Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 62.46
Liaison Morgan Hartman
Submission Date Jan. 31, 2020

STARS v2.2

University of Nebraska - Lincoln
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Brittni McGuire
Sustainability Specialist
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Nebraska Disaster Recovery Service Core

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership?:
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? :
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:

Background: When historic Nebraska floods cut off communities, flooded an unknown number of towns, and inundated pastures and livestock pens with flood waters up to 5 feet deep, the University of Nebraska, under the direction of Nebraska Extension, committed to supporting the state in its recovery efforts. It is projected that it will take 9.3 years for the recovery process. Numerous units within the NU system are taking part of the recovery process from UNMC providing flood safety kits to flood inundation maps of affected area to the Public Policy Center providing much needed mental health services for flood victims. As part of a more comprehensive response, NU established the flood recovery serviceship program (collaboration with Nebraska Extension, Center for Civic Engagement, and local community leaders) providing students with opportunities to work hand-in-hand with local leaders while simultaneously gaining real-world impactful experience serving their communities. The program is funded by a $250,000 investment from the University of Nebraska.
Project Description: Based on a successful model developed by NU’s Rural Futures Institute, the flood recovery service program will place NU students in Nebraska communities for public service projects throughout the summer. The Flood Recovery Serviceship Program offers students the opportunity to help Nebraska communities respond to the devastating floods, to gain experience in public service and to learn about how communities deal with natural disasters. Currently, 27 of the 50 positions are filled. Twenty-two of the 27are students enrolled at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Overview of the Flood Recovery Serviceship Program: Local leaders representing government, business, education, the nonprofit world or other sectors who had ideas for service projects suited to students were encouraged to apply for one or more of the positions. Nebraska Extension specialists, together with a university-wide team responsible for coordinating NU’s flood response efforts, selected the community hosts after evaluating potential projects based on the mutual value they would provide for students and the communities.

Undergraduates, graduates and professional students at any NU campus were eligible to apply. The duration of the serviceship is flexible based on the availability of the students and the needs of the community partner. Participants are limited to a 40 hours per week for 10 weeks at a pay rate of $12.50 per hour. No overtime is allowed. College credit for their experience is negotiated on a case by case basis.

UNL’s web-based civic engagement platform, GivePulse, is used to capture and verify the service hours for FEMA purposes. The website also allows campus officials to manage risk waivers, deliver online training content, capture student testimonials and images and post additional opportunities for services.


Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
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Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
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Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
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Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
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Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):
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A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
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Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
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Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
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Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
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Which of the following best describes the partnership? (3rd partnership):
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Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):
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A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
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A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.