| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 46.82 |
| Liaison | Ashley Woolman |
| Submission Date | May 16, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Western Colorado University
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.67 / 2.00 |
Hilary
Sueoka Sustainability Specialist Facilities |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the municipal/local level?:
No
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the municipal/local level, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:
Environmental Charter was supported by the Board of Trustees, which resulted in signing of President's Climate Commitment in 2008, and student fee for clean energy (wind and solar), as well as construction of LEED buildings on campus.
There is substantial Presidential support for the school of ENVS. He approved an expansion of the physical building, and a new masters program. Under President Salsbury, the dean (John Hausdoerffer) quintupled the size of ENVS faculty including tenure track approved by president.
The institution is a Co-founder of the Resilience Studies Consortium dedicated to resilience education (started in 2014. Spearheaded by Hausdoeffer, under President Salsbury.) The Consortium includes universities across the country, as well as in Mexico and Germany. Half of the campuses involved are over 50% BIPOC. The Consortium creates a network of place-based action research and service learning. Many of the projects include advocacy for policy - from a local to the UN level. Students from any of the schools in the Consortium may travel to another member school to participate in and learn from the current project experiences.
https://www.resiliencestudiesconsortium.com/
Started at the same time as the Resilience Studies Consortium (also by Hausdoeffer with significant support from Salsbury), the Center for Mountain Transitions (CMT) and Mountain Resilience Corps (10 grad students) engage mountain communities on the local, regional, national, and international level through student projects and work in policy to reach resilience goals and sustainability goals appropriate for each community. The CMT worked with Telluride Insitute and Aspen International Mountain Foundation to fo-found the Mountain Resilience Coalition, which was voted by the United Nations Mountain Partnership to chair the North America, Central America, and Caribbean region.
https://www.western.edu/center-mountain-transitions
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level?:
No
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:
President Salsbury has supported Climate Action Planning for CO western slope communities in collaboration with graduate student projects in the Masters of Environmental Management program.
Also see CMT and Resilience Studies Consortium above (in local level). The CMT co-founded the Western Alliance for Restoration Management to reclaim polluting mines in the mountains of Colorado.
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the national level?:
Yes
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the national level, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:
President Salsbury signed a letter in September 2018 to continue, uphold, and expand DACA.
https://www.western.edu/diversity-inclusion-statement-endorsed-dr-greg-salsbury
https://www.pomona.edu/support-daca
Also see CMT and Resilience Studies Consortium above (in local level). The CMT has a unique partnership with AmeriCorps Vista Stewards. Over ten MEM projects have transformed a Vista assignment serving a mountain community into a Masters Project.
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the international level?:
No
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the international level, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:
See CMT and Resilience Studies Consortium above (in local level).
CMT Mountain Resilience Corps students worked with the City of Gunnison and the leaders of the Himalayan community of Majkhali, India to form a Sister Cities International partnership, focusing on shared solutions as global “headwaters communities.”
The CMT is in conversation with The Mountain Institute to send Mountain Resilience Corps students to Nepal and Peru for MEM projects.
Optional Fields
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None
A brief description of political donations the institution made during the previous three years (if applicable):
N/A
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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