Oklahoma State University
EN-9: Community Partnerships

OSU Parking & Transit has worked with the City of Stillwater to bring compressed natural gas public bus transportation to non-campus locations within the City, which has no other public transportation system. OSU’s Orange Ride bicycle rental and repair program is also available for any member of the community.

OSU has had an ongoing relationship with Sustainable Stillwater, a local, volunteer, community group for many years. ECO-OSU, a student organization, has partnered with Sustainable Stillwater to show film series on various sustainability topics, conduct litter clean-ups in the community, mark storm drains, arrange sustainability-themed tours, compost workshops and community gardening work days. Support is provided through Sustainability Office staff and advisory staff of the student organization.

Through OSU Cooperative Extension Service (OCES) Solid Waste Management (SWM) Programs, staff works directly with county extension offices, school districts, non-profit organizations and individuals in rural, under-served, communities on issues such as illegal dumping, burn barrels, resource recovery, composting, and littering. Emphasis is on protecting water quality and increasing the economic prosperity of small, economically-challenged towns by attracting businesses and employees that value quality of life benefits. OCES has received grant funding annually over the past three years from the USDA to conduct SWM outreach in communities identified in the grant proposal as having a low socio-economic status. Human health also improves as communities move toward waste management solutions that do not include utilizing burn barrels that produce dangerous emissions. At least one OSU FTE is dedicated to staffing the work of this multi-faceted partnership, which includes collaboration with faculty and staff from various OSU colleges and departments as well as student assistance.