Overall Rating Reporter - expired
Overall Score
Liaison Ryan McEnany
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

Pace University
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete Reporter Ryan McEnany
Director Energy & Resiliency
Facilities & Capital Projects
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Student groups 

Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Yes

Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
There are multiple sustainability focused student groups on our Campuses.

Pace Sustainability Initiative:
PSI leads by implementing sustainability projects on campus. They installed water aerators that has saved the university millions of gallons of water consumption. They have also increased signage to ensure students and staff are properly recycling and most recently they redesigned an underutilized area of our urban campus to create a pocket park. In just a few short years PSI has become the second most popular club on campus.

Pace Produce Initiative - This club operates the student run garden, where the plant, maintain and harvest their produce.

Pace NATURE Club - serves as an outlet for those who have an interest, appreciation and concern for the natural environment and environmental issues.

GreenPace - is a university-wide sustainability group that incorporates students, faculty and staff to advance our university's sustainability.

https://www.pace.edu/dyson/centers/dyson-college-institute-sustainability-and-environment/pace-academy-for-applied-environmental-studies/green-pace

Gardens and farms 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
There are organic gardens on each of our 3 campuses. On our New York City Campus the Pace Produce Initiative (a student club) operates a small garden in downtown Manhattan, at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law students also operate an organic garden. On our Pleasantville Campus, as a part of the Dyson College Nature Center, the organic garden is an educational project where students, faculty and staff are able to conduct research, experiment and learn about various growing methods while experiencing the joy of nurturing and harvesting fresh vegetables. Being involved in the garden enables participants to appreciate the process of bringing produce from a farm to table while helping to reconnect with natural cycles.

https://www.pace.edu/dyson/centers/dyson-college-institute-sustainability-and-environment/pace-academy-for-applied-environmental-studies/green-pace/get-involved

Student-run enterprises 

Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
No

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
N/A

Sustainable investment and finance 

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?:
No

A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
N/A

Events 

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
THE PACE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION
Since 1989, student advocates from across the United States and Canada have participated in an annual National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. Widely recognized as the preeminent environmental moot in the country.

From February 20th - 22nd the annual Environmental Moot Court Competition was held at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law.

https://law.pace.edu/nelmcc

Annual Resilience Summit
Over the past 4 years Pace University has hosted a Sustainability Summit Event focused on a specific topic on Sustainability. This year the focus was on the future of meat.

https://www.pace.edu/dyson/news-and-events/fourth-summit-on-resilience

Lower Manhattan Coastal Resilience Open House

The NYC Economic Development Council hosted an open house at Pace University for community members to learn about how climate change will affect lower Manhattan and what New York City is currently doing to help combat storm surge and flooding.

NYC Water Challenge Meeting

Pace University hosted a NYC Department of Environmental Protection University Water Challenge meeting. The consortium is a group of Universities that have pledged to reduce water usage by 5% over a two year time frame. The meeting helps the universities strategize how to meet their goal.

Throughout the year there are many other sustainability speakers and events held on every campus.

Cultural arts 

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?:
No

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
N/A

Wilderness and outdoors programs 

Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
Yes

A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
The NATURE Club is an active club that spends time in the natural environment. The club organizes outings, including hikes.

Sustainability-focused themes 

Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
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Sustainable life skills 

Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
The Environmental Classroom building is an area where students can learn real sustainable life skills by peeking into the showcased mechanical room where our geothermal and solar hot water system are on display.

Student employment opportunities 

Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
GreenPace employs two student interns where their roles include recycling and reuse projects, composting and helping gather data for this ASHEE Stars submission.

Furthermore the Law School employs a Environmental Fellow who is involved with increasing sustainability on that campus.

Graduation pledge

Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
Yes

A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
Pace’s pledge is purely voluntary and all graduating students are invited to sign the pledge.

2009 was the inaugural year of the Graduation Pledge of Social and Environmental Responsibility at Pace University. Since then, thousands of graduating students from Pace University have signed the Graduation Pledge.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
An important part of Pace University's Strategic Plan is Promote Pace’s sustainability efforts and academic and co-curricular environmental programs as an important example of how Pace students integrate real-world challenges with their education. Thus, Pace holds a wide variety of events related to sustainability through many curricular and co-curricular venues, far too numerous to list here.

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.