Carnegie Mellon University
SD-1: New Student Orientation

Carnegie Mellon University infuses sustainability into orientation programming for both incoming first year and new graduate students. Our fall 2011 orientation programming included a Zero Waste Dinner for all incoming first year students. Sustainability staff use the Zero Waste dinner as an educational opportunity to share with new students (in a fun and inviting fashion) Carnegie Mellon’s commitment to campus sustainability. In addition to the Zero Waste Dinner, orientation week also features the annual Eco-Fabulous Cook Out held at the Solar Decathlon House featuring a “zero waste” style spread for students, faculty and staff. During this event, new students are able to mix and engage with representatives of environmentally focused student and staff organizations and receive additional information on campus greening efforts and how they can become involved in campus sustainability. Some of the student and staff groups represented at this event are Eco-Reps, Sustainable Earth, Engineers Without Borders, Green Practices and the Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research. Campus sustainability efforts are also shared with graduate students during the annual Graduate Resource Fair, a fixture of graduate orientation week. Green Practices and the Steinbrenner Institute collaborate on this effort to bring information on campus greening, educational and research opportunities in campus sustainability to hundreds of graduate students during this event.

Carnegie Mellon University infuses sustainability into orientation programming for both incoming first year and new graduate students. Our fall 2011 orientation programming included a Zero Waste Dinner for all incoming first year students. Sustainability staff use the Zero Waste dinner as an educational opportunity to share with new students (in a fun and inviting fashion) Carnegie Mellon’s commitment to campus sustainability. In addition to the Zero Waste Dinner, orientation week also features the annual Eco-Fabulous Cook Out held at the Solar Decathlon House featuring a “zero waste” style spread for students, faculty and staff. During this event, new students are able to mix and engage with representatives of environmentally focused student and staff organizations and receive additional information on campus greening efforts and how they can become involved in campus sustainability. Some of the student and staff groups represented at this event are Eco-Reps, Sustainable Earth, Engineers Without Borders, Green Practices and the Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research. Campus sustainability efforts are also shared with graduate students during the annual Graduate Resource Fair, a fixture of graduate orientation week. Green Practices and the Steinbrenner Institute collaborate on this effort to bring information on campus greening, educational and research opportunities in campus sustainability to hundreds of graduate students during this event.

Carnegie Mellon University infuses sustainability into orientation programming for both incoming first year and new graduate students. Our fall 2011 orientation programming included a Zero Waste Dinner for all incoming first year students. Sustainability staff use the Zero Waste dinner as an educational opportunity to share with new students (in a fun and inviting fashion) Carnegie Mellon’s commitment to campus sustainability. In addition to the Zero Waste Dinner, orientation week also features the annual Eco-Fabulous Cook Out held at the Solar Decathlon House featuring a “zero waste” style spread for students, faculty and staff. During this event, new students are able to mix and engage with representatives of environmentally focused student and staff organizations and receive additional information on campus greening efforts and how they can become involved in campus sustainability. Some of the student and staff groups represented at this event are Eco-Reps, Sustainable Earth, Engineers Without Borders, Green Practices and the Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research.

Over the past year we have made plans to increase our sustainability efforts during new student orientation. In addition to the events listed above, Green Practices and the Steinbrenner Institute are now active in the Resident Assistant Resource Fair. We have utilized our University wide sustainability website (Environment at CMU) to provide additional information to incoming students, and many of the graduate departments have included green initiatives in their department level orientations.