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.
Featured Resources
New Resources
Can Higher Education Change Regional Culture? How Pittsburgh's Universities are Leading a Transition Toward Sustainability
- Duquesne University (PA)
- EvolveEA (PA)
This presentation looks to (1) juxtapose potential approaches to engaging in university sustainability planning and implementation in two local urban case studies, (2) describe emerging opportunities for increased inter-university best ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
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A Case Study in Partnership and Collaboration: The Home Depot Smart Home at Duke University
- Duke University (NC)
- SmithGroup (MI)
The presentation will focus on the Home Depot Smart Home as a case study of the integration and collaboration of an Institution's administration, faculty, students, and the design team ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Walking the Talk Together: Queen's University's Sustainability Collaboration Model
- Queen's University
Sustainability and collaboration are among today's popular buzz words. However, rigid organizational lines, resource challenges, and a fast-paced environment severely constrain well-intended efforts. There is no shortage of great ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Rational Resource Management: The Case EARTH University, Costa Rica
- EARTH University
EARTH University, located on an 8,000 acre property in the lowlands of Costa Rica, Central America, is a private, international, university dedicated to education in the agricultural sciences and ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Academics in Action: Bridging the Gap Between the Classroom and the Community
- Grand Valley State University (MI)
In his 1949 polemic, "The Land Ethic," Aldo Leopold notes that the conventional answer to the question of how to develop an environmental conscience/consciousness is "more education" however, he ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainable Growth - On Campus and Beyond
- LaGrange College (GA)
LaGrange College has partnered with the City of LaGrange and CIFAL Atlanta (a branch of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research) in presenting yearly workshops to promote the ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Designing and Developing Service Learning Pedagogy in Support of Sustainability
- University of Florida (FL)
Service learning has become a recognized form of pedagogy in University graduate and undergraduate education. The term takes a variety of forms including structured internships, design and policy studios, law ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Green Campus 101: Harnessing Energy for Change
- Alliance to Save Energy (CA)
Universities represent a unique testing ground to address energy issues, as demonstrated by the Alliance to Save Energy's Green Campus Program. This presentation will showcase transferable best practices of ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Partnering with Industry to Create Sustainable Changes
- California State University, Chico (CA)
The Concrete Industry Management Program is a four year degree program that developed from a recognition that this industry did not have a workforce with the skills needed to pull ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Double Dipping: Combining Research and Outreach in a Sustainability Service Learning Project
- California State University, Sacramento (CA)
Students in an introductory environmental science course for non-majors participated in a service learning project for Earth Day 2008 that combined outreach to fellow students and data collection for research ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Prairie Restoration and Community Building through Service Learning
- Carthage College (WI)
In a unique partnership, Carthage College and Harborside Academy (a high school specializing in expeditionary learning) recently paired with a local nature center in Kenosha, Wisconsin to design and implement ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Our Words Create Worlds
- Case Western Reserve University (OH)
Sustainability is a new arrival to higher education, enjoying increasing acceptance by colleges and universities in a little more than a decade. Colleges and universities have been quick to embrace ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Dialogs in Green: Creating a Climate of Sustainability, Community, and Diversity at Colorado State University.
- Colorado State University (CO)
What is a climate of sustainability for a land grant institution's campus? Colorado State University is a land grant institution of 24,000 students located in the foothills of ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability as An Integrative Strategy for Promoting Interdisciplinary Education and Community Action
- Florida Gulf Coast University (FL)
The term "sustainability" is used increasingly in international dialogues on topics ranging from economic recessions to renewable energy sources and global warming. It is viewed with some justification as a ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Going Beyond the Classroom to Study Sustainability: How to Design Community-based Experiential Learning Courses
- International Sustainable Development Studies Institute (Chiang Mai)
Education about sustainability should incorporate not just new ideas, but also innovative approaches to teaching. This presentation focuses on one such method-lessons learned and how to design experiential community-based courses ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Show Me the Money: Resources for Campus Sustainability Programs
- Ithaca College (NY)
How do you create a shared institutional understanding of and support for campus sustainability? How can you create "coalitions of the willing" to support curriculum development, campus operational modifications, and ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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After the Election - Making Policies That Sustain Us
- Michigan State University (MI)
As we fret over the best approaches to the unraveling of our ecosystems and communities, we often fall back to what we can do as individuals. With the current rise ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Campus and Community, Tools for Teaching Sustainability: An Examination of a Service-Learning Project
- Northern Arizona University (AZ)
This presentation will focus on a service-learning project that utilized the campus and community as tools to help teach sustainability in an introductory undergraduate course in Environmental Humanities. In this ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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NYSERDA's Ongoing Relationships with New York State Colleges & Universities
- New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) (NY)
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is a public benefit corporation with a mission to use innovation and technology to solve some of New York's energy ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Teaching Sustainability: Engaging Students in Developing Local Sustainability Indicators
- Oberlin College (OH)
Students play an important role in defining the culture and spirit of a campus and engaging them in sustainability initiatives on campus and beyond is an important component of the ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Integration of Community and College: Farmers Market at Paul Smiths College
- Paul Smith's College of Arts & Sciences (NY)
June 30th, 2008 marks the second season of the Adirondack Farmers' Market Cooperative at the Paul Smiths College's campus, a small, rural college in upstate New York. This year ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability & Pepperdine University: A Contradiction in Terms?
- Pepperdine University (CA)
A central Christian metaphor is being "a light on a hill." Applying this metaphor to our current ecological crisis, this presentation considers whether or not a Christian college or university ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Partnership Model: Emergent Properties of Learning and Leadership for Sustainability
- Prescott College (AZ)
The most fertile field of sustainability and sustainability education is caught in a tension between those who seek nature-based designs and solutions to human predicament and those who seek human-based ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Incorporating Sustainability Into General Plans: An Experiential Learning Case Study
- San Jose State University (CA)
Increasing concerns regarding the impact of humans on the natural environment, coupled with the realization that how we build and plan our cities is going to largely determine the level ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Ecovillages and Campuses: The Potential of Collaboration for Sustainability Research and Education
- University of Georgia (GA)
Universities are increasingly looked to as centers of research on and education about sustainable solutions to socio-environmental challenges. However, theoretical and experimental approaches to sustainability do not easily translate from ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Moving People, Moving Forward: TDM at UBC
- University of British Columbia (BC)
The University of British Columbia's Point Grey campus is home to over 44,000 students, 12,000 staff and faculty, and 3,000 market residents, and remains one of ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The University of Hawaii at Manoa Energy Summit: Engaging the Campus in Energy Savings and Greenhouse Gas Reduction
- University of Hawaii at Manoa (HI)
In 2006, the Chancellor convened an Energy Summit that engaged faculty, students, and facilities staff in the design of the Manoa Energy Plan. UHM committed to reducing energy use by ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Go Big or Go Home: Branding Canada's Green University
- University of Northern British Columbia (BC)
In 2007, the University of Northern British Columbia trademarked the phrase, "Canada's Green University." In many ways, it's a perfect brand for UNBC: the proportion of environmental teaching ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Toward an Ecologically Sustainable Vocabulary--Avoiding the Linguistic Colonization of the Present by Earlier Thinkers
- University of Oregon (OR)
The current approach in many social science and humanities courses that introduce students to environmental issues fails to address the deeper and taken for granted ways in which the metaphors ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Learning Barge Initiative: Advancing Sustainability through Multi-disciplinary Research Service Learning
- University of Virginia (VA)
The Learning Barge Initiative is a unique example of university students and community partners collaborating on a project with wide-reaching social, educational and environmental benefits. The research, design and construction ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Service Learning - Moving from Planning to Action in the First Year
- Wright State University (OH)
During 2005-2006 Wright State University's First Year Experience program was recognized nationally through its inclusion as one of 13 four-year institutions in the Foundations of Excellence in the First ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Power of Partnership: Redefining Closed-Loop Recycling
- Green Mountain College (VT)
Green Mountain College reaffirmed its commitment to being a leader in sustainability by joining Casella Waste Systems Power of Three™ closed loop recycling initiative. The Power of Three is Casella ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Fostering Resilient Communities through Innovative, Integrated Partnerships and Projects: UBC Okanagan Campus Sustainable Community Development
- University of British Columbia (BC)
Universities provide a leadership role by developing and mobilizing knowledge and innovation to meet societal needs. In fulfilling this mission, universities can also serve as agents of sustainable change and ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Moving the Commuter Campus - TDM Initiatives
- University of Toronto (ON)
The University of Toronto Mississauga is a suburban commuter campus located 20 miles west of the Toronto campus. Most undergraduate students come to this campus from within 20 miles and ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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AASHE, USGBC, NWF and Second Nature Announcement
- National Wildlife Federation (VA)
- Second Nature (MA)
- U.S. Green Building Council (DC)
- AASHE (MA)
Meghan Fay Zahniser from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), Julian Keniry from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), Jaime Van Mourik from the U.S ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Videos & Webinars
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Center for Sustainable Communities
- Temple University (PA)
The Center for Sustainable Communities (CSC) develops and promotes new approaches to protect and preserve quality of life through sustainable development. The Center acts as a resource for government agencies ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Center for Climate Change Communication
- George Mason University (VA)
The Consortium’s mission is to broaden and deepen public engagement in climate change and energy issues across all of Maryland’s communities and sectors by encouraging and facilitating collaboration ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Center for Global Environmental Education
- Hamline University (MN)
For over two decades, teachers, students, community leaders, and concerned citizens have come to the Center for Global Environmental Education for inspired learning and outstanding educational resources. The Center's ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Environmental Law Centre
- University of Victoria (BC)
The ELC works for community groups, conservation organizations and Indigenous communities across British Columbia building legal capacity to tackle today’s complex environmental challenges. The Centre's work has three ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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POLIS Project on Ecological Governance
- University of Victoria (BC)
The POLIS Project on Ecological Governance is a centre for transdisciplinary research that investigates and promotes sustainability. POLIS was established in 2000 by the Eco-Research Chair of Environmental Law and ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Institute for Sustainable Cities
- City University of New York, Hunter College (NY)
The CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities (CISC) works to realize cities as part of the solution to global sustainability challenges. By merging the science of sustainability with innovative public programming ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Center for Sustainable Urban Development
- Columbia University (NY)
Founded in 2005, the Center for Sustainable Urban Development (CSUD) is one of eight global Centers of Excellence (CoE) in Future Urban Transport established by the Volvo Research and Educational ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Center for Urban & Environmental Solutions
- Florida Atlantic University (FL)
The Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions is dedicated to helping communities and decision makers resolve urban and environmental issues through partnerships, education, and research throughout Florida and beyond. The ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy
- Northeastern University (MA)
The Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy conducts interdisciplinary research, in collaboration with civic leaders and scholars both within and beyond Northeastern University, to identify and ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Institute of Urban and Regional Development
- University of California, Berkeley (CA)
IURD conducts collaborative, interdisciplinary research and practical work that reveals the dynamics of communities, cities, and regions and informs public policy.
Rooted in the social sciences, IURD's work has ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
- University of California, Los Angeles (CA)
The UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability generates knowledge and provides solutions for regional and global environmental problems. The Institute educates the next generation of professional and scientific leadership ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Center for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (CSIS)
- University of Colorado Denver - Anschutz Medical Campus (CO)
The Center for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (CSIS) at the University of Colorado Denver is a multi-disciplinary center anchored in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and partnered with the ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Urban Design Center
- University of Idaho (ID)
Located in downtown Boise, the Urban Design Center (UDC) offers Master of Architecture and Landscape Architecture students the opportunity to engage in sustainable urban design in a metropolitan setting while ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Urban Sustainability Initiative
- University of Nevada Las Vegas (NV)
A grassroots effort has emerged among faculty and professional staff at UNLV to reach out and partner with the community in finding workable solutions to the challenges facing the Las ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Center for Urban & Regional Studies
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (NC)
The Center for Urban & Regional Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a multi-disciplinary research center focusing on ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Research Centers & Institutes
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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
- Description of a formal community partnership to advance sustainability (first partnership)
- Description of a formal community partnership to advance sustainability (second partnership)
- Description of a formal community partnership to advance sustainability (third partnership)
- Website URL - Community partnerships to advance sustainability
EN 11: Inter-campus Collaboration
- The national or international sustainability network(s)
- The regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network(s)
- Description of sustainability conference(s) and presentation(s)
- Description of sustainability resource center or awards program and submission(s)
- Description of sustainability board or committee appointment(s)
- Description of sustainability-related mentoring relationship and activities
- Description of sustainability-related peer review activities
- Website URL - Sustainability-related inter-campus collaborations
EN 12: Continuing Education
- Percentage of continuing education courses that are sustainability course offerings
- Inventory of continuing education sustainability course offerings (upload)
- Inventory of continuing education sustainability course offerings (description)
- Description of sustainability-related continuing education certificate program(s)
- Website URL - Continuing education courses and programs in sustainability
EN 13: Community Service
- Percentage of students engaged in community service
- Number of annual community service hours contributed per student
- Description of program(s) to support employee volunteering
- Website URL- Community service programs
EN 14: Participation in Public Policy
- Description of sustainability public policy advocacy at the municipal/local level
- Description of sustainability public policy advocacy at the state/provincial/regional level
- Description of sustainability public policy advocacy at the national level
- Description of sustainability public policy advocacy at the international level
- Website URL - Sustainability advocacy efforts
EN 15: Trademark Licensing
- Description of the independent trademark monitoring and verification organization
- The labor rights code of conduct for licensees (upload)
- The labor rights code of conduct for licensees (description)
- Website URL - Trademark licensing initiatives
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.