FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Crystal Simmons
Bulletin Editor & Program Manager
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
(888) 347-9997 x360
crystal.simmons@aashe.org
Introducing the 2023 AASHE Sustainability Award Finalists
Philadelphia, PA (November 7, 2023) – The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) is delighted to announce the 43 finalists for the 2023 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.
This year’s winners, selected from the impressive list of finalists below, will be unveiled during the virtual AASHE Sustainability Awards Ceremony. Commencing on December 7 at 12:00 p.m. ET, the ceremony will also reveal the sixth Lifetime Achievement Award winner. The event is open to all and free to attend.
Campus Sustainability Achievement Award Finalists:
- Duke University’s Duke University Climate Commitment
- Indiana University Bloomington’s Resilience Cohort, Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute
- Kennesaw State University’s OwlSwap– A Social Equity and Environmental Sustainability Textiles and Apparel Initiative at Kennesaw State University
- Nanyang Technological University’s Energy and carbon reduction – A total holistic approach by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- Emory University’s The Working Farms Fund: Partnership to Build a Sustainable Local Food System and Support a Diverse New Generation of Farmers
Racial Equity and Sustainability Collaborations Award Finalists:
- Catawba College’s Unanue Scholars Program: Improving College Access for Local Latina Students
- Saint Mary’s College of California’s Food Justice Fellowships – Rooted in Community
- University of Cincinnati’s Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST+) Lives Here for Urban Health
- University of Southern California’s USC Urban Trees Initiative
- University of Southern California’s USC Trojan Shop Local Initiative
Student Sustainability Leadership Award Finalists:
- Cities Need Trees by Natalia Karadimitriou at Boston University
- Environmental Justice Working Group by Sophia Gosselin-Smoske at Endicott College
- Waste Management Education and Procedural Improvements at a Residential Dining Facility by Quin Wolters at Wake Forest University
- Equity and Justice Working Group by Eco Reps at Tufts University
- University of Southern California’s Eco Film and Media Arts Festival
- Addressing the Climate Threat of Refrigerant Leaks through the Yale Refrigerants Initiative (YRI) by Tilden Chao at Yale University
Undergraduate Student Research Award Finalists:
- CUB Plastic Shipping Bag Recycling Program by Samuel M. Arkin and Ethan J. Bruemmer
- Differential Vulnerability to Extreme Heat Events Among the UC Campuses: A quantitative analysis of social vulnerability to extreme heat in communities surrounding UC Campuses by Allie Larman
- Green Stormwater Infrastructure Planning in Midwestern Higher Education Institutions by Abigail R.X.P. Thiel
Graduate Student Research Award Finalists:
- Campus foodscapes as sites of transformation: mapping policy and projects in US universities envisioning just, sustainable and healthy food systems by Sophie Lamond
- Social Capital, Indigenous Storytelling, and Fish Diversity: Learning Together Through Community-university Partnerships in Downeast Maine by Michelle de Leon
- Universities and the Doughnut Strategy: Comparative analysis of university strategies and the integration of planetary and social boundaries and the general concept of sustainable development by Juliane Kraskes
Journal-Published Research, Academics Category Finalists:
- Empowering students to confront environmental injustice: Dialogue, theory, empathy, and partnership by Robert Magneson Chiles, Kerry Ard, Stephanie Teixeira-Poit, Cornelia Flora, Rhianna Williams, and Caitlin Grady
- Integrating a sustainability education model into STEM courses at a tribal college by Liliana Caughman
- Justice in climate change education: a systematic review by Carlie D. Trott, Stephanie Lam, Jessica Roncker, Emmanuel-Sathya Gray, R. Hayden Courtney, and Trevor L. Even
- Learning regenerative cultures: Indigenous nations in higher education renewal in Australia by Sandra Wooltorton, John Guenther, Anne Poelina, Mindy Blaise, Len Collard, and Peta White
- Sustainable development goals research in higher education institutions: An interdisciplinarity assessment through an entropy-based indicator by Dario Cottafava, Grazie Sveva Ascione, Laura Corazza, and Amandeep Dhir
- Teaching critical hope with creative pedagogies of possibilities by Anke Schwittay
- Teaching sustainability within the context of everyday life: Steps toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through the EUSTEPs Module by Sara Moreno Pires, Mahsa Mapar, Mariana Nicolau, Nicoletta Patrizi, Georgios Malandrakis, Federico M. Pulselli, Paula Bacelar Nicolau, Sandra Caeiro, Valentina Niccolucci, Nicolaos P. Theodossiou, Maria Serena Mancini, and Alessandro Galli
- Transforming education for the just transition by Sufyan Droubi, Arthur Galamba, Fernando Lannes Fernandes, Amanda André de Mendonça, and Raphael J. Heffron
Journal-Published Research, Engagement Category Finalists:
- Climate justice in higher education: a proposed paradigm shift towards a transformative role for colleges and universities by Alaina Kinol, Elijah Miller, Hannah Axtell, Ilana Hirschfeld, Sophie Leggett, Yutong Si, and Jennie C. Stephens
- Key insights from climate communication – and how they can inspire sustainability in higher education by Maike Sippel
- Students leading students: a qualitative study exploring a student-led model for engagement with the sustainable development goals by Bernice Lee, Katherine Liu, Tyler Samuel Warnock, Minji Olivia Kim, and Sarah Skett
- Sustainable New Product Development for Ten Thousand Villages, a Fair-Trade Social Enterprise: Empowering Women and Economic Development through Problem-Based Service Learning by Eundeok Kim
- Teaching students to collaborate with communities: expanding engineering education to create a sustainable future by Jennifer Hirsch, Ruth Yow, and Yi-Chin Sarah Wu
Journal-Published Research, Operations Category Finalists:
- Bottled vs tap water perceptions, choices and recommendations in a US Midwest university community by Kehinde Olagunju, Maya R. Sante, Georgia Bracey, and Ben K. Greenfield
- Community relationships and sustainable university food procurement by Katelyn Cline, Alexandria Huber-Disla, Amy Cooke, and Elizabeth Havice
- Footprints in Action: How UVA Is Managing Its Sustainability Stewardship by Elizabeth Dukes, Selina Cheng, Samuel Mogen, James Galloway, Allison Leach, Andrea Ruedy Trimble, Andrew Pettit, Jana Compton, and Michael Pennino
- From food access to food sovereignty: Striving to meet university student needs by Lena Hemmer, Renee Holt, Terri Kempton, Melanie del Rosario, Jon Stubblefield, and Grey Webster
Journal-Published Research, Planning & Administration Category Finalists:
- Decolonizing Sustainability through Indigenization in Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions by Yvonne N. Vizina
- Defining Sustainability in Higher Education Institutions by Tracy Harvey, Alfonso Morales, and Catherine H. Middlecamp
- Empowering students to confront environmental injustice: Dialogue, theory, empathy, and partnership by Robert Magneson Chiles, Kerry Ard, Stephanie Teixeira-Poit, Cornelia Flora, Rhianna Williams, and Caitlin Grady
- Footprints in Action: How UVA Is Managing Its Sustainability Stewardship by Elizabeth Dukes, Selina Cheng, Samuel Mogen, James Galloway, Allison Leach, Andrea Ruedy Trimble, Andrew Pettit, Jana Compton, and Michael Pennino
“The higher education sustainability community continually demonstrates its leadership in the global sustainability landscape. This is made evident through the wealth of submissions we received for the AASHE Sustainability Awards,” said Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser. “I’m delighted that we can celebrate the innovation and leadership showcased by this year’s finalists.”
Discover the award winners, and learn about inspiring and innovative sustainability accomplishments, during the virtual Awards Ceremony on December 7 at 12:00 p.m. ET.
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, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X, formerly Twitter.
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