Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 75.28
Liaison Chris Frantsvog
Submission Date Feb. 25, 2022

STARS v2.2

Luther College
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Chris Frantsvog
Sustainability Coordinator
Center for Sustainable Communities
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Enhancing Community Flood Resilience in the Upper Iowa River Watershed

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:

Faculty and students from Luther College are partnering with the Iowa Flood Center and the Upper Iowa Watershed Management Authority on a project to evaluate and enhance community flood resilience in the Upper Iowa River Watershed. Luther is a partner in this multi-year, ongoing project where the Iowa Flood Center provides technical and financial support (through a federal grant from Housing and Urban Development) for the work of the Upper Iowa Watershed Management Authority - a board of elected city and county representatives tasked with mitigating flood risks in the watershed. The team from Luther has received funding from the Iowa Flood Center to conduct a community flood resilience assessment and to design community outreach and interventions to enhance flood resilience.

The Luther College team conducted over 20 in-depth interviews with flood affected residents in the small community of Freeport, which meets criteria for low-to-moderate income and is considered "socially vulnerable" to flooding. In addition, the team distributed a watershed wide mail survey of 2250 residents, receiving nearly 600 responses to a questionnaire on the economic, environmental, and social impact of flooding in the region (three pillars of sustainability). Luther has worked with residents of Freeport on community-based flood preparedness and response.

Luther College has supported this partnership through providing staff time and expertise, and financially through purchasing educational materials and hosting community gatherings.


Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative

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):
Sustainability-related

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):

Luther College is a core partner of the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative, a regional partnership to enhance community resilience in six counties, funded by the WK Kellogg Foundation. The Northeast Iowa Food & Fitness Initiative has brought people in northeast Iowa together to make our region a place where every day, all people have access to healthy, locally grown foods and abundant opportunities for physical activity in the places where we live, learn, work and play. We see NE Iowa as a unique place where all residents and guests experience celebrate and promote healthy locally grown food and engage in physical activity and play every day.

Luther College supports the initiative by providing office space, staff support, and financially, as the recipient and fiscal agent for the majority of the initiative's budget.

Luther’s work in this initiative has focused in three areas: 1) Farm to Early Childhood Education with a specific focus on under-represented groups through the Head Start and Early Head Start programs. 2) Enhancing the local food system; 3) Sustainability and wellness education in K-12 schools. Through this initiative we take a systems approach to creating community change with the goal of enhancing the resilience of individuals, institutions, and communities throughout our region.

Underrepresented groups have participated in regional leadership groups, school wellness committees and regional food system strategic planning.


Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
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Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
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Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
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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):
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A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
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A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:
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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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