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Dickinson College 2007 Campus Sustainability Leadership Award Application

Category

Four-year and graduate institutions 1,000 - 7,500 student FTE

President Durden, The Green Devil (The College's Sustainability Mascot), and Dicknson College students conduct a trash audit to provide public awareness regarding waste generation and recycling opportunities.

Contact

Ken Shultes
Associate VP For Campus Operations
5 North Orange Street,
Carlisle, PA
717-245-1212
shultes@dickinson.edu

Governance & Administration

Dickinson College is extremely fortunate to have a strong commitment to sustainability at all levels. Our President, Doctor William Durden, has supported sustainability with everything from signing the President’s Climate Challenge (committing the College to carbon neutrality in the future) to donning a white Tyvek suit and sorting through trash during a campus trash audit.

The President’s commitment is anchored by strong academic programs focusing on sustainability, an administration and Campus Operations Division that has embraced sustainability, and a student body that has extremely passionate and committed ‘pockets’ of sustainability-focused energy.

Dickinson currently has two ‘governance-type’ groups which are focused on increasing the College’s sustainability focus and making Dickinson College more sustainable. These groups are as follows:

• Dickinson S.A.V.E.S. (Society Advocating Environmental Sustainability) – including students, faculty and staff – which focuses on developing sustainability initiatives and implementing them. The group has been in existence since the early 1990’s, and has been extremely successful in many ways – including setting energy management policies, reducing paper consumption, improving the College’s recycling programs, endorsing the College’s participation in the President’s Climate Challenge, and more.
• Academic Environmental Working Group – The College was recently awarded a Mellon Planning Grant to study ways to advance and integrate sustainability into the College curriculum (already very strong in this area). The group is chaired by the Provost, consists of 20 faculty members, and includes students and administrators.
• Clearly, Dickinson College is committed to sustainability and the ‘governance’ of the College has supported the operational, academic and philosophical advance of sustainability both programmatically and financially. The following examples of this are noteworthy:
• Inclusion sustainability in the College’s Strategic Plan, which lists Environmental Sustainability as one of Dickinson’s defining characteristics.
• Inclusion of sustainability as one of the 5 Dickinson Dispositions – values and skill-sets which a Dickinson education uniquely instills in all students.
• Funding a full-time Sustainability Specialist position – with a full-time focus on the advancement of sustainability at the College. The Sustainability Specialist also manages five Sustainability Interns - students dedicated to increasing environmental awareness and sustainability in many ways. (i.e. - Focus the Nation event coordination and planning; improving the College’s recycling program;; ‘marketing’ sustainability to the student body as a whole).
• Joining the Leadership Circle of the President’s Climate Challenge – committing the College to carbon neutrality in the future.
• Participation in the nation-wide RecycleMania competition. Dickinson placed 48th of 77 schools.
• Matching funds in excess of $350K for PA Department of Environmental Protection Energy Harvest grants.
• Prioritizing the construction of a new Central Energy Plant and distribution system – costing over $5.5 million.
• Approving the construction of a sustainable residence hall – for $1.4 million.
• Committing all new construction projects to LEED silver certification (two currently in progress).
• Wind energy commitment – 12.5% currently – which costs approximately 30k per year (but significantly reduces carbon generation).
• Initiating the Sustainability Sheriffs program – a volunteer ‘governance’ program that encourages sustainable behaviors every day, locally, one-on-one, peer-to-peer.

Operations

Dickinson College’s Campus Operations division is committed to sustainability and to enthusiastically provide students and faculty with access to operational practices so as to develop unique and meaningful on-campus, experiential, educational resources. Examples of sustainability initiatives are found below.

Transportation:

• Purchased 12 bicycles as part of the Dickinson Rides program - encouraging a free, healthy, carbon-free alternative to driving.
• Added two hybrid vehicles to the College’s fleet.
• Purchased a used fuel-efficient vehicle (45 mpg) for the collection of recycling from campus buildings.
• Partnered with local restaurants and businesses to collect waste oil for bio-diesel conversion - used in Facilities Management fleet vehicles and grounds equipment.
• Restricted First-year students from bringing cars to campus.

Energy Management:

• A commitment to wind energy -- 12.5%.
• Received a $250,000 Energy Harvest Grant (PA DEP) to install a 60.28 kW solar panel system to supply electricity to the College’s Environmental Studies facility.
• Applied for an $119,863 Energy Harvest Grant (2007) from the PA DEP (also to be matched) to place occupancy sensors and more efficient lighting fixtures in every classroom on campus.
• Installed a $5.6 million Central Energy Plant - efficiently supplies steam and chilled water to campus buildings.
• Consume less energy per square foot than any other College benchmarked.
• Sponsor energy reduction contests (and water and trash reduction) on campus each year.

Sustainability Dining:

• An organic cafe, located in the College’s Holland Union Building, offers organic, fair-trade, and locally made products (including organic baked goods made with ingredients from the College’s student garden).
• Customers utilizing a reusable “Green Mug” receive a discount.
• Reusable cloth bags for ‘take-away’ food options.
• A composting program in the Dining Hall – composted and used at the College Farm.
• The College Farm, located 6 miles from campus and committed to organic and sustainable farming practices, provides organic produce to Dining Services.

In addition:

• Print Services purchases paper with 30% post-consumer recycled content.
• Housekeeping uses Spartan Green Solutions cleaning products.
• Lawn and leaf waste is returned to the ground or composted.
• Sustainability policies are part of New Employee Orientation.
• The College conducts an annual recycling audit in an effort to improve program efficiency.
• Facilities Management employs a full-time Sustainability Specialist.
• Facilities Management sponsors many student interns who work with the department on various sustainability initiatives.
• Facilities Management is invited to ‘teach’ several academic classes each semester – usually with a focus on energy management.
• Student laundry machines have recently been replaced with high efficiency machines – expected to save 1 million gallons per year.
• Facilities Management is working with students and faculty to initiate native meadows and potentially rain gardens and green roofs – to improve storm water management, reduce water consumption, and reduce ghg emissions.
• The College is part of the Leadership Circle of the President’s Climate Challenge – committing itself to a future of carbon neutrality.

Curriculum & Research

Dickinson is known for having one of the oldest and strongest Environmental Studies programs in the nation. Students may choose to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science, or a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies. Students may also complete a minor in the field. Exciting developments in the department include:

• Receiving a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation for $460,000 to develop the Luce Integrated Watershed Field Semester, an interdisciplinary program dedicated to the comparison of social and environmental issues in the Chesapeake Bay and Mississippi River watersheds. The program includes two weekend field trips within the Chesapeake Bay area and a three-week excursion to southern Louisiana. The planning stage and two years of the program have been completed. Tthe program will operate for two more years one of which will be dedicated to program evaluation.
• The renovation of Kaufman Hall to serve as the interim departmental facilities during construction of a new LEED certified science complex. Kaufman Hall provides more space for laboratories, research offices and laboratories for students, and more advanced facilities for the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM). ALLARM is a student-staffed project of the Environmental Studies department under the direction of three professional staff that is dedicated to providing technical assistance and mentoring to grassroots watershed organizations.
• Redesign the requirements of the Environmental Science major to make the curriculum more stringent.
• The creation of a College farm located on 180 acres of College-owned property not far from campus. Thirty to fifty acres of the existing land will be converted into a certified organic vegetable production farm. The aim of the farm will be to supply the College Dining Hall with significant amounts of fresh produce during the summer, fall and late spring as well as functioning as a CSA for the College community. Additionally, the farm will work with faculty, staff and administrators to develop academic programs that support research and student interests. The Farm also strives to develop itself as an anchor in the local community for people interested in learning more about sustainable food production, renewable energy, and environmental stewardship. The College farm employs a farm manager and an assistant farm manager, along with 6-9 students year round.

The College recently received a planning grant from the Mellon Foundation to study ways to instill concepts of sustainability into every College discipline – from Environmental Science to Religious Studies; from English to Geology; from Psychology to Physics. The planning grant has spawned The Sustainability Working Group – including more than 20 faculty members and 10 administrators – all committed to advancing Sustainability and educating all of the College’s students towards a more sustainable future.

Finally, the language adopted in the Strategic Plan states that Dickinson College is committed to working toward incorporating place-based education, interdisciplinary study, and independent research with a focus on sustainability. Dickinson will continue to educate environmentally conscious citizen leaders, regardless of which course of study they choose to pursue.

Campus Culture

Sustainability has become a defining characteristic of the Dickinson experience. Students, faculty, staff and visitors to campus experience the College’s sustainability initiatives on a daily basis. Whether through “Turn Me Off” stickers posted at every light switch, contests designed to raise awareness or the myriad of special interest groups, campus culture has embraced sustainability with open arms. A few of our favorite initiatives include:

• • The creation of a sustainability mascot, the Green Devil, a spin off of Dickinson College’s mascot, the Red Devil. Also, the development of a sustainabilty slogan for the College - "Engage The Planet - Sustainably".
• The employment of a Sustainability Specialist, a full-time staff position.
• Sustainability Internships – Five student interns employed by Facilities Management each semester. The interns work on projects including community outreach and environmental education in local elementary schools, organizing and working the Trash on the Plaza event and Sustainability Week, working with the Recycling Task Force, assist with planning efforts for Focus the Nation – a national event designed to raise awareness about global warming.
• “Get Caught Green Handed” program – The Green Devil travels the campus searching for sustainable activity. If someone is “caught green handed”, whether it’s recycling or turning off the lights, s/he is rewarded with a token good for a cookie from Dining Services.
• Hosting the “Green Devil Sustainability Program” during Pre-Orientation for a group of 10-20 incoming First Year students Activities include working a day at the College Farm and participating in the creation of bio-diesel.
• The Senior Sustainability Pledge a voluntary pledge to promote post graduate environmental responsibility, familiarize seniors with Alumni for a Sustainable Dickinson and denoted by a green ribbon worn on the graduation gown.
• Dickinson has a variety of clubs on campus including Dickinson SAVES (Society Advocating Environmental Sustainability), the College’s environmental think tank made up of faculty, staff, and students; EarthNow!, an environmental advocacy group whose projects have included a campus paper use audit as well as our annual EarthFest celebrations; and Students for Social Action, where many projects have an underlying environmental justice theme.
• Dickinson Rides program -Bicycles made available to the campus community to cut down on short distance driving.
• Green Devil Challenges – campus wide competitions among students, faculty and staff to reduce water and electricity consumption.
• Continual participation in Recyclemania
• A newly renovated Center for Sustainable Living, or Treehouse as it’s more commonly referred to, a 14 person residence hall in which students agree to live with the least possible impact on the environment. The building is LEED certified and includes a grey water system, corn pellet stove, composting facilities, highly efficient mechanical systems and appliances, and sustainable landscaping. The students also host a variety of programs for the campus and local community.
• Recycled materials sculpture contest in 2006 – winning designs were created from recycled materials and displayed in the HUB, a student union building.

Community Service & Outreach

Dickinson College exists in the heart of Carlisle Pennsylvania. The campus and the town are forever intertwined -- the importance of each to the other is well known and well respected. The College was founded in the town intentionally, with the goal of instilling the importance of community in the hearts and minds of Dickinson students. In the realm of sustainability and the community, the College has participated in a number of both internal and external outreach programs, engaging not only Dickinsonians, but the Carlisle community as well. Several examples of this are noted below:

• The College’s most successful college-community partnership has been Dickinson U-Turn - in conjunction with the United Way of Carlisle. Volunteers collect clothing, food, furniture, and books at the end of the school-year that would have otherwise been thrown away. The items are then sold at a community-wide yard sale to benefit the United Way. Last year, we raised a total of $13, 028 and diverted tons of “waste” from local landfills.
• The College’s organic student garden, the Open Sky Farm, along with the new College Farm, donates produce to Project S.H.A.R.E., a local food bank. The garden also sponsors workdays for the college and community, increasing student and resident awareness of the importance and process of growing food locally and organically. Student workers also sell their wares at a weekly farmer’s market in downtown Carlisle. The new College Farm strives to develop itself as an anchor in the local community for people interested in learning more about sustainable food production, renewable energy, and environmental stewardship.
• “Trash on the Plaza” is an annual event at the College which provides public awareness of waste generation and also progress towards recycling. The event takes place in the heart of the campus for the entire community to witness. Volunteers, including President Durden, sort through 24 hours’ worth of trash from the Campus’ largest building, removing and measuring recyclable materials. This community awareness event has been successful in reducing waste and increasing recycling.
• The College has recently joined the Adopt A Highway program. College volunteers gather four times a year to pick up trash and recyclables on a 2-mile stretch of community road – about a mile from campus - to help improve the area in which we live and work. This provides the community with a valuable service but also with the knowledge that the College cares about the town.
• The College is supporting the interests of Carlisle and the local Clean Air Board in an effort to reduce truck traffic through the center of Carlisle – to improve air quality and the quality of life in the downtown (including the campus).
• The College has actively partnered with the town to improve the retail situation is the downtown area of Carlisle. The College has provided financial support to hire a Retail Coordinator for Carlisle, a position focused on re-vitalizing Carlisle’s downtown by filling vacant stores with successful businesses – within walking and biking distance from campus.

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