State University of New York at Brockport
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Brockport participates in the Campus Race to Zero Waste tournament in 2023 and 2024. This competition runs for 8 weeks in February and March and looks at the lowest waste generated per student for the 10-week period of the tournament. Brockport promotes RecycleMania in a variety of ways to help raise awareness about the importance of recycling. Each residence hall competes to see which hall consistently recycled the most by each room placing their blue bin in the hallway on the designated day. Recycling related events such as tabling are hosted to encourage students to reduce waste. Waste audits are done and the results are posted on monitors throughout the campus to educate students about what they can do to reduce landfill waste.

We raised awareness and increased recycling over the semester.

The Campus Race to Zero Waste campaign is posted on our webpage
https://www2.brockport.edu/about/sustainability/campus-race-to-zero-waste/

Information about waste audit is posted on our website - https://www2.brockport.edu/about/sustainability/waste-audit/

2023 Campus Race to Zero Waste Case Study Competition
SUNY Brockport
Contact info: Matthew Kotula; Scholarship, Research & Sponsored Programs; SUNY Brockport;
mkotula@brockport.edu; 585-395-2472
Focus of Case study: SUNY Brockport’s annual undergraduate research conference “Scholars Day” 2023, which
focused on the theme of Sustainability.
Detailed description of campaign or effort:
For 39 years SUNY Brockport has held an annual undergraduate academic conference called “Scholars Day” to
showcase student research, creative projects, and academic excellence. Often the event is organized around a
theme. The theme for the 2023 Scholars Day was sustainability. Students and faculty were encouraged to submit
projects and presentations that incorporated sustainability in some way. The keynote speaker of the event, SUNY
Brockport Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Marcie Desrochers, gave a presentation entitled: “
focusing on her research into sustainability, with an emphasis on reusable drink containers. As part of her
keynote, we held a luncheon for which the planning committee took steps to decrease waste and single use
plastics that are typically used for campus-catered meals.
Planning steps & timeline to implement:
• Spring 2022 – Date and time set for Scholars Day 2023
• Summer 2022 – Committee Formed
• Fall 2022
o September: Theme of sustainability chosen
o October: Online conference portal reactivated
o November: Call for proposals
o December: Submission period opens
• Spring 2023
o January: Event planning meetings
o February: Consultation with catering services, parking, facilities, and planning.
o March: Abstract submissions due
o April: Implementation
Resources and stakeholders involved:
• Total expenditures for the event were approximately $14,000. Funding was provided by allocation of local budgeted funs, funds allocated by the office of the Provost, and funds allocated by the faculty senate.
• This does not include approximately $500 contributed by Brockport Student Government for the purchase of prizes and shirts to commemorate the event.
• Departments or Groups who Supported the event:
o Office of Scholarship, Research & Sponsored Programs
 Director, Coordinator, Administrative Assistant, Graduate Assistant
o Office of the Provost and Vice Provost
o Facilities
 ~20 staff
o Parking
 1 staff
o Brockport Auxiliary Services Corporation (catering)
 Event planner, 3-5 service staff
o Brockport Special Events Recreation Center
 Director, plus ~10 student workers
o Office of University Events
 2 staff
o Information Technology
 2 Staff
o Brockport Student Government
 2 representatives
o Graduate Student Association
o Brockport Honors College
 Director, Administrative Assistant
o Office of University Communications
 Web manager, Assistant Vice President for Communications, Photographer, Graphic
Designer, Digital Content Specialist
o Department of Environmental Science
 Chair and administrative assistant
o Delta College
 Administrative Assistant
o C-Step and McNair
 Director
o Mail Services
 Principal Mail and Supply Clerk
o Printing Services
 Manager

Describe the Results of this campaign component:
• General results:
• Attracted attention of campus president and vice president, both of whom attended the keynote and luncheon and gave prepared remarks
• Raised awareness of sustainability efforts on campus through use of informative signage, keynote content.
• Reduced consumption of single use plastics by opting for buffet style luncheon as opposed to the traditional single serving chips and wrapped sandwiches, as well as making silverware available only upon request. Increased visibility of recycling and composting operations on campus through use of custom signage.
• Specific measurable impact:
• 145 students, faculty, staff, and community members attended the Sustainability Keynote address and luncheon.
• Total Presentations: 189
• Posters Presented: 86
• Formal Presentations: 103
• Student Presenters: 264
• Session Chairs: 42
• Faculty Advisors: 76
• Recorded Attendance (not comprehensive): 300
What would you do differently in the future?
• Encourage faculty to require students to submit abstracts and projects
• Plan earlier
• Do more marketing to increase awareness of the general event and the sustainability theme
• Find ways to encourage departmental participation in sustainability activities that could be displayed during the event.
What advice would you give to another college that wanted to do a similar effort?
• Scholars Day is not unlike events that take place on other campuses, where classes are canceled to provide space for students to share projects and presentations. The trick is landing on a theme that is broad enough to be relevant across disciplines, but specific enough to generate interest and content.
• Anyone coordinating an event like this needs significant investment from campus leadership, as it is a resource and personnel intensive undertaking