| Overall Rating | Bronze |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 38.77 |
| Liaison | Brandon Hoover |
| Submission Date | Feb. 22, 2021 |
Messiah University
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Lori
Chance Sustainability Program Coordinator Sustainability Office |
Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
Earthkeepers: A club that promotes sustainable practices on-campus and abroad. Aiming to protect and improve the environment not only for our benefit but to honor God and the creation He has charged us with. Outdoors Club: The purpose of this organization is to provide opportunities for the outdoor lover in the college community to enjoy fellowship with others, to develop stronger outdoor skills, and to engage in community service for our environment. The Club's leadership works to integrate these three aspects with the appreciation of God's Creation through outdoor activities.
Spoke N True: Spoke N’True Bike Shop provides both repair services and learning opportunities for students and faculty, creating awareness for cycling and cycling safety on campus.They work as an extension of Harrisburg’s Recycle Bicycle, another non-profit service organization.
Restoration House: Focuses on the environment by developing a strong sense of place by learning about and understanding the environment in which we live. Stimulates activities that involve the immediate community of Messiah College, the community of Grantham, and the world; raise awareness of global injustices and make intelligent decisions when consuming products and ideas in order to avoid adding to the problem. They additionally acknowledge the importance of environmentalism as an aspect of spiritual wholeness and live accordingly.
WEBSITE: https://www.messiah.edu/info/23216/clubs_and_organizations
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:
Messiah's Campus gardens are lead and run by work study students through the Office of Sustainability. There is one Garden Coordinator each year that serves in this position from February through January. There are 2-3 summer student garden workers that work from April through August.
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:
Messiah's Campus gardens are lead and run by work study students through the Office of Sustainability. There is one garden coordinator each year that serves in this position from February through January. There are 2-3 summer student garden workers that work from April through August.
Messiah also has a student lead bike share/bike shop that is centered around encouraging biking on and off campus. Students run a bike share program, lending bikes for a small fee to students as well as a bike shop where members of the campus community can bring their bikes for repair.
Garden: https://www.messiah.edu/sustainability/
Spoke N' True Bike shop: https://www.messiah.edu/homepage/1601/special_interest_clubs_and_organizations
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:
Messiah University's Sustainability Committee administers a Sustainable Development Fund that allows all students, faculty and staff the opportunity to write a grant for funds to support an on campus sustainability initiative.
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:
Messiah offered a four part series entitled "Climate Conversations; Faith, Science and Politics". The speakers involved in this series were Kyle Meyaard-Schaap, Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, Dr. Richard Alley, Professor of Geoscience at Penn State University and Dr. Eban Goodstein, Director of the Bard Center for Environmental Policy and Bard MBA in Sustainability.
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:
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:
Messiah University's Loft program provides outdoor programs including high and low ropes courses, canoeing, kayaking, caving and other outings. The Loft exists through a partnership that was begun in 1991 between Messiah University and the CCO (Coalition for Christian Outreach). The director of the program teaches his team to teach others to leave no trace. The University also has an Outdoor club, run by students who provide opportunities for the outdoor lover in the University community to enjoy fellowship with others and to provide for community service for our environment. The club's leadership works to integrate these two aspects with the appreciation of God's Creation through outdoor activities.
The Loft: https://www.messiah.edu/info/20887/the_loft
Outdoors club: https://www.messiah.edu/homepage/1601/special_interest_clubs_and_organizations
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:
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:
Messiah University has two houses on campus that provide a livable area to practice sustainability principals. The "Restoration Houses" have one house for female students and one for male students who are interested in living a sustainable lifestyle.
Website: https://www.messiah.edu/info/21479/housing_options_and_rates/2307/special_interest_houses
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
The Office of Sustainability offers quite a few positions for employment through our work study program. These positions include: Engagement Coordinator, Waste Coordinator, Compost Workers, Energy Coordinator, Biodiversity Coordinator, Grantham Community Garden Coordinator, and Communications Coordinator. The Engagement Coordinator works to bring speakers and events focused on sustainability to campus (such as the annual Sustain-A-Fest, chapel series, Service Day, and campus sustainability tours) and communicates and partners with student-led sustainability groups on campus. The Waste Coordinator helps reduce food waste within dining establishments, helps coordinate move-out efforts to create less waste, and gives out compost buckets to students. The Compost Workers pick up pre- and post-consumer food waste from the dining establishments on campus and bring them to the compost piles at the edge of campus. The Energy Coordinator records energy use on campus as well as sends out mock energy reports to get students to reduce their energy usage. The Biodiversity Coordinator helps ensure that the campus biodiversity stays intact and coordinates the efforts for the campus to remain a member of Tree Campus USA, as well as overseeing the campus rain gardens and pollinator meadow. The Grantham Community Garden Coordinator oversees the planting, harvesting, and management of the garden. The Communication Coordinator handles all of the Office's social media and advertisement of events.
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:
the University hosts five programs that have themes related around sustainability. They include the Earthkeepers, The Outdoors Club, Spoke N' True as described above as well as the International Justice Mission (IJM), Education Association of Messiah University (EAMU), Student Nutrition Awareness Club and the LOFT.The International Justice Mission is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators, and aftercare professionals work with local governments to ensure victim rescue, to prosecute perpetrators and to strengthen the community and civic factors that promote functioning public justice systems. IJM's justice professionals work in their communities in 12 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America to secure tangible and sustainable protection of national laws through local court systems. At Messiah, IJM has a student-run program that allows individuals to promote awareness of international justice issues among the student body, including some instances of environmental injustice. SNAC seeks to enhance nutritional awareness on campus and foster relationships among Messiah University students and in the local community through various activities, educational events, and community service. Education Association of Messiah University (EAMU) offers future educators workshops to learn alongside each other outside the classroom to be the most dynamic teachers Jesus has called us to be. The Education Association of Messiah University works diligently to prepare professional development workshops, panel discussions, and some other fun events to foster a community of growth and learning. The Loft serves Messiah University by providing opportunities for leadership development and team building through adventure programming.
https://www.messiah.edu/info/20887/the_loft; https://www.messiah.edu/homepage/1601/special_interest_clubs_and_organizations
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.