Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.65
Liaison Melissa Cadwell
Submission Date June 15, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Syracuse University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Rachel May
Retired -Coordinator of Sustainability Education
Sustainability Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Air & Climate 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Air & Climate?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Air & Climate:
The Climate Change Garden is located on the grounds surrounding the Life Sciences Complex. It is a fully replicated long-term climate change experiment that includes 33 common tree and shrub species of US forests, as well as several species from Europe and Asia that may become more common in the US in the future. Some trees represent dominant species of local forests (e.g., sugar maple); others are found in regions warmer, colder, wetter, or drier than Central New York. The Arboretum will provide the unique opportunity for students to explore how the growth and vitality of trees that occur in different climate zones respond to climatic variation and global warming. There are several lab projects underway and the Syracuse Center of Excellence for Environment and Energy research that are looking at indoor air quality, particularly those of Suresh Santana and Jensen Zhang (http://syracusecoe.syr.edu/researchers/)

Buildings  

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Buildings?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Buildings:
In 2015 a team of engineering and management students in the Syracuse Industrial Assessment Center studied energy performance in a campus building and identified a problem with steam traps that led to changes in maintenance and management, saving energy and money in the process: http://sustainability.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/MaxwellStudents.pdf

Energy 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Energy?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Energy:
The Energy and its Impacts major features a multidisciplinary capstone project each year. One, for example, involved designing an "Energy Dashboard" for SU dorms along with the social media that would get students to pay attention to saving energy in their room.

Food & Dining 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Food & Dining?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Food & Dining:
We offered an interdisciplinary intensive student workshop on food justice, food waste, and the local food system in 2012. https://falk.syr.edu/food-action-workshop-begins-nov-13/

Grounds 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Grounds?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Grounds:
The Climate Change Garden (see Air and Climate above) falls in to this category. We also held an intensive student workshop on campus biodiversity and art (http://sustainability.syr.edu/biodiversity-and-art-2/).

Purchasing 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Purchasing?:
No

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Purchasing:
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Transportation 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Transportation?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Transportation:
A 2014 intensive workshop engaged students in resilience and urban sustainability, including bicycle transportation: http://sustainability.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/CampusAsLab2.pdf

Waste 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Waste?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Waste:
Students have performed waste audits as part of assessing campus recycling effectiveness. Here is a 2015 student project: http://sustainability.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Enactus-Students-and-Sustainability-Division-Conduct-Recycling-Audit.pdf and a 2013 multidisciplinary workshop: http://sustainability.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/New-1-credit-workshops-1.pdf

Water 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Water?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Water:
A rain capture project on the Carrier Dome roof engaged students in a range of applied research projects on siting, design, and communications (http://sustainability.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Dome-Rain-Water-System.pdf).

Coordination & Planning 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Coordination & Planning?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Coordination & Planning:
Students engaged with the Fast Forward Syracuse campaign to provide input on the campus master plan related to sustainability: http://sustainability.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Students-present-ideas-for-Campus-Master-Plan-120514.pdf

Diversity & Affordability 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Diversity & Affordability?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
Our Community Development Law Clinic (CDLC) is one of the oldest community development law clinics in the country. Founded in 1988, it provides representation for not-for-profit organizations and businesses involved in improving low-income communities.

Investment & Finance 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Investment & Finance?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Investment & Finance:
Student organizing, in collaboration with faculty and careful negotiation with the administration led to adoption of a divestment policy from fossil fuel investments in 2015: http://sustainability.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/University-Formalizes-Commitment-to-Prohibit-Direct-Investment-in-Coal-Fossil-Fuels.pdf

Public Engagement 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Public Engagement?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Public Engagement:
Syracuse Community Geography works in partnership with community-based organizations and university affiliates to map and spatially analyze topics of concern to Central New York communities. https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/geography/community-geography/

Wellbeing & Work 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Wellbeing & Work?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
Healthy Monday Syracuse is a major initiative of the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.  The Lerner Center works in partnership with citizens, students, researchers and public health professionals to develop Healthy Monday programming on campus and in the community to make meaningful change in the health of Onondaga County residents

Other Impact Areas 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to other areas (e.g. arts & culture or technology)?:
Yes

A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to other areas:
Several intensive workshops from 2012-2015 engaged students in art and sustainability, including a climate zine project, a puppetry project about the local watershed, and poster-making project on climate awareness.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://sustainability.syr.edu/cals/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion: http://lernercenter.syr.edu Syracuse Community Geography: https://www.facebook.com/communitygeography/ Syracuse Center of Excellence: http://syracusecoe.syr.edu/the-impact-of-green-buildings-on-cognitive-function/ Sustainability news archive: http://sustainability.syr.edu/news-events/news-archive/

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