| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 70.33 |
| Liaison | Enid Cardinal |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2022 |
Rochester Institute of Technology
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Neha
Sood Assistant Director for Campus Sustainability RIT Sustainability |
Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
Website URL: https://www.rit.edu/sustainablecampus/student-groups
American Institute of Architecture Students
The Architecture Club is a venture from the RIT Masters in Architecture students in an effort to engage the school community in events related to current architecture and sustainability topics.
Bee Keepers Club
To leave a lasting and positive impact on the environment of the RIT Campus through education and service, focusing on the local honey bee population.
Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW)
The mission of RIT's chapter of ESW is to involve the students in hands-on experience and projects that will ultimately improve sustainability worldwide.
Electric Vehicle Team
The RIT Electric Vehicle Team is a highly talented group of engineers and hobbyists interested in working on the next generation of cutting-edge electric vehicles.
Global Union
The Global Union is a Major Student Organization (MSO) that represents the International students and numerous cultural organizations at RIT. By hosting several events and programs throughout the year, the RIT Global Union hopes to better connect with its constituency in addition to informing and serving the RIT and greater Rochester community.
Model United Nations
The RIT Model United Nations club is devoted to teaching individuals the ways of the United Nations through simulations, discussions, and conferences. They discuss international issues and the different means of which to resolve the issues in weekly meetings.
Net Impact RIT
Net Impact RIT, rooted in Saunders College of Business, shapes the leaders of tomorrow by enabling students at RIT to engage in sustainable business practices and to get involved in some of the world’s most pressing environmental and social issues.
Recover Rochester
Rec Roc is a student organization dedicated to recovering leftover food that would otherwise be thrown away and transporting it to homeless shelters and food kitchens in the Rochester Community.
RIT Habitat for Humanity
The RIT Habitat for Humanity Club strives to expose its members to a variety of building opportunities. RIT Habitat for Humanity participates in hands on experience with nationally recognized affiliates to help achieve the Habitat for Humanity international mission of eliminating substandard housing problems, in partnership with local affiliates, families.
RIT Global Health Association
The RIT Global Health Association will increase awareness of the health challenges faced by people throughout our interconnected planet and challenge its members to generate innovative solutions that will benefit our global society.
SAE Clean Snowmobile Team
The Clean Snowmobile Challenge (CSC) is an engineering design competition for college and university student members that challenges engineering students to re-engineer an existing snowmobile reducing emissions and noise. Their modified snowmobiles will compete in a variety of events including emissions, noise, fuel economy/endurance, acceleration, handling, static display, cold start and design.
Student Environmental Action League (SEAL)
SEAL is a group of students at RIT who seek to promote awareness of environmental issues on campus and volunteer in the Rochester community.
Student Government Sustainability Committee
One of Student Government’s largest committees, the Sustainability committee helps look at ways to increase sustainable actions on RIT’s campus.
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?:
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
A group of RIT employees and students established and maintain a community garden on the campus grounds, south of the Tennis Courts. The garden is supported in part by the Better Me Program. All faculty, staff, students, alumni or retirees of RIT are welcome to join. The harvest of the community garden is shared by its members and the excess is donated to FoodLink and used by Campus Dining Services. https://www.rit.edu/affiliate/communitygarden/
The students from the Golisano Institute for Sustainability (GIS)have also established a community garden, right outside of the GIS building. This garden is student-run.
A third garden has been established outside of the RIT FoodShare Center. This garden is managed by Residence Life Staff and makes fresh herbs available to students for free through the FoodShare Center.
RIT community members can also participate in the Good Food Collective's CSA, which offers weekly pick ups from campus. https://www.rit.edu/sustainablecampus/food
Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
Goodbye, Goodbuy! is a move out collection program and move in sale that is managed by students. Every year, RIT students throw out hundreds of tons of goods during move-out week. A large percentage of these goods are perfectly usable — furniture, appliances, school supplies, clothing, and many more items that students are unable to store for the summer or transport back home. The following fall, incoming students go out and purchase these exact same items. This pattern repeats itself year after year, with the amount sent to the landfill constantly increasing.
The funds generated during the move in sale fund student positions to manage to the program and students determine how any extra surplus from the sale is spent (to support additional student initiated projects on campus).
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?:
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
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?:
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
2019 State of New York Sustainability Conference: https://www.rit.edu/sustainablecampus/nys-sustainability-conference
RIT hosted the 2019 State of New York Sustainability Conference which attracted over 200 attendees from across the state. We welcomed faculty, staff, students, and sustainability professionals in various fields for a three-day conference. This was the first time that we had a dedicated day for a student-focused session which included workshops and presentations hosted by students and for students.
There are a number of speaker and film series held on campus related to sustainability and targeting students. Additionally there are sustainability related workshops and other events put on by various departments and student groups throughout the year. Every spring RIT hosts a Climate Change series that includes a featured speaker and films. https://www.rit.edu/sustainablecampus/featured-events
The Golisano Institute for Sustainability's Graduate seminar is a weekly speaker series that is open to the RIT community. Speakers come from academia, industry, government and non governmental organizations.
Gray Matter is a monthly discussion series at RIT designed to promote critical exploration of provocative topics related to higher education and the RIT campus community. Previous discussion topics have addressed gender, diversity, sustainability and religion to name a few. https://www.rit.edu/node/1414379
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?:
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival is a campus-wide event that showcases the innovative and creative spirit of RIT students, faculty and staff. Visitors experience the breadth and depth of RIT through interactive presentations, hands-on demonstrations, exhibitions, and research projects set up throughout campus. While the exhibits differ every year, sustainability is always a central focus. https://www.rit.edu/imagine/
Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
Leave No Trace principles are a large part of all Outdoor Education programming. These principles are provided to the students at the on-set of a class or program and then followed throughout. The Outdoor Education programs include indoor rock climbing, outdoor rock climbing, bouldering, ice climbing, hiking-Adirondack peaks, backpacking, back-country basics, orienteering, snowshoeing, canoeing, kayaking - intro, kayaking - whitewater level II, cross-country skiing, bike maintenance, and more.
https://www.rit.edu/~w-criw/outdoor-education.php
https://www.rit.edu/~w-criw/outdoor-activities.php
Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
Student Wellness is a cluster of programs and services focused on supporting student success by enhancing the overall health and wellness of RIT’s student body. The dimensions of wellness addressed are emotional, physical, social, career/academic, spiritual, financial, and environmental. Programming has included cooking on a budget using local foods, upcycling items for your dorm room, and bike repair to name a few.
https://www.rit.edu/studentlife/wellness
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
The RIT Sustainability Office hires students to run the campus recycling program, Zero Waste Arena initiative, and Goodbye Goodbuy move out collection and move in sale. Student staff also maintain the office communication and programming efforts.
Sustainability Ambassadors are student workers who focus on implementing peer-to-peer educational programs focused on sustainability and the UN global goals.
The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I), located on the RIT campus, hires RIT students to help with research projects and day to day activities.
There are many opportunities for teaching assistants and research assistants that are sustainability-focused. GIS and KGCOE are two schools which offer the assistant opportunities.
http://www.rit.edu/emcs/seo/?/students/oncampus/ac
Lastly there are a number of centers and labs throughout the campus that have sustainability foci and hire student co-ops and research assistants.
Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
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.