Overall Rating | Silver |
---|---|
Overall Score | 60.32 |
Liaison | Andy Mitchell |
Submission Date | July 16, 2021 |
University of Illinois Chicago
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory
Status | Score | Responsible Party |
---|---|---|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Cynthia
Klein-Banai Associate Chancellor for Sustainability Office of Sustainability |
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement:
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Public Engagement?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Public Engagement:
The Office of Planning, Sustainability, and Project Management's internship program has worked with various community partners and on campus partners on projects related to Public Engagement. The internship program includes weekly seminars and spring interns earn course credit.
1. Garden for a Changing Climate - This public art project by artist Jenny Kendler aims to create awareness regarding the effect of climate change on a local scale by focusing on the shifting of the eco-zones and other effects of climate change on various neighborhoods in Chicago. Working on this project relating to art, science, and community engagement, the Garden intern will assist in bridging the three together as the gallery prepares for the launch of the project on UIC’s campus in April 2018.
2. One Earth Film Festival is the Midwest’s premier environmental film festival. In its 8th year the 2019 festival screened a film at UIC's Latino Cultural Center (LCC) followed by a panel discussion with panelists from UIC's LCC and Sustainability program. Working on this awareness-building and community engagement project, the Film Fest intern played an important role in the preparation, organization, implementation, evaluation and follow-up to the 2019 One Earth Film Festival.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Air & Climate?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Air & Climate:
A graduate student worked on supporting and conducting GHG emission analysis for the proposed strategies for the UIC Climate Action Implementation Plan. In the past 3 years, one intern developed a mechanism to translate the commuting survey data more easily into the inputs to SIMAP for calculating GHG emissions from commuting. That project was published in Vargas, J.Y. and Klein-Banai, C. Case Study: Guide to Estimating Multi-Modal Commuting Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Sustainability: The Journal of Record, 13:3, June 2020.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Buildings?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Buildings:
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Energy?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Energy:
Smart Grid Interns engage campus community on energy use through a an asset based community development approach.
An Engineering Design Team did a study of building level energy use and weather trends.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Food & Dining?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Food & Dining:
There are also interns who have worked on food recovery from the student centers and hospital kitchens. This involves piloting projects, collecting data, and developing plans to expand collection programs.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Grounds?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Grounds:
UIC's Heritage Garden, which is located on UIC's East campus, offers a variety of internships to students, allowing them to work directly with the Garden and interact with campus grounds and community. The Heritage Garden and its satellite gardens are educational spaces on campus that relate diversity to quality of life issues that benefit both people and nature. The garden and satellites use an integrated approach that links environmental and social concerns to promote social change. It's Summer and Fall internships helped to establish a sustainable educational model with activities that can help mobilize other students on campus around environmental and cultural sustainability issues. Students are able to expand their knowledge of cultural and diversity issues through intellectual framework discussion, participating in field days, hands on horticulture learning and practice, and developing a public program displaying the garden.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Purchasing?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Purchasing:
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Transportation?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Transportation:
Every year the Office of Sustainability has 1-2 student interns conduct a bike inventory and work on various other biking related data collection and policy work.
A graduate assistant conducted an analysis of the transportation and commuting-related programs to derive the Strategies and Solutions for the UIC Climate Action Implementation Plan.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Waste?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Waste:
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Water?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Water:
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning:
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance:
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
The Sustainability Fee funded research in 2016 on food insecurity on campus that was conducted by a professor and public health graduate students.
Website URL where information about the institution’s living laboratory program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Data was gathered by the Office of Planning, Sustainability and Project Management. Most projects listed were either done as part of Student Sustainability Fee projects or Sustainability Internship Projects. Other information was from knowledge of activities around campus.
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.