| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72.78 |
| Liaison | Nathan King |
| Submission Date | Feb. 18, 2021 |
Virginia Tech
EN-11: Inter-Campus Collaboration
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Nathan
King Sustainability Manager Facilities |
Is the institution currently a member of a national or international higher education sustainability network?:
The name of the national or international sustainability network(s):
From AASHE.org: "AASHE is the leading association for the advancement of sustainability in higher education. We serve a full range of higher education faculty, administrators, staff and students who are change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation. Established in 2005, AASHE is comprised of over 900 members across 48 U.S. states, 1 U.S. Territory, 9 Canadian provinces and 20 countries"
Does the institution actively participate in a regional, state/provincial, or local higher education sustainability network?:
The name of the regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network(s):
VASHE Professional Network: Virginia Sustainability in Higher Education
https://sites.google.com/site/vasheconsortium/
The VASHE Professional Network (Virginia Sustainability in Higher Education) is a network of sustainability professionals working in institutions of higher education across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Participants communicate via an email listserv, quarterly conference calls and an annual in-person day-long meeting.
Mission: VASHE seeks to provide professionals with opportunities to network, share best practices, resources and lessons learned, and collaborate across a wide range of sustainability initiatives in higher education.
Membership: By group consensus, the listserv is open to individuals who are full-or part-time sustainability employees at an institution of higher education in Virginia. To request to join, please go to https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/vashe_consortium.
Network Coordination: Two volunteer positions are filled by group consensus to manage the listserv, facilitate quarterly calls, serve as a liaison to the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, and coordinate the annual network meeting.
Nina Morris, Co-Chair (2019-2021)
University of Virginia
Sustainability Program Manager, Outreach and Engagement
Josh Nease, Co-Chair (2019-2021)
Radford University
Sustainability Manager
Members from the following institutions have participated in the network: See the following website for more information. https://sites.google.com/site/vasheconsortium/
Members of VASHE put together a video on the benefits of participating in such an organization to be presented at the Environment Virginia Symposium in March 2021. Virginia Tech's portion of that video can be found at this link: https://youtu.be/v1jyzy9l_R4. The full video discussing many of the benefits with speakers from multiple representatives of different universities can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQYXAIsQoFU&feature=youtu.be
SCSN: Southeast Campus Sustainability Network
The Southeast Campus Sustainability Network (SCSN) is a network for the primary sustainability "coordinators" from colleges and universities in the South/Southeastern U.S. from Maryland to Texas. The group operates under a democratic, shared governance model and holds a monthly conference call to collaborate and share best practices. The annual regional gathering (held since 2013) is an opportunity to meet in person to advance sustainability leadership in the southeast via facilitated discussions, best practice sharing, collaboration, and networking.
By group consensus, registration for the annual meeting is limited to the full-time campus employee ("Director"/"Coordinator"/"Manager" - not restricted by title) tasked with primary oversight of sustainability operations at any 4-year higher education institution in the Southeastern US.
https://sites.google.com/site/sesustainabilitynetwork/
Has the institution presented at a higher education sustainability conference during the previous year?:
A list or brief description of the conference(s) and presentation(s):
ACC Sports Sustainability Symposium 2020: Student Athlete Advisory Committee Member (SAAC) and Volleyball team member, Abby Mckinzie, was a guest presenter in the student panel and roundtable discussion session of the symposium.
https://sustainability.ncsu.edu/get-involved/events/acc-sustainability/
AASHE Conference 2020: Nathan King, Sustainability Manager, presented on the annual "SELU Leadership Workshop for Student Interns" in partnership with Josh Nease, Sustainability Manager at Radford University.
Has the institution submitted a case study during the previous year to an external higher education sustainability resource center or awards program?:
A list or brief description of the sustainability resource center or awards program and submission(s):
Sustainability Innovation in Facilities Management Award; 2019 APPA Leadership in Educational Facilities Awards Program.
The Association of Physical Plant Administrators gave this award to Virginia Tech for their unique Green RFP (Request For Proposals) Program to fund sustainability initiatives. Undergraduate students and student organizations are able to submit proposals to the Office of Sustainability to request funding for various projects from LED lighting upgrades to water-bottle refill stations and everything in-between.
https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2019/08/ops-greenRFP9years.html
Has the institution had employees or students serving on a board or committee of a sustainability network or conference during the previous three years?:
A list or brief description of the board or committee appointment(s):
Dr. Bruce Hull - President of the Board of Directors - Climate Solutions University
Dr. John Randolph - Board of Directors - Sustainable Blacksburg
Does the institution have an ongoing mentoring relationship with another institution through which it assists the institution with its sustainability reporting and/or the development of its sustainability program?:
A brief description of the mentoring relationship and activities:
Virginia Tech has partnered with Radford University to exchange ideas and develop curriculum with the Office of Sustainability for our student sustainability internship programs. Both schools meet often to discuss projects, curriculum, partnerships, and professional development opportunities.
Virginia Tech has partnerships with two universities in Brazil: the Federal University of Lavras and the University of Campinas. This partnership is meant to help understand how governments and academic sectors across countries in Latin America can cooperate to come up with solutions to address climate change in the region. Other goals include exchanging knowledge and experience and giving students a chance to learn about different aspects of forestry in the two countries. More information can be found in the following articles:
- https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2020/06/cnre-brazil-forestry-collaboration.html
- https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2020/06/cnre-cop25-conference.html?utm_source=cmpgn_news&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=vtUnirelNewsDailyCMP_DM389655
Has the institution had employees or students serving as peer reviewers of another institution’s sustainability data and/or STARS submission during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the peer review activities:
A brief description of other inter-campus collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year :
VASHE Meetups at Conferences (specifically Environment Virginia Symposium)
VASHE Virtual Summmer Conference 2020 (July 23)
Quarterly VASHE conference calls
ACC Sports Sustainability monthly team calls
Website URL where information about the institution’s inter-campus collaborations is available:
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.