Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 77.06
Liaison Laura Bain
Submission Date June 22, 2021

STARS v2.2

Furman University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Laura Bain
Associate Director of Sustainability Assessment
David E. Shi Center for Sustainability
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Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
Yes

The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:

The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities is tasked with coordinating sustainability across campus. Several topic-specific committees exist and include representation or liaisons from the Shi Institute.

Diversity and Inclusion Committee
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee has existed in different iterations at Furman since the late 1980s. President Elizabeth Davis established it as a standing presidential committee in 2015 and today the committee continues its work of creating a campus culture that reflects the character and values of the institution.

Wellness Committee
The mission of the Furman University Wellness Program is to provide environmental, social, and individual support to encourage the Furman community to engage in healthy lifestyles that promote optimal well-being.

Tree Advisory Committee
Furman University has had a long standing commitment to campus forestry and, since 2008, has been recognized as a Tree Campus for its dedication to effective community forestry management. Tree Campus USA is a national program created in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation to honor colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals. To achieve this designation, Furman maintains a tree advisory committee, manages a campus tree-care plan, dedicates annual expenditures for its campus tree program, observes Arbor Day, and offers a student service-learning project each year. The committee is comprised of faculty and staff from numerous programs throughout the university. The committee meets biannually, and provides important input in to care and improvement of the campus landscape.

Transportation Committee
Adjudicates traffic and parking violations and considers recommendations and proposals to improve the campus transportation system. The committee helps coordinate the collaboration, management, and oversight of the various campus transportation programs, policies, and efforts. The board is comprised of faculty, students, and staff members.


Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:

Diversity and Inclusion Committee
Ex Officio: Dr. Michael Jennings, Chief Diversity Officer and Professor of Education
Chairs: Dr. Natalie The (2019 – Starting Year 1), Associate Professor of Health Sciences
• Liaison to John Wheeler’s HHMI Group and Faculty Governance
Neil E. Jamerson (2015- Starting Year 5), Assistant Vice President for Student Development
• Liaison to Bias Incident Response & Support, Center for Inclusive Communities, MLK Committee, Pathways, and
Joseph Vaughn Day Trustee Committee

Wellness Committee
Christina Alsip – Center for Academic Success
Kristin Austin – Human Resources
Sharen Beaulieu – Human Resources
Hannah Dailey – Shi Institute
Kelly Frazier – Health Sciences
Jason Hayden – Psychology
Jane McBride – Alumni and Parent Engagement
Owen McFadden – Campus Recreation
Scott Murr – Health Sciences
Kim Rhodes – Accounts Payable

Tree Advisory Committee
The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities: Kelly Grant Purvis (Associate Director of Sustainability Programs of Shi Institute) kellygrant.purvis@furman.edu
Faculty: John Quinn (Professor of Biology) john.quinn@furman.edu
Facilities: Sheree Wright (University Horticulturalist) sheree.wright@furman.edu
Community: Joelle Teachey (Executive Director of Trees Greenville) jteachey@treesgreenville.org
Student: Sydney McManus (Sustainable Outreach and Engagement Fellow) sydney.mcmanus@furman.edu

Transportation Committee
Rachel Palm – Furman Police Officer
Wes Dripps – Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Sustainability Sciences
Linnea Freeman – Assistant Professor of Biology
Marta Lukacovic – Assistant Professor of Communication Studies
Scott Murr – Professor of Health Sciences
Danielle Hernandez – McAlister Auditorium Manager
Tony McGirt – Director of Younts Convention Center
Tracy Landrith – ITS Staff
Luke Allcock – student
Jesse Thompson – student


Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent employee?:
Yes

A brief description of each sustainability office:

Furman is home to the Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities. Launched in 2020, the Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities is a regionally focused institute promoting sustainable human flourishing through education, research, and leadership. The institute builds on over a decade of proven success and national renown of the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability and connects campus and community around developing sustainable communities.

https://www.furman.edu/shi-institute/


Full-time equivalent of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
8

Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Yes

Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Weston Dripps, Director; Mike Winiski, Director; Laura Bain, Associate Director; Kelly Grant Purvis, Associate Director; Hannah Dailey, Program Coordinator, Bruce Adams, Farm Manager

Does the institution have a mechanism for broad sustainability coordination for the entire institution?:
Yes

A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:

The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities is responsible for implementing, coordinating, and tracking sustainability for the entire campus. With the guidance of Sustainable Furman, our sustainability master plan, the Shi Institute has garnered support for sustainability among students, faculty, and staff. Some accomplishments include: working with our Facilities Department to implement environmentally friendly landscape and construction practices, providing opportunities for students to solve sustainability problems on campus through class project support (ex. drafting a temperature set point policy, drafting a green cleaning policy, creating a sustainability walking tour, creating sustainability orientation videos), installing multiple water bottle refill stations around campus, supporting the ban of plastic straws from our dining hall, coordinating the use of sheep for maintaining grass at our solar farm, and procuring battery powered grounds equipment.


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Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability coordination is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.