| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67.16 |
| Liaison | Scott Doyle |
| Submission Date | Oct. 25, 2022 |
Ithaca College
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Scott
Doyle Director Energy Management and Sustainability |
Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
Note: The following are IC clubs that have been recently active, however participation in these clubs have waned during the COVID pandemic.
-Ithaca College Outing Club - The Outing Club strives for an inclusive and accessible community amongst individuals that want to get outside. Through outdoor activities, skill building, and environmental stewardship, we build connection and stretch ourselves. Open to all levels of interest and abilities.
- Ithaca College Environmental Society (ICES) - historically has promoted environmental awareness and responsibility on IC's campus through education, activism, and stewardship, while reaching out both within our campus and the community of Ithaca.
- The IC undergraduate chapter of Net Impact represents the School of Business' objective to "foster sustainable enterprises." The program promotes the study and practice of sustainability in corporate enterprises and encourages a sense of ethical, social, and public responsibilities. http://www.ithaca.edu/business/clubs/netimpact/
- S.W.I.F.T. (Stop Wasting Ithaca's Food Today) works with Dining Services to repackage and deliver leftover, unserved food to local food pantries.
- IC Organic Growers developed and maintains the campus organic garden and the Permaculture garden.
- IC Progressives is an organization supporting grass-roots activists, environmentalists, advocates for social justice, non-violent resisters, and regular citizens who have had enough of corporate-dominated politics and want to change society.
- Eco Reps are responsible for peer-to-peer education and engagement surrounding all aspects of sustainability: social, environmental, and economic. They host teach-ins, a variety of events, and provide compost services to student residents. They also implement new program that encourage responsible resource management and consumption.
Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
Ithaca College Community Gardens, located on the lower portion of the IC campus and off of Farm Pond Road, are student-run gardens. We experiment with many aspects of sustainable gardening and farming including permaculture design, crop rotation, companion planting, four-season food production, and heirloom seed saving. We all help to organize classroom tours, assist with student research, and host harvest dinners and other special events for volunteers and community members.
Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
South Hill Forest Products is a student-run business dedicated to providing high quality, all natural non-timber forest products (NTFP) grown and/or harvested on campus-owned property. Each spring semester, Professor Jason Hamilton, associate professor of Environmental Studies, leads an NTFP class that is comprised of students eager to learn. The class is based around an experiential type of education, that allows the students to interact with the subjects they learn. Once the students leave the class, they are well equipped to:
- Integrate: connect academic knowledge, theory, and skills to the experiential learning context
- Problem Solve: identify challenges and opportunities that arise in the experiential learning environment, and respond constructively to them
- Communicate: develop written, verbal, and non‐verbal competencies to effectively communicate with diverse audiences
- Practice Professionalism: understand their roles and responsibilities within the experiential learning context, and act appropriately
Throughout the semester, students learn how to keep bees, farm mushrooms, and make maple syrup. While Jason and his TAs provide a knowledge base, the majority of the work is done by the students. Students in the South Hill Forest Products group pick and pack mushrooms, harvest and process honey, and tap maple trees and boil sap to produce maple syrup. We sell our products and organize an open house at the sugar bush. South Hill Forest Products brand maple syrup is also available for sale at the Campus Store.
Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
The Ithaca College Investment Club (ICIC) mutual fund, which has roughly $75,000 in combined assets is managed by IC's Core Trading Consultants which includes a socially responsible fund.
Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
The Office of Energy Management & Sustainability, the School of Business, and the Ithaca College’s chapter of Net Impact regularly co-hosts the annual IC Sustainability Week. Each year, renowned speakers give presentations and workshops and students host a sustainability expo that features local organizations and businesses, as well as on-campus student groups.
Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
Each year, faculty at Ithaca College host the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival - a week-long event featuring the screening of sustainability-focused films. The theme for 2022 was ENTANGLEMENTS. This theme "explores how different environments, ideas, imaginaries, places, politics, practices, registers, and species twist into each other and enmesh."
https://www.ithaca.edu/finger-lakes-environmental-film-festival
Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
There is a program in one of the residence halls called the Outdoor Adventure Learning Community. This community organizes trips such as hiking, backpacking or kayaking. There are also several hundred acres of natural lands on campus that have posted Leave No Trace policies, which are used as outdoor classrooms.
Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
The institution offers a sustainability-themed first-year orientation experience. Before the start of the school year, incoming freshman are invited to participate in the Jumpstart Program. One of the programs is the GREEN Tour that takes students on a bio-regional bus tour around Cayuga Lake with a GREEN Tour Sustainability Guide. The students also partake in activities that foster a better sense of the regional community and environment, like visiting the S.H.A.R.E. farm, run by the Haudenosaunee native tribe and the Ithaca Farmers Market.
https://www.ithaca.edu/jumpstart-program/green-tour
The Office of Energy Management & Sustainability (OEMS) also began incorporating monthly sustainability themes throughout the year. Each month, all communications from OEMS and the IC Eco Reps center around education within the theme. OEMS staff give monthly lectures on challenges and opportunities within the themes, as well as provide informational posters in every campus restroom.
Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
The Eco Reps and OEMS hold Student Leadership Institute (SLI) workshops on how to choose an apartment based on energy efficiency and best practices to reduce energy consumption in on- and off-campus housing.
https://www.ithaca.edu/office-student-engagement/leadership-development/student-leadership-institute
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
Eco Reps work to create a more sustainable living and learning experience on campus. The group seeks to promote awareness of environmental concerns, educate the College community about how we can safeguard the earth's life-support system, implements new programs that encourage responsible resource management, social justice action and advocacy, and connects the campus to the surrounding community through service projects. The program employs 10 students each semester, as well as offer one or two paid or for-credit internships.
Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
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.