| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.88 |
| Liaison | Deborah Steinberg |
| Submission Date | Dec. 17, 2024 |
Carnegie Mellon University
EN-10: Community Partnerships
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Cheslea
Blackburn Cohen Senior Manager, Strategic Initiatives and Engagement Office of the President |
1st Partnership
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Which of the following best describes the partnership?:
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? :
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:
The Breathe Project is a clearinghouse for information on air quality in Pittsburgh, southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond. We use the best available science and technology to better understand the quality of the air we breathe and provide opportunities for citizens to engage and take action.
The Breathe Collaborative is a coalition of citizens, environmental advocates, public health professionals and academics working to improve air quality, eliminate climate pollution and make our region a healthy and prosperous place to live. The Collaborative powers the Breathe Project through science-based work and a community outreach platform. Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab and the Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies are collaborators on this project.
https://breatheproject.org/
2nd Partnership
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
The Summer Center for Climate, Energy, and Environmental Decision Making (SUCCEED) was founded by Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making. Now supported by Engineering and Public Policy, the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, and NSF PIRE, the SUCCEED program partners with local high schools in Pittsburgh to offer two programs: a free 2-day summer program for rising 10th - 12th grade students, that includes field trips, hands-on activities, career panels, and lectures on climate and energy.
SUCCEED Student Program
In the student program, CMU PhD students work with underclassman high school students to improve their understanding of energy, the environment, and climate change. By the end of the program, participants should be able to explain the effect of climate change and its relationship with the energy sector. The program delves into how electricity is generated, demanded, and used throughout the country. Students will learn about some of the grand challenges facing energy engineering fields, how new technology can play a role in mitigating climate change, that all energy options have tradeoffs, and that policy can be used to effect change. The program is designed to open students’ minds to the challenges at this intersection and encourage them to seek careers in climate, energy, or other STEM fields.
SUCCEED Teacher Program
SUCCEED also offers 2-day workshops for K-12 educators where Carnegie Mellon University faculty, Ph.D. students, and other real-world experts work with high school teachers to improve their understanding of climate and energy systems, while providing a platform for discussion and collaboration. Topics include: existing and sustainable energy systems, climate change, government policies, and potential career opportunities for students in these areas. The goal is to help teachers develop ways to incorporate these materials into their curriculum through active learning techniques that pique student interests.
Benefits and credits
Participants will get access to all of the resources presented to them by the speakers. There will also be opportunities for teachers to brainstorm classroom activities in small groups, which will then be shared with all participants. Further, all eligible Pennsylvania teachers will receive 12 hours of Act 48 professional development credit.
Applicant selection criteria
The workshop is open to all STEM teachers in the U.S. Preference may be given to Environmental Science teachers and teachers in southwestern Pennsylvania. The workshop is limited to 30 participants.
3rd Partnership
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
"Taking Back the Air" is an ongoing collaboration between Carnegie Mellon University's Urban Design Studio in the School of Architecture and the community-based advocacy groups, North Braddock Residents for Our Future and General Sisters. The partnership builds on a long-standing commitment to community engagement in the School of Architecture, and offers a new approach to architecture's social role admist the exigencies of the climate emergency--at once spatial, collaborative, and focused on communities and the narratives that resonate with them. The project's Atmospheric Justice Curriculum and Archive of Air offer a rich resource for practitioners, scholars, and teachers.
An ongoing outcome of the project is a repository of narratives around issues of environmental justice, intervening in dominant discourses around industrial and economic progress that center extractive industries. In an urban context long framed through the lens of boom and bust cycles, the project brings together materials that document the ongoing histories of community stewardship and grassroots actions against the spatial and structural processes of toxicity while engaging community members in envisioning potential and desired futures.
Materials and futher information can be found here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/b37b0721ce8848f69afa42727f6b6152
Optional Fields
Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.