| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 57.55 |
| Liaison | Michelle Larkins |
| Submission Date | Dec. 20, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Pacific University
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Michelle
Larkins Director of the CSS Center for a Sustainable Society |
Does the institution have one or more active student groups focused on sustainability?:
A brief description of active student groups focused on sustainability:
SEA Students for Environmental Awareness - To increase environmental awareness on campus by providing educational opportunities and taking stands on campus and world wide issues.
B-Street Club - We aim to educate people about sustainable living, permaculture, and organic farming. https://www.pacificu.edu/about/campuses-locations/campus-services-amenities/b-street-farm
Animal Ethics Club - aims to educate students about the environmental benefits of a vegetarian and vegan diet, promote these diets, and work with the other clubs on projects that protect animals and the environment
The website URL where information about the student groups is available (optional):
Does the institution have gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects 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:
B-Street Farm for Applied Sustainability - The B-Street project site is located on a Metro-owned property less than a mile from the Pacific University campus in Forest Grove, near the intersection of Gales Creek and B-Street. The B-Street Sustainability Project is an emerging grassroots organization and demonstration site whose mission is to provide inspiration and information about environmentally sensitive, sustainable living practices for Pacific University students, city residents, local schools and other Forest Grove community members. Site projects engage participants in community building, research, and demonstration for the purpose of providing the impetus for sustainable practices in the Forest Grove community in accordance with permaculture principles and ethics.
The website URL where information about the gardens, farms or agriculture projects is available (optional):
Does the institution have student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes (e.g. cafés through which students gain sustainable business skills)?:
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
The website URL where information about the student-run enterprises is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives 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:
A 10, 000 investment fund, which is articulated as an impact fund focuses on returns through investing in socially responsible companies, while still receiving competitive returns.
The website URL where information about the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives is available (optional):
Does the institution have conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability:
In honor of Earth Week 2018, Pacific University hosted a forum about activism from the Portland Harbor Community Coalition. Also For Earth Week, we had Wisdom of the Elders do a screen showing and discussion about their documentary on Native people and how changes in the environment are impacting them.
In the beginning of the academic year we had animal ethics scholar Jenny Brown on campus discussing the environmental harm and how unsustainable the meat industry is.
The website URL where information about the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability is available (optional):
Does the institution have cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability:
Every year during Earth Week sustainability related art installations are erected around campus. An art class this year was focused on using recycled products. A few senior capstone projects also focused on reusing items. One was built out of recycled material and the other modeled what it would look like if we used old planes as houses.
The website URL where information about the cultural arts events, installations or performances is available (optional):
Does the institution have wilderness or outdoors programs (e.g. that organize hiking, backpacking, kayaking, or other outings for students) that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
Voyages - "A Pacific University Voyage is a pre-Orientation program designed to help you create lasting friendships and facilitate personal growth before your classes even begin. The trips are four to five days in length and provide students with the opportunity to meet their classmates and professors in a new experience, build personal skills, challenge their limits and experience adventure. Following the Voyage program there are 8 short, 1-credit weekly seminars helping you build on your experience in the outdoors. Both freshmen and transfer students are invited to this experience!"
In the 2018-2019 Academic Year, there will be one voyage trip with a sustainability theme, educating incoming students on how they can be sustainable in their lives on and off campus.
The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors programs is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences (e.g. choosing a sustainability-related book for common reading)?:
A brief description of the sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
On some years, the Annual Common Student Reading for freshmen is a sustainability related book. There are also common events centered around a sustainability theme.
We also hosted our first Sustainability Voyage (first year experience) in AY 17/18
The website URL where information about the sustainability-related themes is available (optional):
Does the institution have programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills programs is available (optional):
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
The Center for a Sustainable Society employs 11 students currently to work on a wide variety of sustainability projects. B-Street Farm also employs students. Other centers on campus would like to have a liaison that focuses on how they can run more sustainable.
The website URL where information about the student employment opportunities is available:
Does the institution have graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
A brief description of the graduation pledges:
The website URL where information about the graduation pledges is available (optional):
Does the institution have other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives?:
A brief description of the other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:
The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available (optional):
Estimated percentage of students (full-time and part-time) that participate annually in sustainability-focused co-curricular education and outreach programs (0-100):
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.