University of Montana
EN-11: Inter-Campus Collaboration
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Tayli
Hillyard Sustainability Engagement Coordinator Office of Sustainability |
Is the institution currently a member of a national or international higher education sustainability network?:
The name of the national or international sustainability network(s):
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
Does the institution actively participate in a regional, state/provincial, or local higher education sustainability network?:
The name of the regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network(s):
Sustainability Partnership of the Northern Rockies (SPNR)
Has the institution presented at a higher education sustainability conference during the previous year?:
A list or brief description of the conference(s) and presentation(s):
Eva Rocke, Director of Sustainability at the University of Montana, presented at the Sustainability Professionals of the Northern Rockies (SPNR) retreat on June 4, 2024. Eva co-presented with Caleb Yoder from Gonzaga University on ways to use data and AI in your sustainability work. They facilitated a roundtable discussion about Power BI, Chat GPT, and other forms of technology to make our jobs easier. Eva discussed using Chat GPT as if it were another human member of your team, sort of an "intern," and feeding it a lot of data and questions to make it useful for your work.
Derek Kanwischer, UM Zero Waste Coordinator, also co-presented at this retreat on the topic of Zero Waste. Derek shared with attendees more detail on UM's "All in the Hall" efforts as we work towards getting rid of single-stream recycling and overuse of garbage cans. He also discussed UM's experiences rolling out a compost pilot program in the first academic building on campus and the lessons learned. Additionally, he discussed the next steps of moving Campus Dining away from compostables and towards reusables. He also shared information about procurement and the work of developing and adopting sustainable procurement guidelines on campus.
Has the institution submitted a case study during the previous year to an external higher education sustainability resource center or awards program?:
A list or brief description of the sustainability resource center or awards program and submission(s):
Has the institution had employees or students serving on a board or committee of a sustainability network or conference during the previous three years?:
A list or brief description of the board or committee appointment(s):
Eva Rocke, UM Sustainability Director, has served as co-leader of the Sustainability Partnership of the Northern Rockies for the last 7 years.
Does the institution have an ongoing mentoring relationship with another institution through which it assists the institution with its sustainability reporting and/or the development of its sustainability program?:
A brief description of the mentoring relationship and activities:
- We have provided assistance to the team at Central Washington University as they structure their green fund. We have had multiple meetings where we have shared resources on our current bylaws, financial spreadsheets, example proposals, agreements, and more. In those meetings, we have also worked through questions and nuances with grant funds versus revolving energy loan funds.
- Eva Rocke, our Sustainability Director, has an ongoing relationship with Beth Schenk at St. Patrick's Hospital in Missoula, MT. Beth has been a great mentor to Eva in overseeing sustainability efforts at a large scale in the Missoula community. They meet monthly.
- We have also worked with Amy Perrish at Boise State University to provide advice and resources as they work to redesign and negotiate their waste and beverage contracts.
Has the institution had employees or students serving as peer reviewers of another institution’s sustainability data and/or STARS submission during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the peer review activities:
Eva Rocke peer-reviewed Montana State University's STARS report before their submission in 2023. Paul Edlund is the contact at MSU. paul.edlund@montana.edu. The review occurred in April of 2022.
Optional Fields
Throughout the year, UM actively participates in joint planning and collaboration with other member universities in the Sustainability Partnership of the Northern Rockies. Such efforts have taken many forms but include discussion on the Inflation Reduction Act, procurement and purchasing guidelines, sharing of ideas for student engagement, and more.
Website URL where information about the institution’s inter-campus collaborations is available:
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.