Overall Rating	Bronze - expired
Overall Score	33.32
Liaison	Laurie Kman
Submission Date	March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

Lewis University
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	3.00 / 3.00	John Lerczak Director of Sustainability Facilities

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1st Partnership

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :

Will County Regional Sustainability Network

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :

Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:

Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership?:

Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? :

Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:

The Will County Regional Sustainability Network was launched in October 2018 to link and leverage resources in the region. It was specifically created to support and come together to find solutions to sustainability issues in our region. We have been working hard to connect folks from all parts of the county based on a multitude of different agendas. Currently, we formulated a board of directors in which is comprised of higher education, grass root organizations, private sector, public sector and citizens of our region.

2nd Partnership

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):

SMHEC

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):

Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):

Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):

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Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):

Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):

Lewis University has been a part of SMHEC for many years now. It has been a way to connect higher education institutions in the southwest suburbs in regarding to sustainability initiatives that can be collaboratively addressed. There has a multitude of projects that have occurred through SMHEC. Ranging from collaboratively purchasing utilities, developing RFPs, student summits and link and leverage events bringing the communities together.

3rd Partnership

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):

Will County Climate Justice

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):

Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):

Short-term project or event

Which of the following best describes the partnership? (3rd partnership):

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Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):

Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):

This group was formed to provide support to sustainability initiatives that are occurring county-wide. Lewis provides support through material development and space.

Optional Fields

A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:

There has been many informal community partnerships to advance sustainability such as connecting with our local communities throughout our bi-annual share fests, trash clean ups, food/clothing donations, developing community gardens and through being proactive in providing assistance.

Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:

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Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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