University of Rochester
EN-3: Student Life

Grassroots is a group of undergraduates committed to spreading the message of environmentally responsible living through events and publications. "Global and Green Medicine" is a small student interest group at the Medical School. Their goal is to increase awareness among medical students of sustainability in the medical school and issues in environmental medicine and environmental impact. Engineers for a Sustainable World is a group of undergraduates who are committed to the promotion of sustainability around campus through student lead projects, informative tours of local sustainable facilities, and participating in green awareness events in the Rochester area. They strive to implement green practices on a local scale. Greenspace is the University of Rochester's first special interest housing opportunity dedicated to living a sustainable lifestyle. Students interested in making daily choices with the environment in mind can now interact with and learn from like-minded people regularly. Our mission is to come together, learn from one another, and do our best to lead lives of environmental consciousness. Engineers Without Boarders seeks to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects.

The microfarm is located adjacent to the Whipple Park graduate housing, 10 minutes from the River Campus. Students can volunteer to tend the crops, learning sustainable organic farming skills while growing fresh, local produce which the University Dining Services then buys and uses in their facilities. It's mission is to advance UR’s sustainability efforts by providing local food for student consumption while educating the community of social justice issues surrounding food.

Cam Schauf, Director of Dining and Auxiliary Service at The University of Rochester works closely with a team of students known as Team Green to implement and publicize sustainable food options throughout the campus. The team consists of two marketing interns, two Student Sustainability Coordinators, and one Student Sustainability Manager. They work on a number of sustainability initiatives for dining throughout the year, and serve as student liaisons between Dining Services and Rochester students. Amy Kadrie, Recycling Coordinator at The University of Rochester works with the three student staff positions; the sustainability assistant, sustainability writer, and sustainability marketing intern. The group’s mission is to increase education and awareness of sustainability among the University of Rochester community.

The University of Rochester's Sustainability Seminar Series runs in the Spring and Fall. Attendees learn about a wide range of sustainability and environmentally relevant topics from activism groups and policy makers to scientific breakthroughs.

During summer months the University organizes free tours to the Mees Observatory for students in Rochester during the summer. This is a great way to educate students on astronomy as well as encourage students to keep our skies clean so we can continue to enjoy the Observatory. The Memorial Art Gallery was founded in 1913 by Emily Sibley Watson as a memorial to her son, architect James Averell. Given in trust to the University of Rochester, it is one of the few university-affiliated art museums in the country that also serves as community art museum. The Memorial Art Gallery connects people with art in a welcoming and stimulating environment through its permanent collection, temporary exhibitions and public programs.

The University of Rochester Outing Club is a group of students dedicated to experiencing and getting in touch with our environment through backpacking expeditions, white water rafting, climbing, and many other trips.

EcoReps are enthusiastic incoming freshman with a desire to promote change. There are 30 EcoReps each year— at least one on each floor of the freshman dorms. The EcoReps are guided by two upperclassmen student leaders who are experienced in on-campus environmental efforts and who have both themselves gone through the EcoReps Program. EcoReps educate the students in their halls on environmental issues like waste reduction and energy conservation by planning dorm activities and events. The EcoReps are taught about sustainability through an EcoReps class. This two credit seminar meets twice a week for either a lecture, discussion, or program meeting and covers many topics including recycling, energy, and climate change.

GreenSpace is the University of Rochester's first special interest housing opportunity dedicated to living a sustainable lifestyle. Students interested in making daily choices with the environment in mind can now interact with and learn from like-minded people regularly. Our mission is to come together, learn from one another, and do our best to lead lives of environmental consciousness. We are committed to forming a presence on campus that raises awareness and encourages others to make the simple changes that members make each day in order to live as sustainably as possible.

Team Green is a small group of hired interns who work for Dining Services on sustainability and serve as a liaison between Dining Services and the student population. Our current and ongoing projects include the Eco-Clamshell, the food labeling system, Meatless Monday, local purchasing, composting, Local Foods Week once a semester, and promoting reusable mugs and bags on campus. Facilities Team Green is managed by the University of Rochester Recycling Coordinator. The Recycling Coordinator works to promote sustainability, decrease the University’s solid waste output, and increase the amount of material recycled, reused, or eliminated from the waste stream. The three student staff positions that support the Recycling Coordinator are the sustainability assistant, the sustainability writer, and the sustainability marketing intern. The sustainability assistant continuously develops the University’s recycling and sustainability programs, increases awareness and education about sustainability on campus, and drafts applications for awards, among other projects. The sustainability writer reports sustainability news to the University community through Go Green articles. The sustainability marketing intern creates promotional material and helps lead events such as the annual RecycleMania competition. The University sponsors sustainability-related summer internships for students enrolled in undergraduate programs. These programs range from sustainability research, reviewing the final draft of a novel, helping to develop new courses, as well as biofuel research to list a few.