Creating a Sustainable Campus Culture through
Student Engagement: Capitalizing on Living-Learning
Communities and Creative Inquiry Teams
Presented by: Tyler Gailey, M.Ed., Community Director, Clemson University
Contributors: Jennifer Goree, Catherine Mobley, David Ladner, Beth Kunkel, Leidy Klotz
Session Agenda
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Participant introductions and personal goals for this session
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Clemson’s Commitment to Sustainability
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Capitalizing on existing structures
• Creative Inquiry Teams
• Living-learning Communities
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Tracking our Progress
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Small group discussion and sharing
Session Learning Outcome
Learning Outcome: Participants in this session will be able to
capitalize on pre-existing structures within their own institutions such
as housing, project-based and research-based classes, student
organizations, and dining services to implement sustainable change
on campus.
Clemson University’s Commitment to Sustainability
American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment
Signatory:
• President’s Commission on Sustainability
Formed November 2009
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Sustainability Plan presented to
President Barker December 2010
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Three major emphasis areas:
Education and Research
• Culture and Leadership
• Carbon Neutrality
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2030: Target for Carbon Neutrality
Overview of Clemson University’s Sustainability Plan
“The essence of sustainability is within the DNA of Clemson’s
ideology.” President Jim Barker
Education and Research
• Carbon Neutrality Plan
• Conservation, Resource Management and Waste Elimination
• Planning and Design
• Comprehensive, Sustainable Transportation System
• Culture and Leadership
• Culture of Healthy, sustainable living
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Clemson’s Focus on Education & Research
Sustainability will be an integral part of the educational experience for
all members of the Clemson Family.
Presidents’ climate commitment to provide sustainability education
for all students
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carbon neutrality requires culture shift
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7 out of 10 of best high-school students prefer green universities
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Clemson students and South Carolinians for “green” jobs
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Clemson as a national model for sustainability education
Culture & Leadership
Leading a cultural shift requires that we impact the campus
community on each of the following levels:
• Individual
• Interpersonal
• Organizational
• Community
• Policy
Education & Research
Integration and Infusion
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Science and Technology courses
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Required seminars
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Quality Enhancement Plan
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Sustainability Education Institute
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Creative Inquiry Teams
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Living-learning Communities
Utilizing Existing Structures to Bring about Change
Creative Inquiry Teams
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Dirt to Food
Trailgating
BioFuels
Environmental Teach-In and Focus the
Nation Forum to Action Program
Engineers’ Behavior in Sustainable
Energy Decisions
Maximizing Infiltration Volume in Rain
Gardens
Campus sustainability improvement
planning and design
People-Place-Sustainability
Clemson Farm-Fresh Farmers Market
Developing Linkages for a Sustainable
Food System
Green Crescent project: Sustainability in
community TRAILS and GREENWAYS
Living-learning Communities
LIEF: Leading and Innovating for the Environment
and Future
LIEF: Leading and Innovating for the Environment
and Future
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Significant interest from faculty
18 month planning and implementation period
First LIEF students moved into Calhoun Courts in Fall 2011
Required enrolment in team-taught LIEF Creative Inquiry with faculty from:
• Environmental Engineering and Earth Science
• Sociology
• Biology
• Food Science and Nutrition
• Civil Engineering
• Student Affairs
LIEF: Student Learning Outcomes
Students will work across disciplinary lines to think critically about how they can
address great societal challenges related to sustainability. To achieve this course
goal, students will:
• define sustainability
• identify and discuss fundamental issues of sustainability;
• analyze how their values relate to sustainability, and how their actions impact
sustainability issues;
• recognize interrelated systems;
• evaluate the role of their major in sustainability issues;
• apply sustainability concepts on local and global scales;
• practice change agent skills for sustainability;
• develop a plan to address sustainability challenges through engagement at
Clemson and beyond.
Students Leading the Way
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Students for Environmental Action
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Student Sustainability Initiative
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Reusable coffee mug program
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Dirt to Food Project
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Game day recycling efforts
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Clemson University Environmental Teach-in
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Seven pro-environment student groups
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65 majors and 700+ courses related to sustainability.
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New bike rental program
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Leave no Trace Tailgating
Assessment
Assessment is a powerful tool to show progress and demonstrate need for
improvement.
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President gives annual report to the Board of Trustees
We set measureable goals for our sustainability plan and hold ourselves
accountable
Gives us data to support areas that need improvement
Sample Data:
Students were asked the extent to which they agreed with the following statement “In the development of our society, we must
strive to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
(93.0%) strongly or mildly agree with this statement about sustainability, with just 4.9% mildly or strongly disagreeing with this
statement.
Small Group Discussion
Are there ways to tie your student-driven sustainability efforts to
course credit?
• What faculty incentives exist to encourage faculty participation in
out of the classroom learning?
• Is interdisciplinary work encouraged?
• What successes have you had with students leading the way?
• How have you used assessment to inform your work?
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Resources
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http://www.clemson.edu/sustainability/
• Sustainability Plan
• PCS Report Card
http://www.clemson.edu/academics/programs/creative-inquiry/
http://www.clemson.edu/campus-life/housing/living-learning.html
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LIEF Syllabus
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Sustainability Survey
Clemson Dining and Housing Living-learning Community
Planning Guide
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Contacts
Tyler Gailey
Community Director
gailey@clemson.edu
Jennifer Goree
Director of Healthy Campus
goree@clemson.edu
Catherine Mobley
Professor of Sociology
camoble@clemson.edu
David Ladner
Assistant Professor Environmental Engineering
And Earth Science
ladner@clemson.edu
Leidy Klotz
Associate Professor Civil Engineering &
Chair of President’s Commission on Sustainability
leidyk@clemson.edu
Beth Kunkel
Professor Food Science and Nutrition
bkunkel@clemson.edu