Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 46.59
Liaison Bambi Ingram
Submission Date July 29, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Alabama at Birmingham
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Julie Price
Sustainability Coordinator
Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have one or more active student groups focused on sustainability?:
Yes

A brief description of active student groups focused on sustainability:

UAB has a student group for undergrad and grad students to pursue sustainability initiatives on the campus: Green Initiative.

We also have a club, Energy Efficiency and Sustainability, whose primary role is to support our 2017 Solar Decathlon competition but thereafter will pursue ways to do other DOE-related initiatives on the campus and in the community.


The website URL where information about the student groups is available (optional):
Does the institution have gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects 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:

The UAB Community Gardens serve all faculty, staff, and students on a first come, first-served basis. They are individual plots worked by the leasee. Several of the plots are affiliated with courses on campus, such as the School of Public Health's Food Security and Nutrition Course and the Universities Fighting World Hunger club.


The website URL where information about the gardens, farms or agriculture projects is available (optional):
Does the institution have student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes (e.g. cafés through which students gain sustainable business skills)?:
Yes

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:

UAB iLab is an entrepreneurial space run by student leaders to address community issues and drive economic development with strong sustainability elements.


The website URL where information about the student-run enterprises is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives 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:

The UAB Sustainability Investment Fund is an annual grant program for undergrad and grad students to submit ideas related to sustainability on campus. The application requires a budget for the project, and students are involved in the selected projects' execution. THe Board that selects the winners each year includes student representatives from the main governing bodies as well as at-large appointees.


The website URL where information about the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives is available (optional):
Does the institution have conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability:

UAB Earth Week includes a festival on the green, a household hazardous waste collection, and a seminar from UAB's endowed polar and marine biology professor who specializes in climate change publications.


The website URL where information about the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability is available (optional):
Does the institution have cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability:

UAB Sustainability annually holds a screening of the SELC's Southern Exposure film series, which are student-made films about topical sustainability issues in Alabama. The majority of attendees are students.


The website URL where information about the cultural arts events, installations or performances is available (optional):
Does the institution have wilderness or outdoors programs (e.g. that organize hiking, backpacking, kayaking, or other outings for students) that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
Yes

A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:

UAB Outdoor Pursuits, hosted through the UAB Rec Center's Adventure Rec program, leads outdoor excursions all over the United States. All trips are led by trained staff who administer Leave No Trace principles with participants.


The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors programs is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences (e.g. choosing a sustainability-related book for common reading)?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:

The University Honors Program did a required interdisciplinary course (9 credit hours) titled “Science, Technology, and Society” in Fall 2013. It featured a different lecturer each class:

David B. Allison, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, Quetelet Endowed Professor of Public Health, Associate Dean for Science, School of Public Health, UAB.
Rev. Sally Alloca, Executive Director, Promoting Empowerment and Enrichment Resources.
Suren Aslibekyan, M.Eng., Chief Engineer, Mars, Inc.
David Buys, Ph.D., Post-doc, Division of Preventive Medicine, Dept. of Medicine, UAB.
Renato P. Camata, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics, UAB.
Ashley Floyd, Director of National Fellowships and Scholarships, UAB.
Harriet W. Giles, Ph.D., Managing Director, Auburn University International Hunger Institute.
Tracy Hamilton, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, UAB.
James R. Hansen, Ph.D., Professor, Dept. of History, Auburn University.
Paula Gray Hunker, Ph.D.,World Food Programme Senior Policy Advisor, Auburn University.
Jason Kirby, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil, Constr., and Envir. Engineering, UAB.
Heather Lee, Program Coordinator, Sparkman Center for Global Health, UAB.
James McClintock, Ph.D., University Professor, Dept. of Biology, UAB.
John McMillan, Commissioner of Agriculture, State of Alabama.
James McMinn, M.D., Director, McMinn Clinic, Birmingham, Alabama.
Steve Merritt, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, UAB.
Andre Millard, Ph.D., Professor, Dept. of History, UAB.
Greg Mumford, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, UAB.
Jacqueline Nikles, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, UAB.
Rosie O' Beirne, Director of Digital Media and Learning, College of Arts and Sciences, UAB.
Sarah Parcak, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, UAB.
Scott L. Phillips, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Dept. of Music, UAB.
Brian Rice, University Honors Program student and Oxfam CHANGE Leader.
Talat Salama, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil, Constr., & Envir. Engineering, UAB.
Kristina Scott, Executive Director, Alabama Possible-Alabama Poverty Project.
Frank Stitt, Owner & Executive Chef, Highlands Bar & Grill, Bottega Restaurant, Chez Fon Fon
Kate Thornton, Ph.D., Director of Hunger & Sustainability Issues, Auburn University.
Tim Townes, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Dept. of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, UAB.
Paulette Van Matre, Executive Director, Magic City Harvest, Birmingham, Alabama.
Christopher Waldron, Ph.D., Asst. Professor, Dept. of Civil, Constr., & Envir. Engineering,
Gary Warner, Ph.D., Director of Research in Computer Forensics, Dept. of CIS, UAB.
Mary Whall, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Dept. of Philosophy, UAB


The website URL where information about the sustainability-related themes is available (optional):
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Does the institution have programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
No

A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
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The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills programs is available (optional):
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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 UAB Sustainability program offers annual internships (between 3 and 10) for undergrad and grad students to support various programs. Ex, biking infrstructure, solar decathlon, earth day planning, Tree Campus USA commitments, etc.


The website URL where information about the student employment opportunities is available:
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Does the institution have graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
No

A brief description of the graduation pledges:
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The website URL where information about the graduation pledges is available (optional):
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Does the institution have other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives?:
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A brief description of the other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:
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The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available (optional):
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Estimated percentage of students (full-time and part-time) that participate annually in sustainability-focused co-curricular education and outreach programs (0-100):
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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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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.