Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 73.94
Liaison Caitlin Steele
Submission Date July 21, 2023

STARS v2.2

San Francisco State University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 caitlin Steele
Dr of Sust & Energy
Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Campus Engagement

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement:
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Public Engagement 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Public Engagement?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Public Engagement:
Professor Autumn Thoyre teaches ENVS 680, an Environmental Studies Internship Fieldwork course which requires an internship consisting of both “hands-on” field experience and academic reflection. The “hands-on” portion of one unit consists of 80 hours of work (paid or unpaid), which can be done with a public, non-profit, or private organization or business. Most recently, students have worked for the U.S. EPA, Florence Fang Community Farm in San Francisco, and a nonprofit organizations's plastics initiative, among others.

Air & Climate 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Air & Climate?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Air & Climate:
Professor of Geography and Environment Barbara Holzman created a general education course that introduces concepts of environmental science to undergraduate students. Using the campus as the primary lab site, students will investigate campus biodiversity, air quality, waste streams and other environmental concerns.

Buildings  

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Buildings?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Buildings:
ENGR 865 "Energy Efficient Buildings"
Buildings on campus can be used as realistic examples for energy simulation and the results can be compared with actual energy use of the buildings

ENGR 895 "Applied Research Project", ENGR 898 "Research" and ENGR 898 "Master's Thesis". In these courses we select specific campus's energy related issues where the students do research about and develop their culmination project or thesis on.

Energy 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Energy?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Energy:
ENGR 867 "Energy Auditing and Measurement and Verification"
Various campus buildings can be audited by teams of students under supervision of their faculty and develop energy assessment reports for the buildings. We went through this process for Thornton Hall. The systems in buildings can be used as objects for energy measurement in class projects.

Food & Dining 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Food & Dining?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Food & Dining:
Professor and Chef Tim Shaw leads HTM 301 Food Science and Production. In the course Professor Shaw and his students run an on campus restaurant, the Vista Room, that focuses on local, sustainable, vegetarian and vegan food preparation. The Vista Room is a fully functional restaurant and teaching and learning laboratory that provides safe and realistic food-service work experience for students.

The campus also has a vegetable garden and fruit orchard that is used to educate students about urban agricultural practices. The student run Environmental Resource Center hosts events teaching students how to grow their own food.

Grounds 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Grounds?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Grounds:
Student Samantha Wells created a set of educational videos on Bioswale Maintenance and Rain Garden conversion in BIOL 700 (Research Skills in Conservation Biology). The videos instruct on how to clean and monitor campus bioswales, as well as what distinguishes them from rain gardens and how to identify opportunities to convert them to rain gardens and why rain gardens are a more effective method of filtering storm run-off. The student created a bioswale maintenance training for grounds staff.

Purchasing 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Purchasing?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Purchasing:
SFSU Apparel and Design students worked with Goodwill through a grant from the SF Dept of the Environment on redesigning donated clothes to Goodwill. The students redesigned the clothes and altered them themselves. The clothes were then sold at the Goodwill stores in SF.
ADM 261
https://news.sfsu.edu/news-story/sf-state-students-give-fresh-look-unwanted-clothing-through-repair-and-redesign

Transportation 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Transportation?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Transportation:
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Waste 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Waste?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Waste:
The course Geography of Garbage (GEOG 666) explores a geographical analysis of waste and alternative solutions focusing on the San Francisco Bay Area, including development and implementation of resource management programs. Professor Blecha conducts a campus tour of the various waste sites on campus and encourages students to conduct their final project on campus-wide waste solutions.

Water 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Water?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Water:
The General Microbiology Laboratory (BIOL402GW) is a course with both a lecture and a lab or activity section. In both, the students explore laboratory techniques in the isolation, cultivation, and identification of microbes, especially bacteria in water. Microbial properties including nutrition, gene transfer, enzyme induction, and viral replication in wastewater. On campus wastewater is used as part of a semester long experiment.

Coordination & Planning 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning:
RPT 300 Leadership in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism
Leadership theory, self-assessment, intrapersonal and interpersonal communication, and group dynamics in recreation, parks, and tourism settings. Develop leadership competencies in cultural sensitivity, planning, safety/risk management, and problem-solving through experiential learning, influence of power and ethics on decision-making.

Diversity & Affordability 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
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Investment & Finance 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance:
SF State's Fossil Fuel Divestment campaign started as a class related research project. Students used their research to start a conversation with the University Foundation board. The major outcome of this interaction was a commitment to divestment of the University's endowment from coal and tar sands. Now students invest a portion of SFSU's money into ESG funds through the Finance 651 class.

ENVS 651/ FIN 651
https://webapps.sfsu.edu/public/classservices/classsearch/detail/2233/REG/8379
FIN 651 [01] - Student Managed Fund in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Investments
Class number: 8379 | Units: 3

Description
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher. Introduction to the fundamental concepts and principles of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investments and their application to firm valuation and portfolio selection. Discussion of the topics of financial markets, financial statement analysis, time value of money, asset valuation, risk and return, and portfolio selection within the context of ESG. Survey of critical skills in implementing the ESG principles in investments with a blend of discussions, readings, cases, and presentations. (This course is offered as FIN 651, ECON 651, and ENVS 651. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Wellbeing & Work 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
Professor Aiko Yoshino leads a course called Facilitating Wellness Through Leisure (RPT 350). The course works to explain the physical, emotional, and social wellness benefits associated with leisure participation, particularly in the context of an anti-racism approach. Part of the course involves observing and analyzing professional wellness facilitation, including interviews with staff and tours of the on-campus Mashouf Wellness Center.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s living laboratory program 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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