Mills College
EN-9: Community Partnerships

Creek/Watershed, pollution prevention:

Mills College hosts the daylight of Leona Creek, flowing through the center of campus. Mills community members work to enhance the health of the ecosystem along the campus creek through environmental planning, restoration work, water quality testing, and educational programming. Realizing the importance of the greater watershed, of which this creek is part, Mills College partners with the City of Oakland, the East Bay Regional Parks, the Oakland Unified School District, and the Oakland Cesar Chavez Park community group to provide hands-on stewardship and educational opportunities. Mills College has partnered with the University of the Pacific to obtain the USC Sea grant to research the campus lake and creek. Specifically, they will study whether urban reservoirs act as sinks of contaminants, improving water quality before being discharged into the urban ocean.

Waste:
Mills College partners with a variety of organizations to manage the materials that circulate through the campus. Mills College participated in the StopWaste Business Partnership to implement a comprehensive recycling program, significantly increasing the diversion rate of the college. Recology has been an ongoing partner in implementing and strengthening the compost program. Civicorps Recycles and Mills College are partners in handling the recyclable materials. Mills College partners with Door to Door Storage, Good Will Industries, Urban Ore, and many other local non-profit organizations in the End of the Year Reusables Drive. Recently, Mills College has partnered with the Center for Environmental Health in order to ensure electronics used on campus, as well as their disposal, reflect the sustainability and social justice missions of the college.

Food:
Mills College has a partnership with Bon Appetit Management Corporation, the college’s food service provider, which is a leader in providing food services for a sustainable future. This partnership includes hosting TEDxFruitvale in 2011, which addressed farmworkers rights and labor movements. It also includes tours of local farms, farmers markets, cooking classes, and overall food engagement. Mills College has partnered with local food justice organizations throughout 2014 and 2015 to create a Urban Farm at Mills College 5-year development plan, including a prominent group called Planting Justice. Mills College annually partners with the Alameda County Food Bank in a food drive. Most residents on campus attend and support a local farmers market, through programming implemented by Residence Advisors with the Office of Residential Life. In 2012, the Mills Athletic Department created a partnership with Farms to Grow LLC, a local non-profit focused on underserved farmers. During a day of service, Mills athletes and Farms to Grow LLC worked on enhancing school gardens at two local elementary schools. This partnership has been re-established, leading to an educational event called Decolonizing Your Diet, put on by the student group, the Black Women's Collective in February 2015.

Mills College has worked to develop strong ties with local merchants through projects such as the MacArthur Corridor Project, which documented local businesses and merchants photographically, culminating in an exhibition of work that can be seen currently on the second floor corridors of Mills Hall. By working together, local merchants and the Mills community are able to address community concerns, share information and resources.

Mills College hosts monthly District 6 Merchants’ meetings through providing space, refreshments, and all necessary equipment for workshops and presentations. Merchants' meetings are open to participation by all Mills community members. Discussion items include public relations, marketing, advertising, community projects, city council meetings, new business, safety and security. Updates are provided periodically by the councilperson for District 6. Local business owners have had the opportunity to obtain free financial and marketing advice through presentations from professors in the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business. A meeting also hosted a workshop providing free legal advice for local small businesses.

The LAMMPS Project, (Laurel Access to Mills, Maxwell Park and Seminary), is a comprehensive plan for street improvements along MacArthur Boulevard, from High Street to Seminary made possible through a Caltrans Transportation Planning Grant award of $257,000 and generous matching funding of $60,000 from Council Member, Jean Quan. The planning process, which resulted in a published study in 2010, employed a series of interactive workshops to engage the surrounding residential community in the decision making process. This comprehensive plan includes guidelines for the following street improvements:
-- Street safety through redirecting traffic off of 580, updating AC Transit bus stops
-- Beautification of Caltrans and City properties with new landscaping/irrigation, a newly conceived pocket park below the 580 freeway
-- Updated access to the Laurel Shopping District via new pedestrian and bike lanes for Mills and Maxwell Park

Mills College was involved in the LAMMPS grant submission, team selection, and throughout the design process including hosting four community workshops on campus. We remain a strong supporter of improvements in our neighborhood and contiue to make positive and lasting connections with districts 4 and 6 to create a safe and beautiful environment for our students and our residential neighbors.

Consulting Team participants:
-- Kimley-Horn and Associates - Linda Debolt and Paul Krupka, traffic & civil engineering and transportation planning
-- Robert Sabbatini - streetscape design, landscape design and outreach facilitation
-- Envirocom Communications Strategies - Surlene Grant, public and community outreach, meeting and design facilitation
-- PLS Survey, Inc. - topographical and right-of-way surveys
Iris Starr, Senior Transportation Planner for the City of Oakland, and Project Manager Mills College Team:
President DeCoudreaux
Renee Jadushlever
Linda Zitzner
Karen Fiene
Brian Harrington

In November 2012, several faculty members from the Mills College Economics Department signed an advocacy letter to support and enhance the effectiveness of California cap and trade policies.

Student thesis projects in environmental studies and public policy result in recommendations to government agencies to improve sustainable practices.

In Spring 2014 a grant was written to the Metropolitan Transportation Board and to the state identifying the crucial neighborhood infrastructure needs of improved areas via multi-use path and traffic reconfigurations, lighting, way finding signage, pavement improvements, landscaping and lighting. The project was presented as one that benefits not only the neighbors and communities around Mills, but also the city in general. Of the nine City of Oakland projects submitted, only two were funded. The LAMMPS Projects was a successful recipient of $4.066 million funding from the state. Preliminary planning is beginning in the City of Oakland to refine the budgets and get the project started. Neighborhood groups and the City Council member for the district are still involved and a Request for Proposals has been posted to select the appropriate consulting team to carry out the design of the project. Mills will continue to offer staff support.