Campus Spotlight
Reaching for the STARS
Reaching for the STARS: IU Southeast Achieves Silver Status for the First Time
How do you inspire students, faculty and staff to engage in sustainability practices? The first thing you need is leadership and support from the top down. IU Southeast has taken on a leadership role in the Southern Indiana – Louisville metropolitan region when it comes to committing to sustainability practices and its efforts have been noted.
This past July, IU Southeast earned a Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) Silver rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
With more than 1,100 participants in 48 U.S. states and over 20 countries, AASHE’s STARS program is the most widely recognized framework in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a university’s sustainability performance. Participants report achievements in five overall areas: 1) academics 2) engagement, 3) operations, 4) planning and administration, and 5) innovation and leadership. These achievements are translated into a point system that designates five different status levels: Reporter, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
EV Charging stations
Campus Leadership Key to Sustainability Success
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, growth in sustainability studies has mushroomed 385% between 2012-2020. IU Southeast is prepared to meet this demand head on. Participating in STARS is just one of many examples that illustrates IU Southeast’s dedication to a more sustainable future.
“Among our achievements over the past several years, is the work of faculty across disciplines to design and launch an undergraduate degree in sustainability and regeneration,” said Kelly Ryan, Ph.D., interim chancellor of IU Southeast. “We are now identifying courses in all disciplines to broaden the scope and relevance of sustainability and regeneration across the campus’ academic offerings.”
As part of the STARS reporting process, all 1,107 undergraduate and 284 graduate online and campus courses offered in fiscal years 2019-21 and 2021-23 were inventoried and assessed. IU Southeast offers degree programs in sustainability and regeneration with concentrations in environmental, economic, and social sustainability. However, universities are also evaluated on incentivizing faculty in other degree programs to develop or incorporate sustainability modules and other course related materials into their classes. Points are also awarded for faculty and staff research and whether or not the campus serves as a living laboratory. All total, IU Southeast has 163 courses offered that encompass the principles of sustainability and sustainability research.
“I can tell you that the two hardest categories that any institution has to report on are academics and operations,” said Robin Frederick, 2020 IU Southeast graduate; STARS report coordinator; and AASHE STARS & Resources intern. “For a regional campus like IU Southeast to compete with much larger schools who have more established programs, it requires top-down support. Interim chancellor Dr. Ryan, vice chancellor for administration and finance Dana Wavle, executive director of facilities operations Rob Poff, and the academic and non-academic staff – all of these stakeholders across the campus supported these sustainability efforts. One of the most impressive examples of Dr. Ryan’s leadership was how quickly she was able to develop a strategic excellence grant for a sustainability focused course to encourage faculty and staff to develop sustainability initiatives.”
Innovative Sustainability in Action
Students have several opportunities on campus to get directly involved with sustainability efforts. The GREENadiers Sustainability Club has been a staple on campus since 2016 when it was founded by Frederick. Other student organizations and offices that work on sustainability issues include the Biology Club, Community Engagement Office, Honors Program, and the theatre production department; just to name a few.
Take a stroll around campus and you’ll notice many improvements, including:
- Expansion of the campus single stream recycling program.
- Conversion to indoor LED lighting across campus.
- Expansion of the campus food pantry.
- Expansion of green spaces and no-mow zone, including a large plot of native wildflowers.
- Implementation of a campus compost program.
- Tree care, planting and replacement program.
- Responsible storm water management practices including the use of bioswales to control and filter runoff from the main parking lot.
- Installing dual port electric vehicle charging stations.
On a campus that has a sizable percentage of students who commute, one major area of focus was the 2020 central parking renovation project which encompassed:
- Landscaping and installing new grass medians in parking lots.
- Using drip irrigation instead of spray irrigation.
- Converting all parking lots and walkways to LED lighting.
- Planting 125 native tree species such as Oaks, Elm, Redbud, Serviceberry, and Honey Locust to minimize the heat island effect, maximize shading and neutralize drainage.
IU Southeast made a capital investment of $9.5 million from fiscal year 2015 to 2022 on new HVAC systems in five buildings, with a sixth slated for 2023. The university also converted electric-powered building systems to natural gas. The cumulative effect of this work resulted in a nearly 30% reduction in energy costs.
“Another area that I would like to point out is the reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fiscal years 2020 to 2021,” said Frederick. “With the help of IU Bloomington, we have only completed two GHG reports and we have already seen a decrease from 7,289.2 metric tons to 6,443,45. This type of decrease in emissions over a span of two fiscal years is monumental. There are still many other opportunities for gains, but this Silver STARS report celebrates the hard work that was put into the current improvements. It is remarkable but not surprising that IU Southeast achieved silver status on their very first STARS report.”
No mow zone
Next Time Going for Gold
IU Southeast will maintain Silver STARS status until 2025. The next step is to continue advancing the campus’ overall sustainability goals.
“With sustainability built into both academic programming and campus financial planning, and with a core of committed administrators, educators and students exploring next steps, IU Southeast is in a good position to expand upon its progress to date, and to become a leader in the region,” said Ryan. “We take pride in this recognition as good stewards of the environment and with the savings we’ve realized, good stewards of Indiana tax dollars.”
To view the public STARS report on IU Southeast, visit Indiana University Southeast | Scorecard | Institutions | STARS Reports (aashe.org)