| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 60.76 |
| Liaison | Brad Spanbauer |
| Submission Date | March 4, 2022 |
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
PRE-2: Points of Distinction
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Brad
Spanbauer Campus Sustainability Officer Campus Sustainability Office |
Name of the institution’s featured sustainability program, initiative, or accomplishment:
A brief description of the institution’s featured program, initiative, or accomplishment:
The Sustainability Institute of Regional Transformations (SIRT) at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh engages stakeholders from Wisconsin and beyond to build healthy communities, inclusive economies, and ecologically sound environments through inquiry, education, and action.
The Sustainability Institute encourages and facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration across campus, and broader community and regional collaboration. Our commitment to diverse visions of sustainability is conveyed through our mission statement: to engage stakeholders from Wisconsin and beyond to build healthy communities, inclusive economies, and ecologically sound environments through inquiry, education and action.
SIRT is a freestanding campus-wide unit led by a director who is appointed by the chancellor of the university and reports to the Provost. The Institute is advised and assisted by an Internal Advisory Board comprised of members of the UWO community, and is developing an External Advisory Board with representatives of government, business, the nonprofit sector, and academia with a strong interest in the Institute’s mission.
Which of the following impact areas does the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Research
Campus Engagement
Public Engagement
Website URL where more information about the accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment:
Name of a second highlighted sustainability program/initiative/accomplishment:
A brief description of the second program/initiative/accomplishment:
As part of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s mission to become a more sustainable institution, UW Oshkosh and partners have constructed the nation’s first commercial-scale dry fermentation anaerobic biogas system on campus, and a biogas system at a dairy farm
We worked with BIOFerm™ Energy Systems, a subsidiary of Viessmann Corporation of Allendorf, Germany, where this technology is in full operation at several sites. The majority of the input is provided by campus and local community sources with the remainder supplied from additional area partners. Students gain hands-on experience working with the biogas systems..
Which impact areas does the second program/initiative/accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Research
Campus Engagement
Public Engagement
Energy
Waste
Website URL where more information about the second program/initiative/accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the second program/initiative/accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the second program/initiative/accomplishment:
Name of a third highlighted program/initiative/accomplishment:
A brief description of the third program/initiative/accomplishment:
Sustainability
“Genuine sustainability will not come from superficial changes but from a deeper process akin to humankind growing up to a fuller stature.” – David Orr (2003), “Four Challenges of Sustainability” Knowledge of sustainability and its applications is the ability to understand local and global earth systems; the qualities of ecological integrity and the means to restore and preserve it; and the interconnection of ecological integrity, social justice and economic well-being. Sustainability is about working towards a future in which all human beings can enjoy decent quality of life– good health, economic security, membership in strong and inclusive communities, the list goes on– while ensuring that we do not endanger the natural resources and environments upon which we depend. At its core, sustainability is about helping us live up to our fullest potential, as individuals and as a society. Making our way towards sustainability will involve addressing some very big and complicated problems– problems that will not have just single answers, or answers generated by single perspectives. Educating our students about sustainability means presenting them with multiple perspectives and teaching them how to critically evaluate the pros and cons, costs and consequences of the many options that lie before us. Sustainability is not about prescription, or about liberal or conservative points of view; it is about thoughtfully questioning, analyzing, and coming up with creative solutions. And isn’t this exactly what we want our students to be able to do?
Which impact areas does the third program/initiative/accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Campus Engagement
Website URL where more information about the third program/initiative/accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the third program/initiative/accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the third program/initiative/accomplishment:
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.