Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 77.56
Liaison John Pumilio
Submission Date Oct. 11, 2022

STARS v2.2

Colgate University
EN-2: Student Orientation

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.99 / 2.00 John Pumilio
Director of Sustainability
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Are the following students provided an opportunity to participate in orientation activities and programming that prominently include sustainability?:
Yes or No
First-year students Yes
Transfer students Yes
Entering graduate students No

Percentage of all entering students that are provided an opportunity to participate in orientation activities and programming that prominently include sustainability:
99.60

A brief description of how sustainability is included prominently in new student orientation :
Before new students arrive on campus, members of the office of sustainability work with Colgate's Associate Dean for First and Second-Year Experience and Community Development to develop outreach and orientation programs.

All incoming students receive a sustainability packing list that reminds students to reduce waste and be energy and water conscious at Colgate. Here's an example from 2022: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10Cz919_y82S8SgVAY7Pc5chjPOVBj1-T/view?usp=sharing.

During orientation programming, interns in the office of sustainability participated in Colgate Connections and Club Case. Two programs that reach every incoming student. We shared a "Get Involved" sustainability flyer (https://drive.google.com/file/d/17qtWItvqf1tOUBaJaZA7ye4gjeNcKHcu/view?usp=sharing) and hosted a sustainability trivia event.

Throughout Orientation and first-year arrival, we also share social media posts and reach out to students through our vast network.

In years past, we also participated in a program called "So this is Colgate" which is the official welcome for incoming students from the deans, the Student Government Association and other campus representatives including the Office of Sustainability. It introduces students to Colgate's history and traditions with a snapshot of campus life. The Program Coordinator from the Office of Sustainability shares with students how they can live a more sustainable life at Colgate. The students are informed about the various student groups on campus dedicated to making Colgate more sustainable and learning more about what they can do to help reduce their carbon footprint. Representatives from the Sustainability Office highlight the connections among the three pillars of sustainability and highlight institutional goals of inclusivity, environmental stewardship, and fiscal responsibility.

The Sustainability Office also participates in the annual Wellness Fair open to all new students to share information about our programs and how to get involved.

Recently, the Sustainability Office has also been working with the Orientation Planning Committee to reduce waste during move-in and orientation.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about sustainability in student orientation is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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