Wellbeing & Work

Introduction

An institution’s people define its character and capacity to perform; and so, an institution’s achievements can only be as strong as its community. An institution can bolster the strength of its community by offering benefits, wages, and other assistance that serve to respectfully and ethically compensate workers and by acting to protect and positively affect the health, safety and wellbeing of the campus community.

641 resources

LGBTQ Students on Campus: Issues and Opportunities for Higher Education Leaders

  • Michigan State University (MI)

The American Council on Education published a blog piece about LGBTQ issues on higher education campuses. The piece includes key issues for higher education leaders, suggestions for good practices that …

  • Posted April 17, 2017
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Hungry and Homeless in College: Results From a National Study of Basic Needs Insecurity in Higher Education

Food and housing insecurity among the nation’s community college students threatens their health and wellbeing, along with their academic achievements. Addressing these basic needs is critical to ensuring that more …

  • Posted March 21, 2017
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Environmental perceptions and health before and after relocation to a green building

  • Harvard University (MA)
  • State University of New York Upstate Medical University (NY)
  • Syracuse University (NY)

Green buildings are designed to have low environmental impacts and improved occupant health and well-being. Improvements to the built environment including ventilation, lighting, and materials have resulted in improved indoor …

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Do Green Buildings Outperform Conventional Buildings? Indoor Environment and Energy Performance in North American Offices

A comprehensive post-occupancy investigation of the performance of ìgreenî and ìconventionalî office buildings has been completed. The study included occupant surveys and physical building and energy use data collected from …

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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The impact of working in a green certified building on cognitive function and health

  • Harvard University (MA)
  • State University of New York Upstate Medical University (NY)

Thirty years of public health research have demonstrated that improved indoor environmental quality is associated with better health outcomes. Recent research has demonstrated an impact of the indoor environment on …

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Green Buildings and Health

  • Harvard University (MA)

Green building design is becoming broadly adopted, with one green building standard reporting over 3.5 billion square feet certified to date. By definition, green buildings focus on minimizing impacts to …

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Effects of Green Buildings on Employee Health and Productivity

  • Michigan State University (MI)

We investigated the effects of improved indoor environmental quality (IEQ) on perceived health and productivity in occupants who moved from conventional to green (according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental …

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Associations of Cognitive Function Scores with Carbon Dioxide, Ventilation, and Volatile Organic Compound Exposures in Office Workers: A Controlled Exposure Study of Green and Conventional Office Environments

  • Harvard University (MA)
  • State University of New York Upstate Medical University (NY)
  • Syracuse University (NY)

Background: The indoor built environment plays a critical role in our overall well-being because of both the amount of time we spend indoors (~90%) and the ability of buildings …

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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The Menus of Change Protein Flip

  • The Culinary Institute of America (NY)

The Protein Flip, an outcome of the Menus of Change initiative, is available as a resource for foodservice operators of all kinds. This material centers around the concept of “the …


The Winds of Changes Shift: An Analysis of Recent Growth in Bargaining Units and Representation Efforts in Higher Education

  • City University of New York, Hunter College (NY)

This article analyzes data accumulated during the first three quarters of 2016 regarding completed and pending questions of representation involving faculty and student employees in higher education. It is part …


The relationship between corporate social responsibility, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment: Case of Pakistani higher education

  • University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (IL)

Despite significant economic and social importance, corporate social responsibility in Pakistan has not been examined extensively yet. Many universities in the globe have also incorporated this corporate concept into their …


Benchmarking presidents’ compensations in institutions of higher education relative to sustainability and other institutional practices

  • Rowan University (NJ)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the strategic effects of academic institutional factors including environmental, social, and economic sustainability indices on the compensation of the president …

  • Posted Jan. 27, 2017
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Sustainable Behavior: Study Engagement and Happiness among University Students in South Korea

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships among sustainable behavior, study engagement, and happiness. The participants were 202 undergraduate students. The present study used structural equation …

  • Posted Jan. 18, 2017
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Inspiration and Hope for Campus Sustainability Change Agents

  • Georgetown University (DC)
  • Harvard University (MA)
  • AASHE (MA)
  • Intentional Endowments Network (MA)

You know those feelings you get after attending the AASHE annual conference and other sustainability conferences – inspiration, motivation, a sense of belonging, perhaps even giddy to return to campus …

  • Posted Dec. 15, 2016
  • Videos & Webinars
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Campus Connections: Sustainability and Wellness

  • North Carolina State University (NC)
  • Southern Oregon University (OR)

Wellness is an important aspect of any sustainability movement. A focus at colleges and universities on social aspects of sustainability, such as wellness, leads to collaboration and partnerships that are …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
  • Conference Presentations
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Sustaining Ourselves - A Collaborative Retreat for Sustainability Professionals

  • College of Saint Benedict (MN)
  • Hamline University (MN)
  • Macalester College (MN)
  • University of Minnesota, Morris (MN)
  • University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)

Join us in discovering how a model of stepping away from our various institutions, discovering common challenges and building cross-institution relationships helps us sustain ourselves. The planning team from the …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Galvanizing Gaia: A Social Incubator for Women Leaders and Innovators

  • Prescott College (AZ)

Two ecopreneurship professors create a supportive context for women sustainability entrepreneurs and campus program innovators to move from idea to action with their regenerative project ideas. This dynamic half-­day workshop …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Women in Sustainability Network

  • Prescott College (AZ)

Come join us to build a collaborative network, share synergy, and catalyze collaboration. Who this session is for: Administrators, faculty, and program leaders concerned with innovation, gender equity, and social …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Sustainability Officers: The Dream, The Sometimes Harsh Reality, The Reasons You Want Us on Your Leadership Team

  • University of Vermont (VT)
  • Sustainability Curriculum Consortium (MD)

In 2015, we recognized an urgent need to capture and communicate the stories of campus sustainability officers - whose many hats, skills and unique abilities are often not realized by …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
  • Conference Presentations
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Sustainability in Higher Education Retirement Plans.

  • Green Retirement, Inc.

Higher education institutions are critical in advancing sustainability. Given the threat of climate change to human health and wellbeing, sustainability must permeate all aspects of an institution's fabric. A powerful …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Inspiring Change: Campus Mission and the Living Building Challenge

  • Hampshire College (MA)
  • Bruner/Cott Architects (MA)
  • Integrated Eco Strategy
  • International Living Future Institute (WA)

The RW Kern Center is designed to embody Hampshire College's mission of fostering positive change in the world, as well as to meet the Living Building Challenge. This session is …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
  • Conference Presentations
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Campus Farms and Gardens: Laboratories for Building Change Agents

  • North Cascades Institute (WA)

As climate change realities imbue a desire for tangible action in university students, interest in sustainable food systems is increasing at an incredible pace. As many as 1/3 of higher …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Is it 'Socially Sustainable' if no one Hears About It?: Living Wage Policies, Practices, and Adoption in Higher Education

  • Saint Joseph's University (PA)

Concern for the rights and dignity of workers have fueled growing calls for laws either increasing the minimum wage or adopting a living wage scheme. In lieu of wage legislation, …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Preparing Students for Life Beyond the Campus through Integrative Learning and Employability Coaching

  • University of South Carolina (SC)

Pressure is mounting for colleges to graduate students in four years with jobs. As professionals in higher education, how do we help students turn content into currency? The answer: integrative …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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The Role of Biophilic Design in Supporting the Student Athlete

  • Liberty University (VA)
  • VMDO Architects, PC (VA)

Biophilic design can enhance well-being, support physical performance, and expedite healing. These outcomes are particularly nourishing for student athletes - who experience intensive physical wear and tear as well as …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
  • Conference Presentations
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Overcoming Superhero Syndrome

  • GreenerU (MA)

When sustainability pros see a problem, our unique mixture of self-efficacy, personal responsibility, and influential competency often mean that we take the problem head-on. And that other problem. And all …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
  • Conference Presentations
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Is Everybody Present? Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and a Creative Curriculum to Teach Sustainability, Healthful Eating, and Stress Reduction

  • Arizona State University (AZ)
  • Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (IL)

Mindfulness based training and practice is an effective tool promoting resilience, positive health outcomes and awareness of those around us and connection to all living things. This sustainable approach reinforces …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Healthy Materials: Agents of Change

  • Bruner/Cott Architects (MA)

Building materials can create adverse effects in built and natural environments. In addition to depleting natural resources and causing pollution, certain materials expose us to harmful chemicals. Advocating for transparency …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Agentic educators for a sustainable future: Hopeful voices from the field

  • Manhattanville College (NY)

At last year's AASHE conference, representatives of a band of autoethnographic researchers presented a case study in which conference participants explored the ways in which theories of collective hope, praxis …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Student wellbeing : handbook and practical tools to help French campuses

  • Graines de Changement

In 2012, the network Campus Responsables concluded a partnership to display interactive plays within campuses regarding studend alcohol consumption. In 2013, the network published a practical guide about stutent wellbeing …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Sustainability, Dignity and Higher Education

  • Widener University (PA)

Sustainability discourse in higher education seldom considers human dignity as an institutional objective or a means to achieve it. Dignity embodies subjects as diverse as health care, imprisonment, privacy, education, …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Creating Conscious Cultures through Mindfulness

  • Princeton University (NJ)

Better known for its ability to benefit people personally, mindfulness is increasingly being linked to encouraging sustainable behaviors that could lead to more conscious, compassionate cultures. Participants will learn why …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Verdant, Active, Elder-Centered Climate Resilience: Climate-Hardy Community Building For All, Via Senior Centered Programming

  • Maryville College (TN)

American communities lag in efforts to respond to climate change stressors, with large gaps found in programs targeting a growing, vulnerable population - the elderly. Expected to nearly double in …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Sustainability at Work: careers that make a difference

  • Routledge

Building upon the SURF Framework developed by the author, this presentation explains how people in a plethora of sectors can have impact on the quadruple bottom line: environment, economy, society, …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Building a Sustainable Food Future: The BCFN Youth Manifesto

  • Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition

The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN) Foundation strives to give voice to an international network of young researchers who are working to create a more sustainable and equitable …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Consolidating the foundation of sustainable solutions: Rice University's Environmental Science program

  • Rice University (TX)

To address environmental challenges new generations are required not only to have a solid scientific or technological basis, but to propose sustainable solutions. We often look at sustainable solutions as …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Bikes@Naz: A Sustainable Wellness Program

  • Nazareth College (NY)

Bikes@Naz is one of the best Bike Share programs in the country. With over 60 bicycles, we also have one of the largest programs. Bikes@Naz was founded on the principles …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Embodying Tao in the ‘Restorative University’

  • Universiti Sains Malaysia
  • Schumacher College

This paper proposes a new generative metaphor, the ‘Restorative University’ which embodies an associated Taoist human–nature narrative. It aims to counter what is contextualized here as the bio-cultural disconnection of …

  • Posted Nov. 10, 2016
  • Publications
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Campus prosociality as a sustainability indicator

  • Arizona State University (AZ)
  • University of Maine (ME)

Purpose - Prosociality may in part determine sustainability behavior. Prior research indicates that pro-environmental behavior correlates with prosocial attitudes, and separately, that prosociality correlates with social support in homes and …


Struggling to Serve at the Nation’s Richest University

  • Harvard University (MA)

A New York Times article about the 2016 university dining hall workers' strike at Harvard University. Employees were dissatisfied with a health insurance increase in the face of low wages. …

  • Posted Oct. 26, 2016
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Food Insecurity Among University of California Employees

Executive Summary The University of California (UC) is the third largest employer in the State of California. It comprises ten campuses, five medical centers, and three national laboratories, all of …

  • Posted Oct. 25, 2016
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Safety Advancement Program

  • Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association (IN)

CSHEMA’s Safety Advancement Program is designed to help colleges, universities, and other campus environments assess and address health and safety performance. At the core of the Safety Advancement Program is …


Hunger on Campus: The Challenge of Food Insecurity for College Students

  • Student Public Interest Research Group (IL)
  • Student Government Resource Center (MA)
  • College and University Food Bank Alliance (CUFBA) (MI)

This report, based on a survey of nearly 3,800 college students in United States, finds that nearly half of the students surveyed were food insecure and 22% qualified as hungry, …

  • Posted Oct. 17, 2016
  • Publications
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Sustainability Matters in the Battle for Talent

This Harvard Business Review article describes a survey conducted by Bain & Company showing that "sustainability is an increasingly important factor in attracting and managing talent." Roughly two-thirds of 750 …


Well-Being and Higher Education: A Strategy for Change and the Realization of Education's Greater Purposes

  • Association of American Colleges and Universities (DC)

The newest release from Bringing Theory to Practice, Well-Being and Higher Education, explores the multiple connections of well-being to higher education and why those connections matter—for the individual lives of …


Get Healthy! ACG Health & Wellness Center

  • The American College of Greece (Aghia Paraskevi)

The ACG Health & Wellness Center offers Health Services, Wellness Coaching. Its Mission is based on the truth that lies in the idea of balancing the mind, body and spirit. …

  • Posted Sept. 15, 2016
  • Photographs
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American College of Greece Athletics

  • The American College of Greece (Aghia Paraskevi)

A heated, Olympic size, eight lane swimming pool affords a breathtaking view of the mountain, soccer field, Aghia Paraskevi, and city of Athens. During the winter, the pool is enclosed …

  • Posted Sept. 15, 2016
  • Photographs
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Fitness Center

  • The American College of Greece (Aghia Paraskevi)

Making time for exercise is easy at The American College of Greece. With multi-purpose rooms, easily accessible workout equipment, class schedules and operating hours scheduled into the evening, the entire …

  • Posted Sept. 15, 2016
  • Photographs
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Seattle University Wellbeing & Work Initiatives

  • Seattle University (WA)

The LiVE (Lead, Inspire, Value, and Enrich) wellness program at Seattle University is designed to reward employees for taking the small steps that lead to healthy habits. Employees can earn …

  • Posted Sept. 14, 2016
  • Photographs
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Transylvania University Big Green Get Around

  • Transylvania University (KY)

Faculty, staff and students participated in a variety of low or no-carbon activities during Transylvania University's Big Green Get Around

  • Posted Sept. 14, 2016
  • Photographs
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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.

PA 12: Employee Compensation

PA 13: Assessing Employee Satisfaction

PA 14: Wellness program

PA 14: Workplace Health & Safety

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

Wellbeing & Work Partners