Overall Rating Platinum
Overall Score 86.09
Liaison Jennifer Andrews
Submission Date Aug. 16, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of New Hampshire
EN-7: Employee Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Jennifer Andrews
Project Director
Sustainability Institute
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total number of employees:
2,705

Total number of employees served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
2,705

Percentage of employees served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
100

Name of the employee educators program (1st program):
UNH Sustainability STARS Leadership Program

A brief description of the employee educators program (1st program):

Our Sustainability STARS Leadership program is both professional development and a change-making opportunity. Participants are asked to inventory their office/department's sustainability practices (based on a set of materials provided by the Sustainability Institute); submit a sustainability checklist report to the Sustainability Institute to track and measure departmental progress; create a plan to implement changes to continue advancing sustainability, and get it signed by their department's director or other supervisor; and organize one office initiative or event (e.g. a voluntary community service opportunity, a guest speaker or book discussion, recycling or commuting week- or month-long awareness challenge, etc.)--again, based on resources and support provided by the Sustainability Institute. STARS Leaders a part of a dedicated cohort of champions gather three times a year to share their challenges and success, get training and resources, and be recognized for their leadership.

This program is building from the foundation laid by UNH's previous Green Office program, through which dozens of UNH employees and offices had the opportunity to connect, learn and support each other in advancing sustainability practices on campus.

Departments that have participated historically range from the IT office and Dimond Library, to the Women's Studies and English to Engineering departments, and individual participants have been faculty and staff.


A brief description of the employee educators program’s target audience (1st program):

Since the program is focused on promoting sustainable practices within UNH offices and departments, the target audience includes All UNH faculty and staff.


Number of trained employee educators (1st program):
10

Number of weeks the employee educators program is active annually (1st program):
50

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained employee educator (1st program):
0.50

Total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators (1st program):
250

Website URL where information about the employee educators program is available (1st program) :
Name of the employee educators program (2nd program):
Community of Learning: Racial Equity

A brief description of the employee educators program (2nd program):

In spring 2021, UNH's Office of Community, Equity, and Diversity and the Sustainability Institute partnered to offer a new employee peer-to-peer outreach program to deepen community understanding of social justice in the context of our regional food systems. The program is designed to train and support participants, and in turn ask them to share awareness and support with their UNH colleagues, to understand and address structural racism and environmental and social justice, which is critical to UNH’s embodiment of its values of sustainability and diversity.

Participants review and reflect on a rich mix of provided materials (readings, videos, etc), take part in regular group trainings and discussions, and are supported and encouraged to engage in outreach to other faculty and staff across campus, to promote participation in campus events, dialogues.

The program culminates in a push for participation and engagement in the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge--a national program developed by Food Solutions New England (for which the UNH Sustainability Institute serves as a coordinating "backbone" organization.) This builds from UNH's long history of leadership and investment investment in cultivating sustainable regional food system. See https://www.unh.edu/sustainability/21-day


A brief description of the employee educators program’s target audience (2nd program):

The target audience for the Community of Learning extends to every staff and faculty member at UNH (including our UNH Manchester and UNH Law campuses), as it is vital that every member of UNH's community is invited and encouraged to " build skill and will" to engage on issues of sustainable, equitable food systems on (and far beyond) campus. The breadth of the individuals and departments served by this program, and its ability to connect members of the University who typically do not have the opportunity to be in community or dialogue with each other, is a central feature of the program design and one of its greatest strengths.
Below is a sample of participating departments from spring 2021:
Center for Academic Resources (CFAR)
Kinesiology
Education
Agriculture, Nutrition and Food Systems
Biological Sciences
Occupational Therapy
Graduate School
Honors Program
COLA Development
Alumni Relations/Advancement
Education
Advancement
Earth Systems Research Center
Catering
Education Abroad
Research & Large Center Development
Residential Life
Upward Bound
Desktop Management / Business Application Support
Extension Food & Agriculture
Natural Resources
Communications and public affairs
Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS)
NH Agricultural Experiment Station
Teaching & Learning Technologies
Cooperative Extension
Academic Affairs
Hamel Rec
Athletics
Media Relations
Student Accessibility Services
Human Resources
Global Education
Retail Dining
Paul College Graduate Programs Office
Registration
Chemistry
Mathematics
Institute on Disability
Academic Success
Agriculture, Nutrition and Agricultural Systems
UNHInnovation
Northeast Passage
Biological Sciences
UNH Police
InterOperability Laboratory
Provost's Office


Number of trained employee educators (2nd program):
50

Number of weeks the employee educators program is active annually (2nd program):
30

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained employee educator (2nd program):
2

Total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators (2nd program):
3,000

Website URL where information about the employee educators program is available (2nd program):
A brief description of all other employee peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs:
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Number of trained employee educators (all other programs):
---

Number of weeks, on average, the employee educators programs are active annually (all other programs):
---

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained employee educator (all other programs):
---

Total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators (all other programs):
---

Grand total number of hours worked annually by trained employee educators (all programs):
3,250

Hours worked annually by trained employee sustainability educators per employee served by a peer-to-peer program:
1.20

Website URL where information about the employee sustainability educators programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.