AASHE Interview Series: Shane Tedder, Sustainability Coordinator, University of Kentucky
This week's interview is with Shane Tedder, the Sustainability Coordinator in the Office of Residence Life at the University of Kentucky. Three years into his current position, Shane has been actively working to advance sustainability on the University’s campus for over six. He is responsible for transforming a graduate assistantship in which he helped to oversee recycling in the residence halls into a more comprehensive sustainability program emphasizing education, and he deserves much of the credit for connecting the many disparate sustainability initiatives on UK’s campus and taking them to the next level.
A longtime friend and mentor, Shane continues to work tirelessly to improving existing programs and working to help create new programs that move the University in a sustainable direction. Continue reading to learn more about the programs Shane is currently working on, his thoughts on the necessity of decentralization in the sustainability movement, and what he is most looking forward to in 2009.
If you are interested in participating in the AASHE Interview Series or wish to nominate someone to participate please email me. To read past interviews, click here.
What campus sustainability initiatives are you working on at the moment?
Wow, where to start? The three initiatives getting most of my attention right now are: 1) Expanding our campus bicycle library to include small sub fleets stationed at every residence hall 2) Preparing the project list for our BRAND NEW environmental stewardship student fee 3) Piloting an energy monitoring system for 5 residence halls that provides real time feedback.
How did you get started in campus sustainability? 
I trace my involvement with campus sustainability back to my roots in Roley, KY. I grew up on a farm in a hollow where the same families had lived for a couple hundred years. We shared farm implements, took turns working each other’s field, had well water, grew our own food, and did not throw anything away. Because of this foundation and a love for the outdoors I joined a Student Environmental Club during my undergraduate days. Through the club, I found out about other opportunities and everything has snowballed from there.
What campus sustainability success are you most proud of?
The Wildcat Wheels Bicycle Library is probably the campus sustainability success I am most proud of. We started this bike-recycling project while I was still an undergraduate and it has grown tremendously since then. In July of 2008, the NYT profiled our program as one of the 7 most innovative campus sustainability initiatives.
What advice would you give to others in your position who are just getting started?
Be patient and get to know the people on your campus. Understanding what others have at stake in projects you are pursuing is critical to gaining their support. This involves a strategy from the social sciences known as multiple-stake holder analysis.
In what area(s) do you see the biggest room for growth in the campus sustainability field?
In general, I think that the Social Justice/Equity component is the most overlooked. I also think there is tremendous untapped potential in the creation of scholarships and positions that are funded jointly by related academic and operation units. Grounds and landscape architecture, civil engineering and Transportation Services, Hospitality Management and Dining Services, etc.
How are you incorporating the social dimensions of sustainability into your work?
On an operational level, we do this through our purchasing process by looking at how the products we purchase are made and labor conditions for those that make them. We also work hard to reallocate resources and are donating 5-6 tons of food, clothing and supplies to charities in our region each year. We also support initiatives that enhance the quality of life for employees at UK.
How are you tracking your progress toward sustainability?
This is an area where we are lacking good quantitative data. We participate in the Green Campus Report Card Surveys, Peterson’s Survey, and will likely participate in STARS. Internally, our President’s Sustainability Advisory Committee submits an annual report to the Board of Trustees.
Is there a particular insight (learning experience or “ah-ha” moment) you have had working on campus sustainability?
Two insights that I hope others find helpful. First, money talks (sadly). Emphasizing the cost savings, and cost avoidance potential of Sustainability related projects is a great way to get your foot in the door with folks who would otherwise scoff at arguments for environmental stewardship and social justice.
Second, (and I just recently had this “ah-ha” moment) sustainability is very easy to define: it is the ability to sustain. The tricky part is defining what we are trying to sustain (or build so that it can be sustained). For me, that is a university that graduates students who are responsible global citizens empowered with the knowledge and skills they need to live their lives according to a balanced triple-bottom line regardless of their profession, income bracket, or geographic location.
How are your sustainability efforts funded?
Through a wide variety of means. Residence Life Sustainability is funded through a student fee charged to all students that live in the residence halls. Our bicycle library is funded in part by internal organizations like Student Government and the Resident Student Association, but we have also received grants from our state transportation cabinet and the Nation Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology program. That program has received some corporate sponsorship as well.
Beginning in the fall of 2009, the new Environmental Stewardship Fee will provide the first recurring funding stream dedicated to sustainability projects on our campus. In addition, our presidentially approved campus sustainability policy, states that “savings generated by successful natural resource conservation and campus-wide synergies should be re-invested into subsequent sustainability initiatives and for the benefit of the University.”
In what ways are students involved in your work?
Students really are the foundation of my work. It has been student enthusiasm and activism that have gotten us to this point. We have a growing number of sustainability internships available to students and offer sustainability related student-employment through our recycling program, bicycle library, and eco-rep program.
Are you involved in efforts to advance sustainability in the curriculum at the University of Kentucky? How?
Not yet, but I would like to be. I am often invited as a guest lecturer for classes across a wide variety of disciplines, but I have not been directly involved in curriculum development. We do have a couple key people on campus that are very involved in this. The two most likely integrations will be a revision of our general studies requirements to include sustainability-related courses, and a focus on sustainability during our first-year student orientation class, UK 101.
What are you most looking forward to in 2009?
Using social network analysis to map and connect the sustainability-focused people and projects UK. I recently attended a week-long workshop with Steve Borgatti on this topic. And I am very excited to use the software he has developed to help identify where potential synergies exist on our campus and to effectively communicate, and give cohesion to, our extremely decentralized efforts to make our campus more sustainable. I believe that this decentralization is essential to our future success (no one person or office could ever coordinate all the projects related to sustainability); however it does present a formidable challenge when trying to communicate what is going on, or to measure progress. I am hopeful that social network analysis will be an effective tool in addressing this challenge.
