| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 78.69 |
| Liaison | Lindsey Kalkbrenner |
| Submission Date | Feb. 14, 2023 |
Santa Clara University
IN-39: Sustainability Office Diversity Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.50 / 0.50 |
Lindsey
Kalkbrenner Director Center for Sustainability |
Does the sustainability office have initiatives specifically designed to recruit sustainability employees from underrepresented groups?:
A brief description of the initiatives specifically designed to recruit sustainability employees from underrepresented groups:
In the summer of 2022, Santa Clara University and Silicon Valley Power, the City of Santa Clara’s municipal electric utility, announced a new five-year Silicon Valley Power (SVP) Sustainable Futures Program to enhance college access through scholarships and support project-based learning for undergraduate students pursuing studies and careers in sustainability fields. As part of this program, SCU’s Center for Sustainability will award three annual SVP Sustainable Futures Fellowships of $5,000 each to support undergraduate students pursuing project-based learning and applied research experiences. Preference will be given to students from underrepresented socioeconomic backgrounds who intend to pursue careers in sustainability or clean energy, and who show strong leadership potential and commitment to climate goals such as UN Sustainable Development Goals.
In the fall of 2022, the Center for Sustainability and LEAD Scholars program partnered to fund three student sustainability coordinator positions for first-generation college students (students whose parents did not graduate from a 4-year college or university).
Does the sustainability office ensure that sustainability employees complete DEI training?:
A brief description of the DEI trainings for sustainability employees:
The Center for Sustainability is a designated Safe Zone. All sustainability staff and student employees have completed Safe Space training.
The Safe Space program enhances Santa Clara's educational commitment to its students, faculty, and staff by improving the environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ+) members of our community. The LGBTQ+ Safe Space program gives the Santa Clara University community opportunity to deepen knowledge about LGBTQ and gender issues, student identity development, and religion and sexuality, with the goals of providing a supportive environment for LGBTQ+ members of the campus community; creating visible safe spaces across the campus for LGBTQ+ members of the campus community; and creating and developing more Allies.
Does the sustainability office regularly collaborate on events, projects, or initiatives with the institution’s DEI office/program and/or organizations that support underrepresented groups on campus?:
A brief description of events, projects, or initiatives during the previous year developed in collaboration with the DEI office/program and/or organizations that support underrepresented groups on campus:
The Center for Sustainability regularly collaborates with offices within the Inclusive Excellence Division and student organizations within the Multicultural Center.
In the past year, we’ve partnered with:
• LEAD Scholars Program on Bronco Surplus, a donation-based, pop-up shop at the beginning of the school year for all first-generation students to find reusable goods.
• The Rainbow Resource Center, SCCAP’s Queers & Allies on Gays In the Garden, an LGBTQ+ community-sponsored Nourish Night.
• Undocumented Students & Allies Association on a community-sponsored Nourish Night.
Does the sustainability office or committee include at least one individual with formal DEI and/or environmental or social justice responsibilities?:
Documentation of the formal DEI and/or environmental or social justice responsibilities:
SCU’s Center for Sustainability is committed to building a humane, just, and sustainable world rooted in equity. As a Center, our racial justice goals are to:
1) Tackle racial justice head-on. Work individually and as a team to examine our impact on current systems of inequity, including a better understanding of our implicit biases.
2) Embed racial justice work in our everyday actions as a center. We will organize inclusive and intersectional events and programs to ensure our center represents diverse voices, experts, and opportunities to engage.
3) Use our platform to create a safe space for discussions of sustainability problems and solutions to amplify BIPOC voices.
4) Increase opportunities for BIPOC students to gain professional experience in building a more humane, just, and sustainable world.
All Center for Sustainability employees have "Participate in ongoing strategic planning to drive forward SCU’s sustainability and justice goals" as part of their job descriptions.
As part of SCU’s year-long strategic planning process to develop a Sustainability Action Plan, the Sustainability Campus Engagement working group is charged with evaluating Campus Engagement (campus stakeholders' engagement around sustainability issues through effective outreach and communications, informal campus learning experiences, along with staff networking and training activities); Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (diversity, equity, and inclusion among students and employees); and Wellbeing & Work (sustainability incorporated into human resources programs and policies).
Website URL where information about the initiatives to advance DEI within the sustainability program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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