| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 48.97 |
| Liaison | Rachael Rost-Allen |
| Submission Date | July 28, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Johnson County Community College
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Kristy
Wittman Howell Sustainability Education and Engagement Coordinator Center for Sustainability |
Does the institution have one or more active student groups focused on sustainability?:
A brief description of active student groups focused on sustainability:
Student Sustainability Committee: The student advisory committee to the Center for Sustainability provides the Center with the student voice for sustainability on campus and allocates the Sustainability Initiatives Fund (SIF) toward operations-related, engagement-related or educational projects. Student members hold all voting rights; faculty and staff serve in advisory roles only. The group is responsible for establishing the SIF and of all of the projects made possible since. That full list is here: http://www.jccc.edu/sustainability/get-involved/student-sustainability-committee.html
Student Environmental Alliance: A student organization housed in the Center for Student Involvement. This special interest and activity group promote sustainability awareness on campus through activities and advocacy. The group operates completely out of student interest with a staff advisor.
The website URL where information about the student groups is available (optional):
Does the institution have gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects 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:
The 2+ acre Open Petal Farm provides a learning lab for the College's Sustainable Agriculture Certificate Program. However, any student on campus can enroll in the seasonal Practicum class and learn about sustainable farming practices such as: crop rotation, seed starting and saving, cover-cropping, market farming, integrated pest management, soil health and more. General "farm workdays" are also offered for the campus and community at large to come and learn about planting or harvesting a variety of seasonal produce.
The website URL where information about the gardens, farms or agriculture projects is available (optional):
Does the institution have student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes (e.g. cafés through which students gain sustainable business skills)?:
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
JCCC's coffee bars and dining areas compost coffee grounds and all pre-consumer food waste. Dining Services employs the largest number of student workers on campus, and the unit's management and employees work closely with the Center for Sustainability to produce useful orientation and training documents about campus composting processes.
The website URL where information about the student-run enterprises is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives 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 website URL where information about the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives is available (optional):
Does the institution have conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability:
Annual engagement events include: Earth Days - a week of spring campus sustainability events or workshops; Harvest Days - a week of fall campus sustainability events or workshops; Epicenter - an annual student conference focused on leadership and green careers open to both college and high school students; as well as other events throughout the year.
The website URL where information about the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability is available (optional):
Does the institution have cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability:
In addition to numerous performing arts events related to sustainability, ranging from DJ Spooky's presentation of Arctic Rhythms to the It Gets Better tour's weeklong residency on campus, we work closely with our internationally-recognized performing arts series to select events that fuel conversations about sustainability.
Student sculpture installations across campus feature recycled materials from our waste stream as repurposed into large-scale public art installations. Artist's statements at each sculpture explain both materials selection and the pieces' broader connections to sustainability.
Our academic theatre department mounts one zero-waste production per year. Set construction, props, and costuming are all repurposed from closed productions and other areas of campus, and production staff know from the outset that they are not allowed to generate waste as they bring the student production to the stage.
The website URL where information about the cultural arts events, installations or performances is available (optional):
Does the institution have wilderness or outdoors programs (e.g. that organize hiking, backpacking, kayaking, or other outings for students) that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors programs is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences (e.g. choosing a sustainability-related book for common reading)?:
A brief description of the sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
JCCC's BookTalk series in Spring 2017 focused on the benefits of a liberal education and featured several speakers and author presentations related to sustainability:
Lee Pelton - Emerson - spoke on Emerson's sustainability commitments with faculty and staff.
Jay Antle, JCCC Center for Sustainability - presented on Terry Tempest Williams' "The Hour of Land" about the value of our national parks system.
Kristy Howell, JCCC Center for Sustainability - presented on Philip Connors' "Fire Season," about forest fires, public lands preservation, and the value of seeking solitude.
The website URL where information about the sustainability-related themes is available (optional):
Does the institution have programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
Starting in 2016, Student Life organized panel discussions for lunchtime AMAs (Ask Me Anything). Three topics since that first semester included representatives from the Center for Sustainability: campus jobs, campus sustainability, and social equity and justice. 5-6 AMA panels of varying topics are held each semester, and at least two panels each semester include sustainability staff.
The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills programs is available (optional):
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
Since 2012, the Center for Sustainability has hired over 30 interns, who have worked nearly 12,000 paid hours in hundreds of roles across campus. Student interns work to process specialty recycling, increase community understanding of recycling and composting procedures through special events, and support work across our community that has raised over $135,000 for student scholarships while increasing diversion from landfill to 51 percent since 2010.
The website URL where information about the student employment opportunities is available:
Does the institution have graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
A brief description of the graduation pledges:
The website URL where information about the graduation pledges is available (optional):
Does the institution have other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives?:
A brief description of the other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:
The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available (optional):
Estimated percentage of students (full-time and part-time) that participate annually in sustainability-focused co-curricular education and outreach programs (0-100):
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Inclusion of common read related to incarceration / social justice themes for FA 2017 will be added in 2020.
Inclusion of common read related to incarceration / social justice themes for FA 2017 will be added in 2020.
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.