Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 69.05
Liaison Katherine Spector
Submission Date March 3, 2023

STARS v2.2

State University of New York at Oswego
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Scott Furlong
Provost Vice President of Academic Affairs
Office of the Provost
"---" 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?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement:
SUNY Oswego has a number of projects in which it is using its areas/infrastructure for learning about sustainability.
The Rice Creek Field Station which is located a little over a mile from the main campus is used extensively by students and faculty, particularly for our Biology & Zoology programs, but also Geology, Sustainability Studies, and others.

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:
The Rice Creek Field Station noted earlier is open to the general public for recreational and learning opportunities. This includes a variety of exhibits, summer campus, and walking trails noting a variety of sustainability topics.

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:
Between September 2022 and March 2023, SUNY Oswego Meteorology Faculty along with 22 students, will study extreme lake-effect phenomena. Faculty in the Meteorology department lead a more than $1 million project, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), titled "Lake-Effect Electrification (LEE) and the Impacts of Wind Turbines on Electrification East of Lake Ontario"

This project will make the first-ever measurements of the electrical structure of lake-effect snow clouds and infer how lightning within them is related to precipitation processes in the clouds. There is a pretty big problem across the country with wind turbines getting hit by lightning so it makes sense from a societal aspect to study these lightning events. Damage to wind turbines can impact the energy grid and the costs of generation, and the Tug Hill region and its wind farms provide a natural laboratory to study this phenomenon.

https://www.oswego.edu/news/story/lake-effect-lightning-study-support-robust-student-experiences-open-house-set-nov-5

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:
See Rice Creek comments earlier.

Student interns in the Office of Sustainability have teamed up with student interns in the Major Projects office to create a virtual tour of the campus which highlights the sustainability features of the buildings and grounds (current and ongoing project).

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:
SUNY Oswego has labs for classes and research on renewable energy through our program in Electrical and Computer Engineering and also Physics. In addition, our Technology Mgt program also has labs and equipment for the study and installation of renewable energy.

One technology course offered provides students with the ability to develop studies using campus technologies and how they could be better utilized through green infrastructure.

TEL 355: Energy and Power Technology:

"A laboratory study of energy as a sustainable resource for technological systems found in a global society. The impacts of current and future energy consumption on the environment, climate, and geo-political relations of society will be stressed. A heavy emphasis will be placed on the new and emerging technological advances of energy and its applications from a global perspective. Instructional activities will center upon research, analysis, experimentation, and the design and fabrication of scale models and mockups to authentically demonstrate the generation, application, and conservation of energy."

http://catalog.oswego.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=48&poid=6209&_ga=2.226622558.2131669171.1668003756-187277292.1668003756

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:
SUNY Oswego has been operating a composting program within all of our residential and retail dining locations, where all locations compost any non-donatable leftover items as well as all scrap materials used for course preparation. Student interns and workers interact with each part of the compost's journey from the dining location to our partner transfer station where materials break down into usable soil for garden amendments.

Student workers in dining locations get to see first-hand how diverting food waste from their individual waste stream benefits not only their work but the overall waste diversion of our campus. Student interns within the Office of Sustainability were instrumental in launching the compost program and were able to interact with dining and transfer station staff and learn the cycle of our food waste.

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:
Using permaculture principles and techniques, the on-campus Permaculture Living Lab (PLL) mimics natural systems to create a thoughtfully designed landscape which maximizes beneficial interactions among plant, insect and animal species. This lab functions a lot like a forest, and in fact, permaculture techniques are often used to create "edible forest landscapes."

Students, faculty, staff and community members are collaborating to create a natural, productive learning space. The laboratory acts as a dynamic landscape for all visitors to observe, interact with and influence ecological processes. Upon maturity, the garden will provide community members with an abundance of nutrient-rich, organic food.

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:
Former student interns in the Office of Sustianability presented a proposal for internal carbon pricing to accelerate our institutional goal of reaching carbon-neutrality by 2050. Through the implementation of this program, campus-wide understanding and appreciation for sustainable practices will be recognized.

Transportation 

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

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Transportation:
Student teams in Computer Science 380 (Spring 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters) have worked on creating a carpooling application for use by the campus community with the goal of reducing scope 3 emissions related to transportation.

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:
In every residence hall on campus there are designated Waste Rooms that are staffed by trained Recycling Technicians that are knowledgeable about the campus waste stream; how to properly disposes of waste items, toxic items, and materials to be donated; and, act as resources for sustainability practices on campus (specifically residence hall procedures). The Office of Sustainability trains all incoming Recycle Technicians on all matters of waste they will come across in halls.

Uniquely, SUNY Oswego shares a boundary with Lake Ontario, creating a connection to waterways for our campus community. In cultivating this connection, the Office of Sustainability and now more athletic teams and Greek organizations host "litter clean-ups" around our campus to appreciate the landscape and encourage students to "carry in, carry out" to limit the amount of litter we see on our campus.

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:
Our Biology, Chemistry, and Geology programs take full advantage of our location on the shores of Lake Ontario. The Environmental Research Center, for example, specializes in the analysis of emerging and legacy contaminants in a variety of environmental matrices, and has two environmental chemistry laboratories equipped with research-grade analytical instrumentation for sample preparation and the measurement of organic contaminants in the environment. Past studies conducted in the lab include the analysis of native Alaskan foods and The Great Lakes Fish Monitoring Program - Lake Ontario Air Deposition Study (LOADS).

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:
Five students serve on the Strategic Planning Advisory Board. This board works to articulate the college's strategic plan which includes these priorities:
Student Success
Academic and Creative Excellence
Inclusive Community
Sustainable Institution
Partnerships

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
A recent addition to SUNY Oswego is the James A. Triandiflou Institute for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Transformative Practice.

The Triandiflou Institute engages the community in investigating issues, skills, and concepts such as social justice, equality and equity, civil discourse, cultural humility, implicit bias, micro/macroaggressions, conflict de-escalation, intergroup dialogue facilitation, inclusive pedagogy, inclusive curricula, nonviolent communication, and restorative justice. These transformative activities guide individuals, our campus, and the community in our understanding of the world now and as we build the future.

https://ww1.oswego.edu/diversity/

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:
Applied student learning happens in a living laboratory for Investment and Finance students in both curricular and extra-curricular activities. In FIN 340, Financial Statement Analysis, student teams forecast financial statements for seven renewable energy companies and do a live debate about the companies’ equity valuations as an end-of-semester assessment. In FIN 447, Seminar in Commercial Lending, students in a case study argue whether to approve or deny a loan to a firm that services the natural gas hydrofracturing industry, mentored by guest speakers from the banking industry and taking into account recent controversy about lending to the fossil fuel industry. Finally, in an extra-curricular activity, students in the Investment Club compared the fossil fuel industry outlook with the renewable energy industry outlook. They sold their $5,000 fossil fuel holdings and invested the proceeds in renewable energy stocks out of their total portfolio of about $450,000.

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:
SUNY Oswego has implemented multiple programs that offer students an opportunity to work with faculty to plan, implement and evaluate health and wellbeing for students, faculty and staff. Specifically, the Department of Health Promotion and Wellness offers a program called Be Well NOW. This program utilizes student health coaches who conduct weekly group coaching sessions in our wellness lab and classrooms in order to assist undergraduate students with making positive behavior changes while at Oswego and beyond. The program focus on implementing positive changes in social, emotional, physical and intellectual wellbeing. The program runs every semester.

Oswego offers a worksite wellness program called Discover Wellness which also utilizes student research assistants to assist faculty with planning, implementing and evaluating worksite wellness programs for faculty and staff. Both of these programs offer various internship opportunities for students who plan to be health and wellness educators in the future.

The department also offers a peer educator course (HSC 250). In this course, students work with the campus health educator to promote healthy behaviors across campus. After successfully completing the course, the students become certified peer educators.

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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