Fort Lewis College
Contact Information
Education and Research:
Fort Lewis College has made community-based learning and research one of its core institutional commitments. It is in the process of setting up a co-curricular transcript program and online student portfolio that will track student’s engagement with the community, whether through direct service, independent research, class projects, or participation in student clubs, such as the Environmental Center or Engineers without Borders. The Environmental Center will be piloting this program with students working on sustainability issues and setting up a system to map the sustainability interests of faculty, staff, students, and community organizations in order to facilitate connections and further community engagement on sustainability issues.
In terms of formal curriculum, the Environmental Studies major at Fort Lewis has 77 students in its third year. Each student does a 150-hour internship with a community organization and participates in a group problem-solving course that tackles a pressing community issue or problem. Tied to the College’s historic mission of Native American education, indigenous worldviews and tribal environmental issues are an important part of the degree program. The College has a number of classes focused on sustainability, such as “End of Oil” which is taught every semester and includes a sustainability service project. The College also has a Sustainable Agriculture minor and has a number of sustainability research projects at the Old Fort property – a 6300-acre parcel of land that housed the original army post and Native American boarding school from which came our current institution. We also have a Native American and Indigenous Studies program with strong connections to tribes throughout our region.
Finally, the draft of our Sustainability Action Plan outlines specific goals and objectives for Education and Engagement around sustainability issues. One of the strengths of our plan is that we have created a model for campus engagement that describes the engagement process and the need to connect institutional progress with grassroots initiatives. Most sustainability education plans focus on activities (e.g. eco-reps) that are not tied to larger model for engagement. We have been able to make this connection and are excited about the potential to shift campus culture.
Campus Operations:
Fort Lewis has achieved a great deal given its available resources. Colorado annually ranks near the bottom of state higher education funding and as a small liberal arts school in the southwestern corner of the state, Fort Lewis has to fight for every dollar at the state level. Students started a campus recycling program in the late 1980’s and in 2000 a student group helped integrate sustainability features into construction of the new Student Life Center. We currently have three new buildings going up on campus – a LEED-Gold residence hall, a LEED-Gold addition to our Student Union, and a new LEED-Silver Biology Building. The addition to the student union will include a solar thermal system, PV panels, and a green roof. This year students will pilot a Commuter Club program in order to demonstrate the potential that a Transportation Demand Management program can have on our campus.
Our Physical Plant uses an energy management system to reduce our carbon footprint and has installed efficient lighting across campus. We are preparing to undertake a performance contracting process and this is a cornerstone of our climate action plan. We use non-potable water for all our irrigation and use a sophisticated irrigation system that reduces water use. We have a campus garden and orchard and compost food waste from our dining hall. Our campus has made a commitment to purchase only 100% PCW recycled paper. Last year we created a full-time Environmental Health and Safety Officer position to better manage the small amount of hazardous waste that we generate as a liberal arts college. This past year we completed a draft of a Sustainability Action Plan that sets five-year targets for all areas of campus operations.
Administration and Finance:
Since 2000, the President’s Advisory Council on Environmental Affairs (PACEA) has dealt with sustainability issues at an institutional level. The Council established an initial environmental policy for the school and incorporated sustainability into the campus master plan. It has been the body reviewing the developing Sustainability Action Plan and provides a point of connection for our city and county officials (both of whom are represented on the council).
While we do not as yet have a Sustainability Office, the Fort Lewis College Environmental Center has championed sustainability on campus since 1991. The Center’s accomplishments include significant expansion and institutionalization of campus recycling, greening of the Student Life Center, creation of a demonstration eco-garden, and ongoing events, workshops, and community projects. In 2007, Fort Lewis College became a charter signatory of the ACUPCC and the campus performed its first-ever Sustainability Assessment and greenhouse gas inventory. This led to campus-wide discussion about our sustainability priorities and this year the completion of a Sustainability Action Plan outlining five-year targets for performance, education and engagement, service to region, and coordination and support. Major recommendations of the plan include establishment of a Campus Sustainability Office, creation of a sustainability website (currently underway), and incorporation of sustainability in the 2012-2016 strategic plan for the campus. In the face of severe financial constraints, these measures have been achieved primarily through student initiative backed up by a supportive administration.
As part of its school charter all Native Americans and Alaskan natives receive free tuition at Fort Lewis. Each year this is about 15-18% of the student population. This makes a four-year degree accessible for many students, especially students from Native American reservations that would otherwise not being able to afford college. Our Native American Center and El Centro de Muchos Colores, along with our federally-funded Program for Academic Advancement, provide support to students of color and first-generation college students.
In terms of finance, students passed a sustainability fee of $.05/credit hour that will go toward student sustainability projects. The previous year they significantly raised student fees to raise $25 million dollars for the new LEED-Gold addition to the Student Union. We have a very small endowment, but our assessment showed that our investments scored well on socially-responsible indicators.
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