| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72.46 |
| Liaison | Paul Mathisen |
| Submission Date | May 22, 2020 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Paul
Mathisen Dir. of Sustainability & Assoc. Prof Civil & Environmental Engineering |
Does the institution have one or more active student groups focused on sustainability?:
A brief description of active student groups focused on sustainability:
Student Green Team: A student-governed organization with aims to increase sustainable efforts and awareness on campus through trips, events, and campaigns. Notable events are the Annual Waste Audit, the Sustainable Car Show, the Energy Efficient Lighting Fair, and the E-Waste Drive. Global Humaritarian Alliance works on creating sustainable solutions to problems involving water, sanitation, and hygiene in third world countries. Engineers without Borders helps support community-driven development progorams worldwide through partnerships that design and implement sustainable engineering projects. Engineers without Borders works to improve the quality of life, most recently in Guachtuq Guatemala. Enactus is a social entrepreneurship organization. Habit for Humanity-WPI helps working class families own their own home through "sweat equity." The WPI Branch of the Food Recovery Network recovers uneaten food from WPI dining halls and transports it to be donated to food shelters in Worcester. The WPI Veg Club provides support and resources to current vegetarians and vegans and other interested students, and promotes the ethical, health, and sustainability benefits of vegetarianism and veganism on campus.
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:
Seedling planting is a program associated with the Biology Department's greenhouse. This program involves students in greenhouse activities, such as propagating plants by taking cuttings. Sustainable agriculture methods are employed. WPI's greenhouse, Center for Sustainable Food Systems, and Bioloogy department have a partnership with the Worcester Regional Environmental Council where WPI students care for vegetable seedlings in WPI's greenhouse. These seedlings are being prepared for YouthGROW, an urban agriculture-focused youth development and employment program for low-income teens. Students and faculty conducted a "mushroom log project" on campus grounds. There is also a program called "Plant Parenthood" that teaches students how to nurture plants, and they can bring their plants home with them.
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:
Gompei's Goat Cheese is a student-run business headquartered at WPI that sells a healthy goat cheese on campus. The cheese is produced on a nearby farm.
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:
A new Green Revolving Fund was created in 2018, and a component of the GRF is a Green Community Fund which is focused on student products costing $10K or less. Students sit on the GRF committee and help guide decisions on which projects are selected.
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 institute hosts a University Lecture each spring that focuses on sustainability. The Office of Sustainability hosts "DiscussingGreen" luncheon series where topics of interest, such as Trends in the Recycling Industry, to the community are discussed. The Work in Progress (Undergraduate Research Projects) often are sustainability-themed, and members of the community can check out current ongoing research. The Climate Change Summit is a day-long event which brings researchers, panelists, student projects together to learn and share ideas. The ReDI Annual Symposium on campus focuses on sharing and collaborating between researchers.
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:
Many of our lectures, films, and other cultural events are related to sustainability. All of our events are aimed primarily at WPI students. The China Hub Film Series, Under the Dome documentary showing in April 2018, about air pollution in China. China Hub Speaker Series: Cedrid Pan of ofo, on Shared Bikes and Sustainability, in December 2018. The Humanities and Arts collaborated with other departments to bring Lois Gibbs (hero of Love Canal) and Yvonne Lewis (a community activities from Flint, MI) for lectures and classroom visits. The theatre program continues to take an environmentally sustainable approach to its productions. Students may approach their HUA requirements by studying the topic of sustainability in a cross-disciplinary way.
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 primary goals of the WPI Outing Club are to promote outdoor activities and bring together people with common interests in the outdoors. The Outing Club promotes activities related, but not limited to: Camping, Rock Climbing, Hiking and Mountaineering, Boating, Slacklining, Mountain Biking, Skiing and Snowboarding.Throughout each year we promote many fun trips and events such as: beginner hiking trips to mountains in the northeast, camping trips, climbing at our very own bouldering wall, The CAVE, and at local crags in New England, slacklining on the quad, as well as many other things. Annual events include several hikes, white-water rafting, a Wilderness First Aid certification course, and an overnight in Central Rock Worcester.
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:
The Great Problems Seminar (GPS) is a key part of WPI's first year experience. In this two-course introduction to university-level research and project work, teams of first year students and faculty step outside their disciplines to solve Great Problems, most of which are strongly connected to sustainability. For example, 2019 GPS topics included "Feed the World," "Recover, Reuse, and Recycle, "Heal the World," "Shelter the World," "Livable Cities," "Extinction, Who Will Survive" and " The World's Water."
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:
Students collaborated with the nutritionist to hold educational sessions on food and a sustainable diet. The Veg Club conducted several dinners where they demonstrated ways to provide nutritious meals without meat. The Green Team provides workshops on how to repair bicycles, and they participated in the Student Orientation program where they promoted a sustainable lifestyle by asking students to make a sustainability pledge.
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:
The Student Sustainability Intern is a student job whose purpose is to assist the Sustainability Office in planning sustainability events, updating the WPI Sustainability website, assisting with sustainability surveys, overseeing student eco-rep program, and working on specific projects (like a sustainable procurement policy for office supplies). The Sustainability Summer Intern compiles data and develops the annual WPI Sustainability Report and assists to update the sustainability website.
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 Sustaining WPI Project Center is a center where students have the opportunity to work closely with the Office of Sustainability and the Department of Facilities to make our campus more sustainable. The Water Resource outreach Center also aims to work with students and regional water professionals on water research in the area; and the Worcester Project Center provides opportunities to students to collaborate with the city to undertake sustainability 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.