Duquesne University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Wholemakers, a groundbreaking resource for young adults focused on creation care and integral ecology. Wholemakers is a multi-session Catholic curriculum designed for small groups of young adults to explore and deepen their understanding of creation care and climate action. Developed for young adults, by young adults, this resource weaves together the latest climate science with insights from the Catholic tradition to equip young adults to be the faithful protagonists of the transformation the world needs.

The MBA in Sustainable Business Practices program hosts a Net Zero Energy Management System (EMS) Design Competition every fall in the MGMT 724 Strategic Sustainability and Models course.

The University Sustainability Committee (USC) also supports, promotes, and grow Duquesne University’s efforts to build a sustainable campus. The Committee fosters opportunities for multidisciplinary engagement across academic units, facilities, and University leadership.

1. Every year, Duquesne University hosts Community Engagement Scholars, students who work with local non-profit organizations to further their missions and aid students' academic growth.

2. Duquesne University has designated community engagement courses in which students work with community partners as part of the course requirements.

1. Duquesne is the first university in western Pennsylvania and one of only a few in the state to conduct biennial Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories on the University's carbon footprint. The University has played a leading role in moving other schools in the region to undertake similar studies and to direct the region as a whole toward environmental stewardship. This survey is conducted by graduate students in the University's Department of Environmental and Energy Engineering. This report is published on the University website for the campus and outside communities.

2. Additionally, Duquesne University has a live dashboard in the academic building, Rockwell Hall, measuring and reporting CO2 emissions, energy consumption, chilled water, and steam use, indoor air quality (PM2.5, PM 10, TVOCs, temperature, and humidity), and outdoor air quality sensor to compare indoor vs outdoor air quality as part of efforts to use the building as a living laboratory.

3. The students in the MBA in Sustainable Business Practices program are working with an Italy based company to contribute to understanding and advancing sustainability in relation to air and climate by optimizing energy efficiency in campus buildings and reducing electronic waste, thereby mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and minimizing air pollution.

1. Students in the MBA in Sustainable Business Practices compete in a living lab/team Net Zero Energy EMS Design Competition. They track Rockwell Hall's building energy, water consumption, indoor air quality, and management, propose ways to make Rockwell more sustainable and efficient, and look at what it will take to make the buildings and their MBA program Net Zero.

1. Students in the MBA in Sustainable Business Practices are working to increase energy efficiency in campus buildings, especially Rockwell Hall.

2. Students in the Environmental Science undergraduate and Environmental Science and Management graduate and certificate programs conduct regular reports on proposed campus energy reduction projects.

1. The Sustainable Supply Chain Mgmt class working with food services - to reduce food waste and support systems like biodigesters.

2. Students get involved with the campus produce garden to learn more about food production and compost.

3. Students in the MBA in Sustainability program are collaborating with a Pittsburgh-based company to gain insights into sustainable packaging and food supply chain practices. The goal is to enhance the supply of sustainable foods by improving packaging methods and optimizing supply chain processes.

1. Duquesne University's Ecology Club managed an on-campus butterfly garden, planting and weeding a small section of garden specifically for pollinator species.

2. Students work with the Facilities Department and Center for Environmental Research to install and manage an on-campus produce garden to alleviate storm-water runoff, improve biodiversity, and combat food apartheid in a neighboring neighborhood.

3. Students host invasive Spotted Lanternfly education including specimen collections.

4.Evergreen Club, together with other participating students, has embarked on a project aimed at picking up trash in Uptown, in addition to their 2022 project of planting 40, 1 quart Cercis Canadensis (redbud) trees along Trinity hillside adjacent to Crosstown Blvd.

Students in the MBA in Sustainable Business Practices compete in a living lab/team competition. They track Rockwell Hall's building energy, water consumption, indoor air quality, management, and purchasing and work to find ways to make Rockwell more sustainable and efficient.

Duquesne University has launched an electric vehicle (EV) parking area on campus with six dedicated spaces exclusively for current University parking permit holders with EVs. 

1. Members of the student-run Evergreen Club, also hosts online tips for reducing one's waste footprint. WASTE IS WHACK.

2. The Department of Environmental Energy and Engineering educates students about compost opportunities on campus and collects materials to compost in their office suite from students, faculty, and staff.

3. A undergraduate sustainable supply chain course taught across three sections each spring does project-based research and this last year they looked at the feasibility of reducing food waste for on-campus dining and the use of anaerobic digesters.

1. Faculty, staff, and students organize an Annual Water Walk, educating the campus about the global water crisis.

2. Working Waters Club works to educate the campus community about water availability and health issues worldwide.The group works on laboratory and field research on a range of water and health issues, raises awareness on global water issues, and engages with communities facing water issues to better understand how water affects health and society.

1. Students are a dedicated part of the University Sustainability Committee. Collaboration between students, faculty, and staff helps promote the university's mission for sustainability and educate other members of the campus. 

1. Schools across the university host DEI committees that are comprised of students, faculty, and staff. These committees host discussions, events, and campus surveys.

2. 12 student organizations work to further issues regarding diversity and affordability:
African Student Union (ASU)
American Sign Language Club
Asian Student Association (ASA)
Black Law Students Association
Black Student Union (BSU)
BSNES Multicultural STEM Group (MSG)
Center for Migration, Displacement, and Community Studies
Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA)
Council for Exceptional Children
Ebony Women: Women for Social Change
English as a Second Language Program
Gender Sexuality Alliance (Lambda)
International Students Organization (ISO)
Jewish Law Students Organization
Latin American Student Association (LASA)
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Non-Traditional Student Association
Puerto Rican Student Association (PRSA)
Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
Student Veterans Association (SVA)
The Migration Club

Duquesne University's Palumbo School of Business hosts a $1,000,000 socially responsible investment fund that is run by students in the business school.

1. Duquesne University's Pharmacy students work to provide free health screenings, vaccinations, COVID tests, and more to campus faculty and staff.

2. "Wholemakers, a groundbreaking resource for young adults focused on creation care and integral ecology. Wholemakers is a multi-session Catholic curriculum designed for small groups of young adults to explore and deepen their understanding of creation care and climate action. Developed for young adults, by young adults, this resource weaves together the latest climate science with insights from the Catholic tradition to equip young adults to be the faithful protagonists of transformation the world needs."