Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 69.15
Liaison Mary Ellen Mallia
Submission Date Feb. 27, 2023

STARS v2.2

University at Albany
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Mary Ellen Mallia
Director of Environmental Sustainability
Finance and Business
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Student groups 

Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Yes

Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
UAlbany Students for Sustainability - The purpose of this group is to serve the campus and community by initiating, coordinating and maintaining student driven sustainability projects on a campus and local level. The organization focuses on educating the community about sustainability and its meaning, it organizes student projects related to sustainability, holds fundraisers to engage specific projects, and tends to work in concert with other organizations on campus.

Gardens and farms 

Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
Heritage Garden - The garden demonstrates the ecological, social, and economic benefits of increasing biodiversity and incorporating native species in urban landscapes,
promotes local and organic food production by producing food in a sustainable manner, without the use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms
provides the campus community with an engaged learning community to apply classroom knowledge within a living laboratory, promotes discussions on access to local and healthy food choices within the region, the presence of food deserts in our community, and the health impacts of food choices and encourages civic involvement and social interaction as means of establishing strong, resilient communities.

Student-run enterprises 

Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
No

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
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Sustainable investment and finance 

Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
UASBIG is a student-run investment fund whose activities are sponsored by the Center for Institution Investment Management. Students manage a portion of the University at Albany Foundation Endowment Fund. Approximately 30 students serve as security analysts. After careful analysis, students pitch the stocks to the UASBIG advisory board during weekly conference calls. Officers prepare regular performance reports and make annual presentations to the Foundation Board. https://www.albany.edu/uasbig Their last published report in 2020 shows their incorporation of renewable energy and energy storage companies.

Events 

Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
The University served as the host site and organizer of the NYS version of Solve Climate 2030/Power Dialog. Given COVID, both of these events were held virtually. In 2022, this program was converted to a world wide teach-in and the statewide events were discontinued.

Cultural arts 

Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
Each year, the Masters in Fine Arts students exhibit their work as part of their capstone class. Arika Prevost work focused on using reclaimed and recycled materials. https://www.albany.edu/sites/default/files/2021-04/UAM_MFA2021_Brochure_0330.pdf In 2021, Juliana Haliti focused on challenging an unethical capitalist system with a focus on an animal based products.https://www.albany.edu/sites/default/files/2022-04/UAM_MFA2022_Brochure.pdf

Wilderness and outdoors programs 

Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
Yes

A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
UAlbany Outdoors -A student-run group that strongly encourages getting off campus and out of Albany and into the outdoors. Activities include hiking, backpacking, camping, snowshoeing, sledding/tubing. This group allows students to understand the importance of outdoors , and that they can enjoy the aesthetic and recreational benefits of the wilderness. The group follows the Leave No Trace guidelines. See: https://myinvolvement.org/organization/UAlbanyOutdoors

Sustainability-focused themes 

Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
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Sustainable life skills 

Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
The university conducts a weatherization program where students learn energy conservation, renewable energy options and weatherization techniques. The students then go into area homes to perform these services.
Residential Life requires that RA's do a group program on sustainability. This results in several programs that focus on various life skills such as energy conservation, waste reduction and DIY cleaners and beauty products.

Student employment opportunities 

Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
The Office of Sustainability offers numerous employment opportunities for students. There are a dozen Student Assistant positions open per semester. The job responsibilities include implementing events, conducting student focused outreach, maintaining the composting office program, managing the social media outlets and analyzing data. The Office of Sustainability also employs two graduate assistants. Some intern positions are paid while others offer credit through the Community and Public Service Program. Additionally, the Department of Communications and Information Science both host internship positions related to Communications and Website Design and Maintenance.

Graduation pledge

Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
No

A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
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Optional Fields

A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
UASBIG_2020_Annual_Report.pdf

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.