| Overall Rating | Bronze |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 38.87 |
| Liaison | Sam Edwards |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2025 |
Quinnipiac University
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.75 / 2.00 |
Student groups
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
Students for Environmental Action: A student organization dedicated to environmental sustainability and environmental justice on campus and in the community.
Gardens and farms
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
Student-run enterprises
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
Sustainable investment and finance
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
Students from several different departments at Quinnipiac University collaborated to submit an application to the Pepsi Fund (Sustainability Fund run by an interdepartmental committee) to establish a student-run investment fund. The students create an operational framework for how the fund would work and a general strategy on what would be invested in. The Pepsi Fund approved the plan, but because of issues beyond the control of the committee (an issue moving funds from one institutional account to another), the group of students had to seek another avenue to fund the brokerage account. Therefore, QUSIC stepped in to help organize the effort with the student group by bringing in the help of the Development Office and professors at the business school (in which a student-run brokerage account already exists - without the intention of implementing ESG methodology). The Development Office began a campaign to fund the Sustainable Investment Fund. In the meantime, QUSIC is working with the business school and students to continue developing plans for once the investment fund is operational.
Events
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
Students for Environmental Action (SEA), in collaboration with QUSIC, academic departments, and Student Life, regularly develop speaker series for students to learn more about sustainability and environmental topics. This past Earth Day (April 2024), SEA hosted a speaker series highlighting topics like eco-fiction, the contribution of plants to environmental moderation, ecological restoration and community resilience, and managing eco-anxiety.
Cultural arts
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
Students for Environmental Action, in collaboration with academic offices and QUSIC, hosted an annual large Earth Day event on the campus quad with various booths. Booths included student organizations, academic offices, QUSIC, and outside vendors. Each table included activities like sustainable crafts; trivia focused on sustainability and other sustainability-related activities. The event also provided students the opportunity to shop at a farmer's market with fresh local produce. Lastly, the Earth Day event includes an eco-fashion show, showcasing outfits made from recycled (and up-cycled) materials the week leading up to Earth Day.
Wilderness and outdoors programs
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
QU Outdoors (an office within Recreation and Wellness at QU) offers outdoor trips throughout the academic year for students to attend. These include hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, skiing/snowboarding, whitewater rafting, and wilderness first aid and CPR training. According to staff within the office, Leave No Trace is value underpinning the programs offered by the office. The programming is offered to students on a free or reduced-cost basis as well.
Sustainability-focused themes
A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
Quinnipiac's new residential facility (The Grove) opened in the fall of 2024. This facility houses 300 first year students, who are divided into four cohorts that explore a theme through the fall semester, and engage in implementing projects on campus during the spring semester. One of those themes in the 2024-25 academic year is Environment/Sustainability. The six projects being pursued include: a proposal for hydroponic project in a greenhouse planned as new construction, the construction of garden beds on campus, the planting of trees on campus as part of an arbor day celebration, a social media campaign focused on sustainability, a proposal to ban single-use plastics on campus, and a campus-wide cleanup day.
Sustainable life skills
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
Student employment opportunities
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
Sustainability internships, one sustainability fellowship, and volunteer positions on the QU Sustainability Committee. These students help enact sustainability initiatives developed by the committee, including collecting data for STARS certification.
Graduation pledge
A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
Optional Fields
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.