Oliveros, Poe, Rousseau, Varda, and Wordsworth. Issues include: walking as choice, necessity, and performance; walking as aesthetic practice (flânerie, soundwalking, psychogeography); ability, mobility, and the creative process.
Evaluation will be based on participation, the completion of three creative assignments, documented and posted on the course blog. At the end of the course, students will present a final 10-page essay, or a final artistic or documentary project.
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Waste and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
ARTS 11 - Winter Study 2014 - Salvaging Words, Objects, and Environments
Everyday objects, whether freshly mass-produced plastic Dollar Store combs or rusty tin cans, are routinely utilized by artists as raw material for their artistic explorations. Often this scavaging and reappropriation of objects yields artwork with powerful historical, social, and emotional narratives.
In this class we will scavenge for objects that already exist in the material and natural worlds. Students will collect, evaluate and arrange these materials to explore how this kind of art-making can convey meaning. Students will be encouraged to think about how the arrangement and juxtaposition of objects can affect the viewer.
This course has a multidisciplinary approach that will introduce students to the practices of a variety of sculptors, architects, and performance artists who communicate in this manner. From hair to rubber tires to surplus carpet tiles and taxidermied animals, artists like Sonya Clark, Chakaia Booker, Rural Studio, and Punchdrunk single out objects to reframe how we see the world around us.
We will make a studio visit to a professional artist currently working in this style. There will also be field trips to regional salvage outlets to "pick" for materials. The class will culminate in a public exhibition of individual and group projects.
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Water and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Coordination, Planning & Governance and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Diversity & Affordability and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Sixth Grade College Visit - happens every spring. Raise awareness and appeal to kids in under-resourced schools/kids from 1st generation students about the potential impact and accessibility of college.
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Health, Wellbeing & Work and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
SPEC 23 - Winter Study - 2014 -
Ultimate Wellness: Concepts for Living a Happy Healthy Life
This course provides an opportunity to drastically improve your life by introducing concepts that can start making a difference in the way you feel today. We will be approaching post-modern nutrition concepts such as: Bio-individuality, crowding out, deconstructing cravings, and primary food through discussion, reading material, and videos. Students will develop a healthy eating and feasible living approach that includes: Menu planning, food label reading, navigating the grocery store, overcoming sugar addiction, self-care, physical activity, journaling, and achieving balance. Evaluation will be based on completion of assignments, class participation, reflective 10-page paper or equivalent creative project, and final presentation that demonstrates a level of personal growth.
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Investment and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Public Engagement and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
ENVI 16 - Winter Study 2014
Shaping an Eco-Activist's Life
What spurs an individual to become an environmental activist? What can the myriad of personal trajectories of those moved to address a pressing environmental concern teach us about how to achieve meaningful change?
This course will delve into the personal narratives of a broad range of eco-activists (US based and international), some still active today. We will be examining campaigns on issues as varied as fracking, pesticide use, species protection, and climate change and will encounter proponents of diverse tactics including non-violent protest, public awareness raising, litigation, and "monkey-wrenching." These life stories will be explored trough activists' own writings, films, and in some cases in person interactions with the class.
A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory in Other areas and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
The website URL where information about the institution’s campus as a living laboratory program or projects 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.