| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 55.33 |
| Liaison | Rachael Rost-Allen |
| Submission Date | Feb. 15, 2022 |
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 an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Name and a brief description of the 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 two faculty members sharing the advising role.
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:
The 3.1 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" and u-pick days are also offered for the campus and community at large to come and learn about planting or harvesting a variety of seasonal produce.
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:
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.
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:
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:
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.
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:
In addition to numerous performing arts events related to sustainability, including virtual programming during 2020 and 2021, 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.
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:
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:
JCCC's Great Books series and Common Read selections regularly feature works relevant to sustainability and adjacent topics.
The English department's Common Read texts include:
2021-2022 Range by David Epstein
2020-2021 Heartland by Sarah Smarsh
2019-2020 Voices from the Rust Belt edited by Anne Trubek
2018-2019 The Influencing Machine by Brooke Gladstone, Illustrated by Joshua Neufeld
2017-2018 Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
2016-2017 In Defense of a Liberal Education by Fareed Zakaria
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 Center for Sustainability offers and supports tabling and seminar-style events on recycling tips and tricks, eating more vegetable-rich meals on a budget, being an informed voter, and scores of other topics.
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 70 interns, who have worked nearly 50,000 paid hours in scores 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 nearly $300,000 for student scholarships while increasing diversion from landfill to 61 percent since 2010.
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.