Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.93
Liaison Srinivasan Raghavan
Submission Date Feb. 24, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Missouri
EN-3: Student Life

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

Does the institution have one or more co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that fall into the following categories?:
Yes or No
Active student groups focused on sustainability Yes
Gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, or urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems Yes
Student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes Yes
Sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills No
Conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience Yes
Cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience Yes
Wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles Yes
Sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences Yes
Programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills Yes
Sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution Yes
Graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions No
Other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives Yes

The name and a brief description of each student group focused on sustainability:

Sustain Mizzou is a non-partisan 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization run by student volunteers at the University of Missouri-Columbia. The mission is to promote a sustainable way of life at the University of Missouri-Columbia through education, cooperation, and local action regarding the environment.

Over the last few years Sustain Mizzou has run a successful football tailgate recycling program, a Local Food Drive, a state-wide student conference, a recycled notebook program, a lecture program where students can learn more about specific topics, a stream team, and much more.


The website URL where information about student groups is available:
A brief description of gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems:

Tigers for Community Agriculture partners with Bradford Research Farm to engage students in growing produce sustainably. The group is part of a full-circle system that uses compost from the campus dining facilities to grow food that is then sold back to the dining halls and donated to Tiger Pantry.

The Children's Learning Garden, part of the The MU Child Development Laboratory (CDL), is an educational setting for community children and a teaching and research laboratory for University students, faculty and staff. The CDL operates a full-day, full-year teacher-training lab school affiliated with the Department of Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) within the College of Human Environmental Sciences (HES).


The website URL where information about the organic agriculture and/or sustainable food systems projects and initiatives is available:
A brief description of student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes:

Quirks is a consignment store at the University of Missouri where students, faculty, staff, and alumni can sell their one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted items.


The website URL where information about the student-run enterprise(s) is available:
A brief description of the sustainable investment or finance initiatives:

n/a


The website URL where information about the sustainable investment or finance initiatives is available:
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A brief description of conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience:

The Social Justice Symposium is a one day conference designed to create conversation about three core aspects of social justice: awareness, advocacy, and activism. The day’s schedule includes a keynote speaker, lunch, and multiple breakout sessions with varying topics that include ethnicity, culture, women’s empowerment, LGBTQ, ability, serving our veteran population, and sustainability.


The website URL where information about the event(s) is available:
A brief description of cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience:

Recycle Mountain is an art installation demonstrating how much waste the University disposes of in the form of recyclables in speakers circle (a common space on campus).


The website URL where information about the cultural arts event(s) is available:
A brief description of wilderness or outdoors programs for students that follow Leave No Trace principles:

Venture Out offers an onsite climbing course that focuses on the fundamentals of climbing, belaying, rappelling, guidebook interpretation, and climbing ratings. Team building courses build trust, strengthen relationships, improve communication and develop problem solving skills for MU Students.

During outdoor activities, Venture Out makes it a point to follow Leave No Trace Principles.
Leave no trace principles are:
*Plan Ahead and Prepare
*Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
*Dispose of Waste Properly
*Leave What You Find
*Minimize Campfire Impacts
*Respect Wildlife
*Be Considerate of Other Visitors

"When rock climbing or training we make sure to bring everything back, including trash. When we climb we minimize our impact on the wall and anchor points by never altering the natural landscape. If we hold a training in a park we make sure we are not disturbing the other people around or the wildlife. We always try to make it seem like we were never there when we leave."
-Bryan Goers
Venture Out Coordinator

Sustain Mizzou organizes a stream clean camping trip every year. Students enjoy a camping trip and the next morning volunteer to clean up sites along Missouri’s finest rivers.


The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors program(s) is available:
A brief description of sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:

The Environmental Leadership Office has monthly themes for each semester that events, campaigns, and other campus initiatives are related around.


The website URL where information about the theme is available:
A brief description of program(s) through which students can learn sustainable life skills:

Sustain Mizzou is a non-partisan 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization run by student volunteers at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Their mission is to promote a sustainable way of life at the University through education, cooperation, and local action regarding the environment.


The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills program(s) is available:
A brief description of sustainability-focused student employment opportunities:

The University of Missouri Sustainability Office hires multiple undergraduate and graduate students each year, giving students the tools to implement positively impactful initiatives on campus. They support graduate research in composting, recycling, green roofs, and much more.


The website URL where information about the student employment opportuntities is available:
A brief description of graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions:

n/a


The website URL where information about the graduation pledge program is available:
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A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:

Sustainability Week is an annual event that is dedicated to broadening the University of Missouri’s definition of sustainability, highlighting inherent environmental issues in society, and detailing those, which the University has committed to solving.


The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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