Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.15
Liaison Paul Scanlon
Submission Date Feb. 29, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Slippery Rock University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Paul Scanlon
Special Assistant to the President
President's Office/Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee, office, and/or officer that focuses on sustainability broadly and covers the entire institution?:
Yes

A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the committee(s), office(s), and/or officer(s) during the previous three years:

Paul Scanlon, Special Assistant to the President for Sustainability Planning & Operations, is the university's sustainability coordinator and co-chair of the President's Commission on Sustainability. He also heads up SRU's Office of Sustainability that employs one full-time student worker focused on sustainability outreach via social media. Mr. Scanlon is an architectural engineer with 35 years experience, a registered professional engineer and LEED Accredited Professional.

Activities and accomplishments achieved by, or coordinated through, the Office of Sustainability include:
- Development and distribution of a sustainability flyer that is incorporated into the FYRST manual for incoming freshman, as well as a similar flyer for new staff and faculty orientation;
- Development of educational materials, presentations and promotional activities that encourage incoming students to take the SRU Energy Action Pledge campaign as part of the Weekend of Welcome activities;
- Coordination of the annual Earth Week activities, usually featuring an educational environmental/sustainability-focused movie series, environmental cleanup volunteer opportunities, an "Earth Day Carnival on the Quad" educational games program, guest speakers, a community e-waste recycling program, etc. for a total of 20+ sustainability activities and events;
- Creation of a Campus Sustainable Features Map for use in admissions walking tours;
- Completion of regular STARS Report updates and annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories;
- Management of the SRU Sustainability website (www.sru.edu/sustainability) and SRU Sustainability Facebook page (www.facebook/SRUsustainability);
- Mentoring of student intern work teams of the Sustainable Enterprise Accelerator who work to help local businesses and organizations become more sustainable in their operations.


Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
Yes

The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:

Major sustainability initiatives and policies are coordinated by the Office of Sustainability and brought before the President's Commission on Sustainability, which is co-chaired by Paul Scanlon (PE and LEED AP) and Dr. John Golden (Business school faculty member and Director of the Sustainable Enterprise Accelerator).

The Commission then reviews/recommends appropriate initiatives (such as the SRU Energy Conservation Policy and the new (2016) Sustainability Certificate program).to the president.

The Vision Statement for the Office of Sustainability is "To do all within our power to protect the environment, improve social equity, and achieve sustainable economic benefits in order to leave this planet a better place for future generations."

The Sustainability Office's Mission Statement is "To expedite the achievement of SRU's sustainability goals by coordinating and leveraging our considerable community resources in an integrated manner."


Members of each committee, including affiliations and role (e.g. staff, student, or faculty):

Members of the President's Commission on Sustainability are as follows (an * indicates the individual also serves on the Energy Conservation Committee):

Dr. Julie Snow (Geog., Geo.& Environment faculty) *
Langdon Smith (Geog., Geo. & Environment faculty)
David Culp (School of Business faculty)
Scott Albert (Asst. VP., Facilities) *
Rita Abent (SRU Office of Communications)
Paul Scanlon (President's Office/Office of Sustainability)*
Christine Glenn (School of Business faculty)
Robert McCafferty (Local Business Owner)
Alexis Caccese (Student representative, Rock Productions)
Tabitha Giacalone (Student Government Association liaison
Erin Strain (Director, SRU Leadership Training)
Dr. J. Chmielewski (Dean, College of Health, Environment & Science)
Fran Bires, (Director, McKeever Environmental Learning Center)
Ted Kneupper (President, community nonprofit Sustainable Slippery Rock)


The website URL where information about the sustainability committee(s) is available:
Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent (FTE) employee?:
Yes

A brief description of each sustainability office:

The Sustainability Office is currently colocated in the Maintenance Center building with the Department of Facilities and Planning Offices (which includes the offices of the Director of Facilities & Planning and Facilities construction management and maintenance staff). Current plans call for the Sustainability Office to relocate to a repurposed space in a more visible/centrally located building pending completion of a new campus facilities master plan.


Full-time equivalent (FTE) of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
1.50

The website URL where information about the sustainability office(s) is available:
Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Yes

Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Paul W. Scanlon, Special Assistant to the President for Sustainability Planning and Operations

A brief description of each sustainability officer position:

Mr. Scanlon handles the day-to-day affairs of the Office of Sustainability and coordinates all sustainability initiatives on campus. He also co-chairs the President's Commission on Sustainability and serves on the university's Energy Conservation Commission, administers all Land Use Requests to use campus grounds, and assists the Facilities Department in energy conservation efforts such as the selection of an ESCO firm to implement a Guaranteed Energy Savings Agreement (in progress as of Feb. 2016). This position is also responsible for developing/coordinating sustainability outreach operations and P.R. articles, completing our annual greenhouse gas emissions inventory, and updating our ASSHE Stars reports.


The website URL where information about the sustainability officer(s) is available:
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.