| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 53.50 |
| Liaison | Amy Kadrie |
| Submission Date | Jan. 31, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Rochester
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Patricia
Beaumont Director Facilities Support Operations |
Does the institution have one or more active student groups focused on sustainability?:
A brief description of active student groups focused on sustainability:
Here are some of our sustainability-focused student groups:
Grassroots is a group of undergraduates committed to spreading the message of environmentally responsible living through events and publications.
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.
Engineers Without Borders seeks to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects.
Student Association of Vegan and Vegetarian Youth helps increase awareness, and provides support for vegetarians, vegans, and anyone who is interested in learning about how our dietary and lifestyle choices affect us and our environment. Using vegetarianism as an educational tool, SAVVY provides the encouragement and resources necessary to enable everyone to take an active role in making society ever better.
The website URL where information about the student groups is available (optional):
Does the institution have gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
The Swaraj Project is an urban micro-farm located behind the graduate housing at Whippie Park. The project was initiated by Siri Chillara, an undergraduate student studying chemical engineering in partnership with the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, a non-profit organization that collaborates with local academic institutions and organizations. Chillara and her team aim to make the Swaraj Project a self-sustaining farm. The produce grown at the site is intended for donation via the Food Recovery Network and for purchase by the University of Rochester Dining Services.
The Gilbert Community Garden is a student-run garden located on River Campus and overseen by the University of Rochester EcoReps. This experimental garden is subject to change based on what plants thrive. The ultimate goal is to make it a permaculture garden, where each plant group supports its counterparts.
The website URL where information about the gardens, farms or agriculture projects is available (optional):
Does the institution have student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes (e.g. cafés through which students gain sustainable business skills)?:
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
Cameron Schauf, Director of Dining and Auxiliary Service at The University of Rochester works closely with a team of students known as Dining 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, Sustainability Coordinator at the University of Rochester works with the three student staff positions: the sustainability assistant, sustainability writer, and sustainability marketing intern. Known as Facilities Team Green, the group’s mission is to increase education and awareness of sustainability among the University of Rochester community.
The website URL where information about the student-run enterprises is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
The website URL where information about the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives is available (optional):
Does the institution have conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability:
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. The fall 2018 lineup is as follows:
The following talks are free and open to the public. They take place on Wednesday afternoons in Morey 501. Talks begin at 3:25pm, except for November 7 which begins at 4:30.
10/24
Dr. Michael Daley, Assistant Professor (Clinical), Warner School of Education, presents "We are Stressed Out: How Environmental Disturbances Challenge Northeast Ecosystems." Michael Daley is an environmental scientist with a passion for science education. Over the past 20 years, he has conducted research and taught in a wide variety of settings. His research has taken him into the forests and fields of the Northeastern United States to study the impacts of global changes on ecosystems.
10/31
"Best Practices for Sustainable Manufacturing -- Case Studies from the Southern Tier of New York State." Trish Donohue, Senior Engineer and Sustainable Supply Chain Program Manager, New York State Pollution Prevention Institute, RIT, will discuss her work supporting businesses striving to reduce their environmental footprint.
11/7
"Businesses (and Academia’s) next Sustainability Challenge: Reducing Consumption." Presented by Sandra Rothenberg, Chair of Public Policy and Professor of Management, and Director of the Institute for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, RIT. *4:30 start time*
11/14
Christy Tyler, Associate Professor of Environmental Science at RIT, will speak on "Rethinking Ecosystem Restoration in a Changing Environment." Tyler is an aquatic ecologist focusing on wetlands, invasive species, and ecosystem restoration.
11/28
"Breeding Perennial Specialty Crops (such as apples) for Climate Change: How do you Make Genetic improvements if the Changes are not Predictable?" Presented by Susan Brown, Professor of Horticulture, Cornell University.
The website URL where information about the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability is available (optional):
Does the institution have cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability:
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 website URL where information about the cultural arts events, installations or performances is available (optional):
Does the institution have wilderness or outdoors programs (e.g. that organize hiking, backpacking, kayaking, or other outings for students) that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
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.
The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors programs is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences (e.g. choosing a sustainability-related book for common reading)?:
A brief description of the sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
EcoReps are enthusiastic incoming freshman with a desire to promote change.
There are about 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.
The website URL where information about the sustainability-related themes is available (optional):
Does the institution have programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
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.
The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills programs is available (optional):
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
Dining Team Green is a small group of hired interns who work for Dining Services on sustainability and serves as a liaison between Dining Services and the student population. Their 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 Sustainability 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.
The website URL where information about the student employment opportunities is available:
Does the institution have graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
A brief description of the graduation pledges:
The website URL where information about the graduation pledges is available (optional):
Does the institution have other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives?:
A brief description of the other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:
The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available (optional):
Estimated percentage of students (full-time and part-time) that participate annually in sustainability-focused co-curricular education and outreach programs (0-100):
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.