Public Engagement

Introduction

Engagement in community problem-solving is fundamental to sustainability. By engaging with community members and organizations in the governmental, non-profit and for-profit sectors, institutions can help solve sustainability challenges. Community engagement can help students develop leadership skills while deepening their understandings of practical, real-world problems and the process of creating solutions.

2946 resources

Campus to Community: Fostering Community-Wide Resilience And 21st Century Competencies Through Vision, Leadership, Projects and Partnerships

  • National Wildlife Federation (VA)

This interactive session explores how students are participating in projects that bridge beyond campus borders to advance sustainability in partnership with the wider community. The session is a combination of ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Optimizing and Designing Waste Diversion Programs

  • New York University (NY)

Typical universities waste streams – often including residential, classroom and office spaces – are varied and require multifaceted protocols to optimize the handling and diversion of materials from landfills. This briefing will ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Local Sourcing for Agriculturally Disadvantaged Universities

  • Northern Arizona University (AZ)

Sourcing local is an important and growing standard for dining services across the nation’s campuses. The benefits of local sourcing do not stop at the loading dock with quality ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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From Fringe to Familiar - Mainstreaming the Sustainability Message

  • Pennsylvania State University (PA)

Gone are the days when the notion of living a sustainable lifestyle implied hugging trees and growing your own organic kale. Stereotypes like this can be powerful obstacles to engaging ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Teaching Student Resiliency Requires Faculty Adaptability: Two Case Study Comparisons

  • Portland State University (OR)

This paper discusses the process and outcomes of two different approaches to incorporating community-based learning into undergraduate courses. Both courses are part of a year-long, interdisciplinary Freshman seminar, one course ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Experiential Learning for MBAs in Sustainable Management

  • Presidio Graduate School (CA)

Experiential learning is the process of learning from direct experience. Aristotle once said, "For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Butterfly Effect: Rethinking How We Build Partnerships for Sustainable Programs

  • Seneca Polytechnic (ON)

What can the monarch butterfly teach us about the evolution of partnerships? How does being adaptive and resilient in a changing economic climate protect post-secondary programs and their delivery of ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Gardening with Neighbors: Community Gardening and Food Security in West Louisville

  • University of Louisville (KY)

The “West End” of Louisville is characterized by many low-income neighborhoods that are disproportionately affected by high levels of food insecurity and poor health conditions. Still, community groups and neighborhoods ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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PARK(ing) Day!

  • University of Louisville (KY)

PARK(ing) Day is a annual open-source global event where citizens, artists, and activists collaborate to transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public places for a day ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sparking Resilience in Your Region

  • University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (MA)

What does it take to affect sustainable adaptations beyond the walls of your university to extend into your regional communities? UMass Dartmouth is inspiring waves of resilience and solution-seeking that ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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University/Farmers Market partnership Leads to Local Food Movement Through a USDA Funded Local Food For Everyone Initiative.

  • Western Kentucky University (KY)

Presenters will introduce the south-central Kentucky Local Food For Everyone initiative, which was formed through a partnership between Western Kentucky University and the Community Farmers Market. Through a USDA Farmers ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Partnership: Nurturing Community in a Garden Setting

  • Western Kentucky University (KY)

In the last few years, school gardening projects have sprouted across the country. School gardens influence improved eating behaviors in children, specifically, increased fruit and vegetable consumption. In addition, school ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Terms of Empowerment: How to inspire enthusiasm and decentralize accountability

  • Yale University (CT)

When a campus sustainability program first starts, the imperative is to effectively to develop brand recognition. Once sustainability is a firmly established concept on a campus, programming can generally shift ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Cultivating Grassroots: Emerging Platforms for a Sustainable Food System and Economy in Blue Ridge Appalachia

  • Appalachian State University (NC)

Appalachian scholar and activist Helen Matthews Lewis writes that “It is important to talk and plan together for the future, to have dreams and hopes and visions.” Lewis believes in ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Personal Narrative as Research Pedagogy: Using Poetic Language and Personal Testament in the Research Writing Process

  • Appalachian State University (NC)

Research scientists are often dismissed when their reports include personal ethical statements or persuasions—these individuals risk their objectivity in doing so and the result can be invalidation in the ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Arbor Day Tree Campus USA Workshop and Tree Planting Service Event

  • Arbor Day Foundation (NE)

In this workshop, presented by the Arbor Day Foundation, attendees will learn to take their campus trees to the next level and participate in our tree-planting community service event. First ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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How to Start a Renewable Energy Project at the Community College – Trustees Are Your Best Friends

  • Austin Community College (TX)

It is no secret, renewable energy project is expensive. Return on

investment may be too long to attract any budget minded decision makers at your college, especially in our tough ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Is China Striving for Sustainability in Higher Education?: Case Studies at two aspiring "World-Class" Research Universities in Hong Kong and Shanghai

  • Boston College (MA)

China’s system of higher education has experienced significant expansion over the past two decades. Notably, the Chinese government ‘Guideline for Medium and Long Term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020 ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Identifying Environmental Literature that Provides the Philosophical Basis of Recycling

  • Brigham Young University (UT)

A keen observer of how ordinary events illuminate sustainable behavior Aldo Leopold wrote “I have read many definitions of what is a conservationist and written not a few myself, but ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Collaborative Approach to Applied Sustainability in Undergraduate Education

  • Chandler-Gilbert Community College (AZ)

This paper will note best practices in sustainability education by examining a collaborative learning endeavor involving an undergraduate special projects course. The course is designed to engage students in experiential ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Igniting Innovation through Sustainable Collaboration

  • Denison University (OH)

Denison University, like many liberal arts institutions, seeks to educate students holistically so that they may become discerning moral agents and active citizens in a democratic society. To that end ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Greater Carlisle Project – a College/Community Collaboration for Sustainability

  • Dickinson College (PA)

Taking inspiration from The Oberlin Project, Dickinson College convened a series of meetings from November 2012 through March 2013 with members of the Greater Carlisle community for conversations about creating ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Sustainable Spring Break

  • Indiana University South Bend (IN)

For a typical college student, Spring Break is a week to get away and participate in activities that will help them get their minds off of the business that they ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Social Sustainability: Creating Virtual and Community Connections

  • Indiana University South Bend (IN)

Public institutions of higher education serve the student body and the community. Finding ways to engage both communities in emerging fields such as sustainability can be challenging, especially given the ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Summer Internships for a Sustainable Food System

  • Linfield College (OR)

Today, the importance of sustainably addressing our food system is vital. There is a pressing societal need for citizens educated in actively creating and participating with food systems based in ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Internships as a Tool for Sustainability Education and Outreach

  • Luther College (IA)

Using Luther College’s successful sustainability internship program as a case study, this presentation will cover all aspects of developing and implementing a sustainability focused student internship program for undergraduates ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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YERT 2.0: The Environmental Road Trip Continues

  • Media Changing Media LLC (PA)

Building off of themes and stories covered in their 2012 award-winning, sustainable-solutions eco-docu-comedy “YERT: Your Environmental Road Trip,” with YERT 2.0 the YERT team is exploring through several film ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Leaders for the Environment, Art, and Design (LEAD): Educating Students About Impacts and Issues of Fashion, Art, and Design

  • Santa Clara University (CA)

For the past three years, students at Santa Clara University have hosted an Eco-Fashion Show and a “Swap for Good” clothing exchange, engaging students about the social, economic, and environmental ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Regional Cultures and Campus Sustainability: The Quebec Case

  • Sierra Youth Coalition (QC)

While no one would argue that many issues related to sustainability can only be understood on a global level, international negotiations confront us with the fact that cultural differences can ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Building Diverse Stakeholders - Multi-Stakeholder Approach

  • Sierra Youth Coalition (QC)

The building of a multi-stakeholder process often distinguishes a successful initiative from a failure. Meaningful communication with all stakeholders ensures the most effective results. Using role playing, this workshop will ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Using Partnerships to Forward Campus Sustainability Through Student Green Funds and Innovative Restoration

  • Southern Oregon University (OR)

Looking to create a sustainability fund on your campus, but need a little help? Learn how one university partnered with a non-profit foundation to launch a successful campaign to pass ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Postcards, Post-Sandy: Community Resiliency, Social Media and Service Learning

  • The New School (NY)

POSTCARDS, POST-SANDY is a digital memory website created by undergraduate and graduate students from The New School for Public Engagement, Eugene Lang College and Parsons School of Design, New York ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Biodiversity Of Humans And Agriculture

  • The University of New Mexico (NM)

The University Of New Mexico has worked to build local food hubs in and around the University as demonstration gardens for students and local residents. As SouthWest native tribes have ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Neigborhood Resilience, Using Waste to Build Justice Locally and Internationally

  • Trevecca Nazarene University (TN)

Asia Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary (APNTS) in Manila, Philippines is a ‘sister school’ to Trevecca Nazarene University (TNU) in Nashville, TN. Both schools are located in highly stressed urban environments ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Story of Self: Defining Your Story to Connect to the Sustainability Movement and Advance Your Career

  • U.S. Green Building Council (DC)

Every person has taken their own path to develop passion and drive in the sustainability field or chosen career. In “Story of Self,” we will define and leverage each journey ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Veggies For All: Campus Food Bank Farm

  • Unity Environmental University (ME)

Since 2011, our small college has been the home base for Veggies For All (VFA) – a community-scale agriculture project that works to relieve hunger by growing vegetables for those in ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Fueling a Regional Environmental Movement

  • University at Buffalo (NY)

Building a better future by definition is a collective effort, but often at times throughout the higher education sector we focus inward within our own institutions. While this is a ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Greening the Game: Football and Beyond

  • University of Arizona (AZ)

In 2011, University of Arizona’s (UA) Students for Sustainability (SFS) saw an opportunity to bring together an entire community to embrace sustainability. Tens of thousands of fans populate the ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Engagement at UC Boulder: IT Strategies for Behavior Change

  • University of Colorado Boulder (CO)

The University of Colorado Boulder has been a leader in sustainability focused research, education and engagement for more than half a century. The campus is home to nationally recognized and ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Island Food Security through a Campus Community Garden

  • University of Hawaii Maui College (HI)

The Sustainable Living Institute of Maui (SLIM) at UH Maui College began an endeavor to build a campus community garden in 2010. Almost three years later, and after many obstacles ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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An Innovative Way to Adapt to a Changing Education Medium: Using Interactive Multimedia-based Information Graphics in the Sustainability Curriculum.

  • University of Mount Union (OH)

265 first-year students at a small Northeast Ohio liberal arts university were asked 14 questions to measure their knowledge of issues relating to sustainability. The questions and answers provided the ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Mobile Technology in Higher Education - An Evolving Component of Sustainability

  • Walters State Community College (TN)

As mobile technology becomes more a part of everyday life, it brings with it the opportunity to change our educational processes in order to enhance learning, reduce costs, and improve ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Philosophy, Poetry, Sustainability: It’s all about Inspiring Deep Thinking

  • Wright State University (OH)

The last few years have brought our mid-size primarily commuter school face to face with the image that we project and what we see reflected in the mirror. In the ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Growing An Integrated Urban Farm, Modular and Mobile

  • Xavier University (OH)

With space constraints, a Master Plan that is a "moving target," and limited funds, Xavier University undertook to build a farm on-campus. The design choices at every step of the ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Waste and Access: Communicating about sustainability between universities in developed and developing countries

  • Yale University (CT)

Sustainability initiatives in the United States are largely focused on reducing waste in terms of materials, water, energy, fuel, and even time and money. In less economically developed countries, however ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Experiential Learning in 'Sustainable Global Stewardship': A Costa Rican Case-Study

  • Cal Poly Humboldt (CA)

This session will provide an overview of a sample interdisciplinary experiential study abroad program in 'Sustainable Global Stewardship' in Costa Rica. This will include a summary of program design through ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Zero Waste Stadiums: Don't Be Scared (Or Maybe A Little)

  • The Ohio State University (OH)
  • University of California, Davis (CA)
  • University of Colorado Boulder (CO)

Join us for an interactive session on Zero Waste sports venues. A zero waste stadium is commonly defined as one that achieves or seeks to achieve 90% diversion rate or ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Environmental Sustainability in Information Technology: It's a Culture Thing

  • University of Michigan (MI)

We have found that IT professionals and users of technology have not traditionally considered the impact of their computing choices on the environment. Yet, nearly every computing choice has an ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Getting to the Point: Teaching STEM Content Through Societal Challenges

  • Oakland Community College (MI)
  • Association of American Colleges and Universities (DC)
  • U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development

Our planet and its inhabitants are under unprecedented stress. More than ever before, we need people - citizens, scientists, engineers, and teachers - who not only understand the scientific and societal dimensions ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Hope and Sustainability Education: Initiating a Research Collaborative

  • Appalachian State University (NC)

Generating and maintaining hope among students is recognized as a challenge for sustainability educators, but what do we really know about course content and experiences that generate hope rather than ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.

All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.

EN 10: Community Partnerships

EN 11: Inter-campus Collaboration

EN 12: Continuing Education

EN 13: Community Service

EN 14: Participation in Public Policy

EN 15: Trademark Licensing

Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.

Public Engagement Partners