Auburn University
IN-39: Sustainability Office Diversity Program

The Office of Sustainability is committed to recruiting and hiring qualified individuals from underrepresented groups. Intentional efforts that go beyond the university’s standard practices include: paying a living wage to all student staff; actively conducting outreach to student groups and campus organizations that support underrepresented groups to advertise the positions and recruit applicants (e.g., National Society of Black Engineers, SPECTRUM, O-Stem, Cross-Cultural Center for Excellence); and conducting a blind-review of applications to determine who to bring in for interviews. Collectively these efforts have increased the diversity of both applicants and student hires.

As a part of the standard office training program for student staff, we partner with the university’s Office of Inclusion and Diversity to conduct at least one training session on the foundational principles and considerations connected to DEI work. In addition, our office uses the Sustainability Compass as a framework for sustainability, which incorporates economic, social, and personal wellbeing considerations alongside the environmental. We dedicate training time each year to explore the Sustainable Development Goals, which include social and environmental justice dimensions. Furthermore, all office staff, including student staff, attend the AASHE conference each year with the expectation that everyone attends all the keynote sessions, which frequently address the DEI aspects of sustainability.

The Office of Sustainability (OS) has worked closely with the Office of Inclusion and Diversity (OID) on several efforts over the years. In the most recent past, the office staff has directly supported the Campus Pride Index Working Groups by serving on three separate subcommittees and helping promote participation by campus stakeholders. In addition, the Office of Sustainability works to cross-promote OID efforts and events and has a standing offer for OID to contribute blog posts to our website and monthly digest. Most recently, the OS worked to coordinate the promotion of a new layer on the campus map that lists the locations of the all-gender restrooms on campus. Beyond the work with OID, the OS also worked directly with the Period.Auburn student organization to host a webinar in February 2021 on menstrual equity.