| Overall Rating | Bronze |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 34.89 |
| Liaison | Claire Jackson |
| Submission Date | March 4, 2022 |
University of Alabama in Huntsville
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Sameera
White Sustainability Student Specialist F&O |
Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
There are a few student organizations focused on sustainability. These clubs rub a variety of activities for both students and staff.
1. UAH Green Club: a well-founded student organization that focuses on teaching and working on sustainable projects ex: Green House.
2. UAH Beekeeping club - a club focus on exploring the natural complexity of bees and help to support sustainable events.
3. Electronic Vehicle Club - a group of students with a passion for electric and hybrid electric vehicles and related technology
4. Student Vegan Association - This is a club that is a network of support to vegan students at UAH, as well as spread awareness of the health, environmental, and ethical benefits of a plant-based diet.
5. SOAR - SOAR provides UAH students numerous ways to serve the campus and the Huntsville community through service cadres and bi-weekly service events. They also organize Fall and Spring Break Service trips, providing interested students the opportunity to spend their breaks giving back to a community outside of Huntsville
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?:
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
Created in 2011, the Community Garden provides a forum for learning about the importance of consuming local and organic foods in a sustainable manner. It is a fun and practical application of environmentally friendly management many students have encountered in the Earth Systems Science program. The students participating are increasing the ecological literacy of the university and promoting environmentally responsible practices. Students, faculty and the community are all welcome to join in.
Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
The Beekeeping Club that hives are located on campus have an annual honey sell that they have collected form the hives. In this selling they display a poster that tells the importance of honey bees on our everyday lives. The buyer buys a sustainably product as well as becomes more informed about the importance of bees in our ecosystem.
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?:
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
The UAH Green Fund is a fund available to students with ideas for environmental projects that they would like to start on campus. Interested students must write a proposal and present project ideas to the UAH Sustainability Program.
https://www.uah.edu/sustainability/green-fund
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?:
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
There was a human rights film festival that was hosted by the Political Science Department that promoted Environmental and Social problems that are happening all over the US. It focused especially the impacts that are affecting Native Americans.
The Green Club holds annual semester documentary showing and has regular public speakers events through the year.
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?:
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
1. ALWCA - Show Your Work - Fall 2019 - WIL Gallery
Collaborative exhibition that featured women artists and their studio process. Local artist Susie Garrett was in this show. Her work is mixed media and she uses found objects, etc. Here is a link to her studio at Lowe Mill for more info about her work: https://lowemill.art/studio-directory/susie-garrett-studio-126/ Kimberley Brown was also featured in this show and some of her materials are reclaimed. Here are links for info on her work: https://lowemill.art/studio-directory/kimberly-brown-studio-1021/ and http://www.kimberleyabrown.com/about_me.html
2. ALWCA - Collaborative Pop-Up Show - Spring 2020 - Union Grove Gallery - Again, this show featured local artist Susie Garrett and Kim Brown. Here is the link to the ALWCA site if you would like to know more info about the organization and their exhibits: https://www.alwca.org/
3. Sun Young Kang - In Between Presence and Absence - Fall 2021 - WIL Gallery
This was an installation type exhibit where the paper vessels created by the artist are made by her and she uses existing/found paper in the process of creating her own paper pulp and found bottles, dishes, etc. as the molds for the vessels. This series for her started with “Our relationship to the materiality of culture." Her theme is mostly about space, the filling of it and the emptiness of it, the relationships between. Here is a link to her website for more info: https://www.sunyoungkang.com/
4. Vitus Shell - Better Days - Fall 2019 - WIL Gallery
The work in this show were pieces from his Slimcrowism series. Vitus's artwork is geared toward the black experience. The goal is to provide agency to the people from this community through powerful images, deconstructing, sampling, remixing identity, civil rights, and contemporary black culture. This could be applied toward the social injustices category. Here is a link to his site for more info on the artist and his work: http://theshellofvitus.com/
5. Sarah Joy Dunlap - BFA Exit Show - In Light of Current Events - Fall 2021 - Union Grove Gallery
This show may be applied toward social injustices. Sarah Joy Dunlap’s BFA exit show titled “In light of Current Events'' features a body of work inspired by her experiences during protests for racial justice. Her work ranges from portraits memorializing people killed by police, to the cardboard posters and signs she created for demonstrations, to photos documenting the protests. Dunlap’s exhibit brings attention to injustice and shows her personal journey to fight these injustices. Hre is a link to her virtual tour that is still active:
https://sites.google.com/uah.edu/sarahjoydunlapbfaexitshow/home
6. Patty Horton - BFA Exit Show - Fall 2019 - Library Gallery
This show featured documentary photos of her work as a volunteer. Her show's goal was to convey the stories of people who have stepped up and have attacked
the magnitude of need within our community. Not sure if you can apply this show, but it brought awareness to those in need, the homeless, those w/ destroyed homes due to fire, etc. This show also points out materials and belongings and its impact in lives, etc. and how time and simple gestures make a difference and can close the gap between different people and their situations.
Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
Each semester an outdoor recreational adventure is sponsored. Participants enjoy activities such as whitewater rafting, zip lining, and paintball. They travel to locations in the Tennessee Valley and beyond during weekends throughout the year. These off-campus expeditions are opportunities to explore the great outdoors with friends! There are also monthly hiking trips and kayaking trips on trails in the surrounding areas.
https://www.uah.edu/university-recreation/programs/outdoor-recreation
Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
The Green Club have presentation throughout the semester that give students an overview of how to live sustainably.
The club SOAR puts on events throughout the semester that show student how to live more sustainable by having clothes and food drives.
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
UAH employs several student specialists in OEHS that focus on Stormwater and student specialist in F&O that focus on sustainability.
Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
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:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.