Duke University
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Students for Sustainable Living (SSL) is a student employment program run by Sustainable Duke. SSL is a paid, 15-member student corps dedicated to greening Duke’s campus culture through education and outreach with the ultimate goal of reducing the University’s environmental footprint. A team of graduate and undergraduate students work approximately 3-5 hours per week throughout the academic year and receive between $8 and 10 per hour. Students learn about current sustainability efforts at Duke and select an area of campus sustainability that they are passionate about. Working in teams, students design and implement campus sustainability projects throughout the year. Past projects have included a staff sustainability education program, green dining awards, a showcase "green dorm room" and creating eye-catching signs with sustainability messages at key decision-making points across campus. SSL creates change by researching, meeting with administrators and creatively outreaching to the Duke community. As a strong, collaborative community, SSL participants meet together weekly, along with the Sustainability Outreach Coordinator, to share updates and ideas.

Duke’s Sustainability Outreach Coordinator distributes an application at the beginning of the Fall semester, reviews applications, and selects roughly 15 graduate and undergraduate students to participate in SSL for the academic year. The application asks students to discuss their interest in SSL, their perspective on campus environmental problems, and how SSL could impact sustainability at Duke.

Students learn about current sustainability efforts at Duke and select an area of campus sustainability that they are passionate about. Training includes presentations by the Sustainability Outreach Coordinator about present and past sustainability efforts across campus, as well as regular meetings with resource staff in areas relevant to students' projects. The Sustainability Outreach Coordinator also meets weekly with all students in the program and provides feedback and resources.

Duke’s Sustainability Outreach Coordinator works with students individually and student groups on setting short and long-term goals, creating timelines, measuring project success, and assisting students with contacting other campus staff. The Coordinator meets weekly with SSL participants to share updates and ideas and is available to meet with students individually or in teams. Students are paid for their work throughout the year, which results in an approximate total cost of $12,000 for the sustainability office. Additionally, resources are made available to students through the Green Grant Fund program to fund any aspects of their projects that have a monetary cost.

Sustainable Duke's Dorm Eco-Reps are unpaid freshmen student leaders for sustainability in the 14 East Campus residence halls at Duke. They educate peers about sustainability and develop fun and engaging programming to lower the environmental footprint of the residence halls and their residents. The Dorm Eco-Reps run the Green Dorm Room Certification program on East Campus. Other Eco-Rep projects from recent years have included displaying a sustainable “tip of the week” in each dorm, a sustainable fashion show, auditing the presence of dual-flush toilets, posting informative maps about the location of cardboard recycling dumpsters. Dorm Eco-Reps volunteer approximately 1-3 hours per week of their time. As a strong, collaborative community, Dorm Eco-Reps meet together for one hour every other week to share updates and ideas.

Each fall, two student co-coordinators and the Sustainability Outreach Coordinator work together to select Dorm Eco-Reps after reviewing applications that ask for ideas regarding sustainability and potential projects for the dorms.

The Dorm Eco-Reps team receives a series of presentations each fall about past, present, and ongoing sustainability efforts across campus. As a strong, collaborative community, Dorm Eco-Reps meet together for one hour every other week to share updates and ideas. Two student leaders and the Sustainability Outreach Coordinator provide feedback and resources to the group.

Duke’s Sustainability Outreach Coordinator oversees two paid Students for Sustainable Living students who work closely with and coordinate the Eco-Reps. The Coordinator meets weekly with the two SSL students to share updates and ideas. The SSL students meet for one hour every other week with the Dorm Eco-Reps. Resources are made available to students through the Green Grant Fund program to fund any aspects of their projects that have a monetary cost.

The Campus Sustainability Fellows (CSF) program is a paid student corps that assists individual Duke schools in assessing and reducing their environmental impact while connecting to broader campus sustainability initiatives. The CSF program is open to upper-class undergraduate and masters/graduate students. Fellows work an average of 8-10 hours a week at $11.50/hr and are assigned to a particular school at Duke such as the Fuqua School of Business. With guidance from Sustainable Duke, fellows identify, collaborate with and provide resources to staff clients within each school who are interested and engaged in sustainability and workplace greening. Fellows work to access schools’ environmental impact and identify opportunities for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. Fellows report school assessments and progress to the Campus Sustainability Committee to better connect their efforts with campus sustainability priorities.

Each fall, applications for the program are reviewed by the Director of Sustainability. Applications ask for students to discuss their interest in sustainability and the fellowship program, their experiences in project management and sustainability, their perspective on campus environmental problems, and how they could impact sustainability at Duke

Campus Sustainability Fellows meet regularly with the Environmental Sustainability Director, who provides support and resources for their projects.

The Environmental Sustainability Director works with students to set goals and implement their projects. Students are paid hourly for their work. Additionally, resources are made available to students through the Green Grant Fund program to fund any aspects of their projects that have a monetary cost.