Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 50.18
Liaison Josh Nease
Submission Date May 21, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Radford University
EN-11: Inter-Campus Collaboration

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Josh Nease
Sustainability Manager
Academic Programs
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Is the institution an active member of a national or international sustainability network?:
Yes

The name of the national or international sustainability network(s):

AASHE, Second Nature


Is the institution an active member of a regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network?:
Yes

The name of the regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network(s):

Virginia Association of Sustainability in Higher Education


Has the institution presented at a sustainability conference during the previous year? :
Yes

A list or brief description of the conference(s) and presentation(s):

Environment Virginia Symposium – Student Centered Sustainability – Josh Nease
In 2017, Josh Nease, RU Sustainability Manager presented on "Student-Centered Sustainability Projects" at Radford University. It included strategies for getting students involved in doing meaningful work to advance the institution's Climate Action Plan, including GIS students conducting a commuter survey for the Greenhouse Gas Inventory, Economics students completing a cost-benefit analysis for composting on campus, and Information Technology students developing an energy dashboard for observing campus energy usage.

AASHE Conference – Reducing Electricity Use in Campus Residence Halls - Dr. Allison Wisecup
Dr. Wisecup presented methods and associated results in her recent study, "Reducing Electricity Use in Campus Residence Halls". The quasi-experimental design exposed first-year students in four matched residence halls to three different interventions designed to encourage energy conservation, specifically electricity conservation. They employed active and passive programming and a combined approach. Multivariate analyses revealed significantly lower electricity consumption in all residence halls wherein interventions were introduced. While the results were consistent across years, the analyses suggest important differences in the relative efficacy of the interventions.


Has the institution submitted a case study during the previous year to a sustainability awards program that is inclusive of multiple campuses? :
No

A list or brief description of the awards program(s) and submission(s):
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Has the institution had staff, students or faculty serving on a board or committee of a sustainability network or conference during the previous three years? :
Yes

A list or brief description of the board or committee appointment(s):

AASHE Advisory Council – Josh Nease joined the Advisory Council in 2018 and is a member of the Education & Professional Development Committee. Josh also serves on the City of Radford Sustainability Working Group.


Does the institution have an ongoing mentoring relationship with another institution through which it assists the institution with its sustainability reporting and/or the development of its sustainability program?:
Yes

A brief description of the mentoring relationship and activities:

AASHE Mentorship program with Elon College

The Radford University Sustainability Manager served as one of the pilot mentors for the AASHE mentor/mentee program. The Mentee at Elon College decided early on that she was not yet prepared to take on the formal goals of the mentorship program, but the pair has met virtually each semester and spent time together at the AASHE Conference in San Antonio.


Has the institution had staff, faculty, or students serving as peer reviewers of another institution’s sustainability data (e.g. GHG emissions or course inventory) and/or STARS submission during the previous three years?:
No

A brief description of the peer review activities:
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Has the institution participated in other collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year, e.g. joint planning or resource sharing with other institutions? :
Yes

A brief description of other collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year:

- Several times over the last two years, Radford University sustainability staff, dining staff, and students have met with our colleagues at Virginia Tech to learn from and share resources around sustainability planning, STARS, and food recovery operations. Virginia Tech shared their STARS inventories with RU, and provided guidance on best practices.

- A team from RU traveled to the University of Virginia to meet with their sustainability staff for the day to learn about program structure and their renewable energy programs.
- A faculty-student team from RU's Sociology Department traveled to the Appalachian State University to tour their campus and learn about their recycling program as part of project aimed at improving recycling on the Radford University campus.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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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.