AASHE Announces Sustainability Awards Finalists

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Andrea Huggins
Programs Marketing Manager
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
(888)347-9997
andrea.huggins@aashe.org

Philadelphia, PA (August 19, 2019) – The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2019 AASHE Sustainability Awards.

The AASHE Sustainability Awards provide global recognition to the individuals and organizations leading the higher education sustainability movement. With the help of volunteer judges from the community, the awards program raises the visibility of high-impact sustainability projects, pioneering research, and student leadership, helping to disseminate innovations and inspire continued progress toward environmental, social and economic health.

Finalists for the Campus Sustainability Achievement Award are:

• Associate/2-year Institutions
  • Chandler-Gilbert Community College and the Maricopa County Community College District Office’s Food Waste Recycling Project
  • Governors State University, Joliet Junior College, Lewis University, Moraine Valley Community College, Prairie State College and University of St. Francis’s Growing Sustainable Communities Together Through Leadership in Higher Education
  • Portland Community College, Portland State University and Greater Portland Sustainability Education Network’s Hope and Empowerment: Navigating Grief, Climate Change, and Environmental Justice Through Train-the-Trainer Workshops
  • Arup and San Bernardino Community College District’s San Bernardino Community College’s Journey to sustainability and achieving Zero Net Energy
• Institutions with over 10,000 FTE Enrollment
  • University of Graz’s Global academic conferencing: A semi-virtual approach
  • McGill University’s The McGill Staff Engagement Ladder
  • University of California’s Sustainable Procurement Program and Policy Overhaul
  • University of California’s Cool Campus Challenge
  • British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Sustainable Infrastructure Project wins Envision Gold
• Institutions with under 10,000 FTE Enrollment
  • The University of California, Merced’s Fill Plates, Not Landfills: Implementing the Bobcat Eats Food Waste Awareness and Prevention Program
  • Millersville University’s Generating Positive Community Energy with Millersville University’s Zero Energy Lombardo Welcome Center
  • Royal Roads University’s Heritage building re-envisioned, modernized and integrated with a 21st-century addition to become an energy-efficient and sustainable living laboratory

Finalists for the Campus Sustainability Research Award are: 

• Undergraduate Research
  • Design and Life Cycle Cost of a Vertical Ground Source Heat Exchange System for the Smith College Field House
  • Let’s Get Sorted: The Path to Zero Waste at Pomona College
  • Plug Load Metering Pilot at Swarthmore College
• Graduate Research
  • An Assessment of Teaching and Learning about Sustainability Across the Higher Education Curriculum
  • An Economic Perspective on a Carbon Management Program at the University of Michigan
  • Demystifying Sustainability Behaviors on College and University Campuses: A Mixed Methods Analysis
• Published Research – Academics
  • Climate change belief, sustainability education, and political values: Assessing the need for higher-education curriculum reform
  • Expanding Student Engagement in Sustainability: Using SDG- and CEL-Focused Inventories to Transform Curriculum at the University of Toronto
  • Meeting the food waste challenge in higher education
• Published Research – Engagement
  • Assessing Air Quality through a Sustainable Educational Model
  • Expanding Student Engagement in Sustainability: Using SDG- and CEL-Focused Inventories to Transform Curriculum at the University of Toronto
  • From contracts to culture: Exploring how to leverage local, sustainable food purchasing by institutions for food systems change
  • Personal waste management in higher education: A case study illustrating the importance of a fourth bottom line
  • Transferring Sustainability Solutions across Contexts through City–University Partnerships
• Published Research – Operations
  • Climate adaptation planning in the higher education sector
  • Meeting the food waste challenge in higher education
  • Pathways to carbon-neutral energy systems at the University of California, Davis
  • Providing immediate feedback improves recycling and composting accuracy
  • Solar PV as a mitigation strategy for the US education sector
• Published Research – Planning and Administration
  • Mainstreaming Education for Sustainable Development at a Swiss University: Navigating the Traps of Institutionalization
  • No food for thought: Food insecurity is related to poor mental health and lower academic performance among students in California’s public university system
  • Personal waste management in higher education: A case study illustrating the importance of a fourth bottom line
  • We Want Black Students, Just Not You: How White Admissions Counselors Screen Black Prospective Students

Finalists for the Student Sustainability Leadership Award are:

• Krishna Gotur and Kathleen Parrish at Rutgers University for “Coalition building to create university-wide change”
• Patrick Duke at the University of Calgary for “Founder, Students on Sustainability”
• Tyler Warnock, Katherine Liu and Amanda Mosca at the University of Calgary for “Leveraging student leadership to build campus capacity for Sustainable Development Goals implementation: A case study on the University of Calgary’s Sustainable Development Goals Alliance”
• Zahira Chaudhry at University of California, Berkeley for “Students of Color Environmental Conference”
• Arctica Cunningham and Bridie Kafrissen at the University of Northern British Columbia and Prince George Public Interest Research Group for “The Good Store”

“The higher education sustainability community continues to make major contributions toward a thriving, equitable and ecologically healthy world. This is evident through the many entries received for the AASHE Sustainability Awards,” said Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser. “I am excited to recognize the innovation and leadership demonstrated by this year’s finalists.”

Winners, including the Lifetime Achievement Award winner, will be announced in mid-September and recognized on Oct. 27 during the opening ceremony at the AASHE Conference & Expo in Spokane, Washington. 

About AASHE
AASHE empowers higher education administrators, faculty, staff and students to be effective change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation. AASHE enables members to translate information into action by offering essential resources and professional development to a diverse, engaged community of sustainability leaders. We work with and for higher education to ensure that our world’s future leaders are motivated and equipped to solve sustainability challenges. For more information, visit www.aashe.org. Follow AASHE on Facebook and Twitter.

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