Weber State University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

FM and Honors installed eight air quality monitoring sensors on campus (Purple Air sensors). Data has been used in student (Geography) research projects. Physics Department (Dr. Sohl) has an ongoing air quality/chemistry monitoring program with his students -- High Altitude Reconnaissance Balloon for Outreach and Research (HARBOR). Since 2016, WSU has hosted the Clear the Air Challenge -- a month long and statewide competition where local businesses, universities, and communities compete to reduce emissions in the month of February. The campus participation in this program was coordinated by a student intern in the Energy & Sustainability Office.

Weber State University's LEED certified buildings have served as a great resource to illustrate how to implement LEED credits and sustainability in design. Classes have partnered with Facilities Management to help get buildings on campus LEED certified. Weber State also teaches courses on renewable energy and senior projects have related to the design and installation of renewable energy systems on campus including solar PV and wind systems.

Students in the college of Engineering Science and Applied Technology worked on the design of solar-powered picnic tables with charging stations for electronics to be constructed on campus.

GEOG 3050 - Weather and Climate geography course - Annually, students take temperature measurements comparing different types of landscaping/ground cover types and how they contribute to the "campus heat island". Findings reported to Facilities Management. Work on "Discovery Science" trail on campus property, emphasizing ecology and environmental sustainability. Discussion with interested students about care of the Duck Pond and the geese, ducks who live there and the impact of chemical pollutants on the eco-balance in the pond

During the Fall 2016 semester, the Geography 3060 class did a class project on the issues and possible solutions to commuting challenges on campus. Geography 4420 focuses on transportation issues on campus and the surrounding community, including a transportation master plan and a related study with UTA regarding campus-downtown transit. The debate team has developed Green Standards for the hosting debate tournaments which includes encouraging attendees to NOT rent a car, but instead ride the light rail from the airport to downtown Ogden hotels. CHECK IF THIS STILL APPLIES

A class project related to educating the campus about recycling through signage, service learning hours in waste management and recycling, promoting Campus Conservation Nationals, creating an informational exhibit related to water issues, and pamphlet regarding construction and sustainability practices on campus and in the community.

The Geography 3050 (Weather and Climate) class regularly uses campus environments to study the effects of xeriscaping on university watering regimens and how different types of xeriscaping play into the heat-island effect.

In 2017 we completed the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments Survey (CECE). The Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) Model is derived from three decades of published research in higher education, over 180 interviews conducted across several qualitative studies, and the findings of many quantitative analyses that examine the experiences and outcomes of diverse colleges students. It explains the ways in which campus environments shape the experiences and outcomes of diverse student populations in college. The CECE model acknowledges that external influences (e.g., financial factors, employment, and family influences) and precollege inputs (e.g., academic preparation and academic dispositions at the time of entry) shape college success (e.g., learning, satisfaction, persistence, and degree completion) (Figure 1). However, the focal point of the CECE model emphasizes that college students’ access to culturally engaging campus environments is positively correlated with individual influences (e.g., sense of belonging, academic self-efficacy, motivation, expectation or intent to persist, and performance) on success and an increased probability of succeeding in college. The CECE model posits that undergraduates’ access to culturally engaging campus environments is directly and indirectly (via sense of belonging, academic self-efficacy, motivation, expectation or intent to persist, and performance) related to a greater likelihood of persistence. In sum, the CECE Model suggests that the greater the extent to which institutions foster and maintain culturally engaging campus environments, the more likely their environments will allow their diverse student populations to thrive in college.

A new course on Environmental Neurotoxins and Mental/Central Nervous System disorders addresses how pesticides, air pollution, water pollution, plastics, etc. influence mental/CNS disorders. A course project related to producing educational materials (videos, pamphlets, lessons, posters) related to air quality issues (transit, idling, health, etc.)

Professor (K Stevenson) in visual arts had students create prints around the theme of the "Anthropocene" for a major regional campus event (Intermountain Sustainability Summit).