Boise State University

Boise State Campus with a View of the Boise Foothills

Campus Category

Four year and graduate institutions 5,000 – 15,000 student FTE

Contact Information

John Gardner
Associate Vice President
Energy Research, Policy and Campus Sustainability

Education and Research

The concept of sustainability is not considered the province of any one academic program at Boise State, rather sustainability topics are integrated throughout the curriculum. Students wishing to have a more substantial educational experience in this area may pursue their goal through out Environmental Studies Program. Lead by a diverse group of faculty from Anthropology, English, Civil Engineering, History, Geosciences and Chemistry, this program is an interdisciplinary degree with a basic background in mathematics, science, social sciences, and environmental policy.

Our core curriculum also reflects our commitment to sustainability. As stated in our course catalog, the philosophy of our core curriculum is

It is the University’s responsibility to help students learn to think critically, to communicate clearly and concisely in oral, written, and visual form, to appreciate themselves as part of a larger world, and to cultivate the imagination and intellectual curiosity required for life-long learning. The Core curriculum is designed to… contribute to the preparation of students as both local and global citizens.

Similarly, research related to sustainability is prevalent at Boise State. When he took over as president of the university in 2003, Dr. Bob Kustra put the university on a course to become a “metropolitan research university of distinction.” Since then, our annual research contracts have increased sharply, amounting to $28M in the 2008 academic year. Much of this research is related to sustainability. For example, Boise State is home to the newly-established Geothermal Resource Database (funded through the National Science Foundation). Our business college faculty conduct research on carbon markets and engineering faculty are pursuing promising technologies for energy storage to enable the integration of renewable energy sources to the distribution grid. The creation of the office of Energy Research, Policy and Campus Sustainability signals the university’s commitment to develop a focused research agenda to the issue of energy, which is central to the a sustainable future. Through this office, groups of researchers are brought together under a coherent mission of sustainability research which has local significance in the Intermountain West, but global implications.

Research efforts related to sustainability cross nearly all academic disciplines. More details can be found at the following web sites:

 

Campus Operations

At Boise State, we believe that the most efficient building is the one you don’t have to build. A guiding principle in the operation of our campus is proper utilization of our built infrastructure. The results of this philosophy are revealed in the very low per capita carbon footprint of our campus (see below). In addition, we are currently developing a campus wide policy to guide the design and construction of new buildings.

Campus Carbon Footprint
In September of 2008, the office of energy research, policy and campus sustainability released the green house gas inventory for Boise State, detailing Scopes 1, 2 and some Scope 3 emissions for the five year period from 2004 through 2008. This inventory revealed that the carbon intensity of our campus operations is essentially flat in spite of an aggressive campus building program and rapidly increasing enrollment. In addition, the overall carbon intensity (measured in metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent per capita) is among the lowest in the country at 2.5 MTCDE/student.

Performance Contracting
In 2003, Boise State initiated a long-term performance contract with Siemens, Inc. As a result, upgrades were made to buildings that constitute 63% of our conditioned floor space. Over $7M in facility improvement measures were implemented. The contract guarantees a savings of $385,000 per year in energy costs. We are currently in the measurement and verification phase of the contract. In addition to the upgrades throughout campus, each major building was fitted with real-time energy monitors to continuously record electrical, steam and chilled water consumption in campus buildings.

Transportation
Analysis by the office of energy research, policy and campus sustainability indicates that 58% of daily commuters come to campus in single-passenger vehicles. This reflects favorably on our many efforts to promote alternative means of getting to campus, and we continually strive to improve this figure. Boise State is committed to a course of action that maintains adequate accessibility of our campus to all while at the same time, exercises environmental stewardship by working to minimize negative environmental impact due to vehicular traffic by students and employees. Some of the highlights of this program are listed below.

  • All current students and employees of Boise State can ride any of the regional public transit buses with no charge to the user. During the past two academic years, steep increases in ridership (over 40%) were observed.
  • The campus is in the midst of a $250,000 pedestrian/bicycle safety master planning process to ensure that we are incorporating alternative transportation into our campus master plan as the campus changes and expands.
  • In an effort to further encourage alternatives to single-occupant vehicles, Boise State is preparing to offer on-site car-sharing to students and staff who need a vehicle for short-term needs throughout the day.
     

Administration and Finance

In June of 2007, Boise State University President Bob Kustra signed the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment. Shortly thereafter, he backed up this pledge with the establishment of the Office of Energy Research, Policy and Campus Sustainability. This new office is headed by John Gardner, a professor of mechanical engineering who reports directly to the president and is responsible for not only meeting the requirements of the Climate Commitment, but also for the development of a shared vision of sustainability, not only in campus construction and operation, but also in research, scholarship and academic programs.

Boise State University is the largest university in the state of Idaho, and is in the midst of sustained and impressive growth. In an effort to guide and control growth of the physical plant, a campus master plan was developed in 1997 and is continuously updated. This master plan (http://www.boisestate.edu/masterplan/) commits Boise State to a path consistent with our metropolitan setting, by growing up more than out and celebrating our urban heritage in our architecture and careful preservation of open space.

The commitment to sustainability permeates the culture through campus operations and planning. In addition to an approach to campus expansion that results in buildings which are 30 to 40% more energy efficient than required by code, we maintain an aggressive recycling program (which resulted in 12th place recognition in the “benchmark bracket” of the 2009 Recyclemania competition). Our new dining facility in the Student Union Building expansion is equipped to accommodate a large-scale composting operation for which we are currently seeking partners. Finally, Boise State is an important change agent among the Idaho state agencies, pushing toward state-wide purchasing and contracting policies that reflect our commitment to sustainability.
Boise State leads the region in public engagement on the topic of sustainability. Here are but a few of the events organized by various campus departments. 

  • In January of 2007, Al Gore addressed the annual Frank Church conference on campus. Over 10,000 packed the arena in an event that was sold out in a few hours.
  • Boise State was an inaugural participant in Focus The Nation in January of 2008. The event covered 3 days and included campus lectures, keynote speakers, a business symposium focused on climate change and a research poster session.
  • In April of 2008, William McDonough, author of “Cradle To Cradle”, spoke as part of our Distinguished Lecture Series to a packed auditorium.
  • In Spring of 2009, the Osher Institute (Boise State’s Adult Learner program) organized a very popular lecture series on the topic of alternative energy.
  • During Earth Week of 2009, campus was host to a local farmer’s market and vendors of renewable energy products.
     
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