Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 36.07
Liaison Christopher Williams
Submission Date Jan. 31, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Delaware
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.20 / 4.00
"---" 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:
UD conducts a broad range of multidisciplinary student learning and applied research activities, which are not captured in one place. For example, students live on the UD Farm and operate a certified organic farm which sells produce to local restaurants. Air and Climatic data collection, research and study are included in this program, including recording weather data and studying how land use impacts GHG emissions.

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:
UD conducts a broad range of multidisciplinary student learning and applied research activities, which are not captured in one place. For example, UD has built and operated a wind turbine in Lewes, DE. It is used for a number of multi-disciplinary student learning and applied research programs.

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:
ANFS 421/422 Poultry production discusses lighting/energy conservation as part of discussions. UD Facilities frequently provides energy consumption data from our buildings or central utility plan available for research, class projects, and student independent study projects.

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:
Yes; CANR farm produces food for sale to public and to dining halls. UD Facilities and Dining Services have partnered with several research projects to provide access to kitchens and facilitate collection of data for research projects centered around food waste recovery and upcycling. Topic include using food waste for aerobic digestion, anaerobic digestion, and production of agricultural products (soil amendments).

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:
Yes; the UD Botanical gardens host up to 20 different courses annually. UD Facilities has partnered with student groups to plant and manage more native plants on campus through the Green Grants program. We have also engaged in conversations about Integrated Pest Management Systems used on campus with concerned student groups. An organic lawn care trial came out of those discussions, with the trial continuing through 2022.

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:
UD conducts a broad range of multidisciplinary student learning and applied research activities, which are not captured in one place

Transportation 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Transportation?:
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 Transportation:
UD conducts a broad range of multidisciplinary student learning and applied research activities, which are not captured in one place

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:
Yes; CANR farm composts organic materials and animal waste. UD Facilities partnered with the Mechanical Engineering Dept. to contract students to help design new dumpster lids for all campus dumpsters. Teams of undergrad seniors were tasked with designing a dumpster lid that was user-friendly, weather-proof, and discouraged animal infiltration. The final design is being considered for campus-wide implementation.

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:
Yes; CANR farm has developed wetlands for cleaning campus runoff.

Coordination & Planning 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Coordination & Planning?:
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 Coordination & Planning:
UD conducts a broad range of multidisciplinary student learning and applied research activities, which are not captured in one place

Diversity & Affordability 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Diversity & Affordability?:
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 Diversity & Affordability:
UD conducts a broad range of multidisciplinary student learning and applied research activities, which are not captured in one place

Investment & Finance 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Investment & Finance?:
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 Investment & Finance:
UD conducts a broad range of multidisciplinary student learning and applied research activities, which are not captured in one place

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:
Yes; cooperative extension uses the CANR campus for 4H outreach programs.

Wellbeing & Work 

Is the institution utilizing its campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in relation to Wellbeing & Work?:
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 Wellbeing & Work:
UD conducts a broad range of multidisciplinary student learning and applied research activities, which are not captured in one place

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)?:
---

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:
UD conducts a broad range of multidisciplinary student learning and applied research activities, which are not captured in one place

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://www1.udel.edu/star/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Only received responses from College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Facilities.

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.