Molloy College
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Education and Research:
In April 2009 Molloy College, a Catholic College founded by Dominican Sisters in 1955, officially launched The Sustainability Institute at Molloy College with the goal of becoming a national leader in developing, promoting, and implementing sustainable solutions to environmental and quality-of-life issues. The Institute is Long Island’s first-ever venture housing sustainability education and policy analysis within an academic institution. The strategic decision to move ahead with the Institute demonstrates the College’s embodiment of its mission and its dedication to the Dominican traditions of study, service, and community. The Institute also works to develop ethical leaders and challenges students to be aware of their responsibilities to preserve and protect the environment and to improve the quality of life for themselves and their neighbors in an ever-changing global society.
Through the focused efforts of the Sustainability Institute, Molloy College is working to curb global warming, reduce environmental toxins, improve overall public health, promote smart-planning that provides sustainable land use, and promote communities and life-styles that are sustainable and affordable in the long-term. The goals of the Institute are to develop and foster understanding and informed discussion of positive, innovative solutions to problems relating to sustainability, to bring a regional focus to efforts to implement concepts of sustainable living, and to tenaciously pursue solutions which may require sustained long-term efforts.
The Sustainability Institute at Molloy College promotes transformative education both on and off campus. It provides a convening function that reaches out to civic and environmental leaders, business executives, and government officials. The Institute works to help students gain an understanding of how social change is accomplished, while developing their leadership skills. In addition to our existing Bachelor of Science in Earth and Environmental Studies, our on-campus sustainability education effort will reach a new level in the fall of 2009. Members of our sustainability team will be reaching out to our freshman cohorts in their classrooms. They will share knowledge on environmental issues, will work to instill a passion for saving our planet, and issue a call to action.
The Sustainability Institute at Molloy College will also reach out to surrounding communities with focus groups, task forces, instructional seminars, informational resources regarding green living and “green papers” – issuing recommendations which will lead to solutions for sustainability concerns that affect us all.
Campus Operations:
- Molloy College intends to construct a new building to be completed in 2010, called the “Public Square,” which will be LEED-Certified.
- Molloy College has been following an organic lawn care program for several years on its grounds and athletic fields. Tree spraying is three times year and also uses organic products. Spraying is done on off days to reduce human exposure to sprays. Bullfrog Pest Management has been servicing Molloy since 1998 using integrated pest management techniques. They have recently gone through a rigorous inspection and training program to earn a Green Shield certification, which is recognized by the New York State E.P.A., and Bullfrog is a member of the US Green Buildings Council Long Island Chapter (USGBC).
- We have installed a cleaning solution dispensing system in our janitorial closets. This system dispenses pre-measured cleaning solutions into a pump spray bottle and dilutes them with water. These products are GREEN SEAL and OSHA approved. • We have moved away from using carpet shampoos, which contain heavy amounts of soap and other chemicals. These shampoos have been replaced with a product that is GREEN SEAL approved.
- The grease trap system for the cafeteria and the on property convent kitchen have been treated with a natural enzyme product that dissolves grease and eliminates odor and renders the kitchen waste water environmentally friendly.
- The public safety and maintenance departments use electric vehicles to patrol the campus.
- Over the past two years, we started to remove the carpets from high-traffic areas and installed VCT (vinyl composition) tile in its place. The tile is easier to maintain and contaminants cannot get trapped within its composition. Life expectancies are longer than carpet.
- We are testing the durability of a new type of flooring in the three academic buildings that is made from all organic material, which gives it a GREEN rating.
- Over the last ten years, we have converted the old fluorescent lighting in many areas to the new Energy Saver electronic ballasts and low mercury fluorescent tubes. This is an ongoing project, which is about 60% completed.
- The old tubes and ballasts must be considered hazardous waste and are picked up by a licensed environmental contractor for proper disposal.
- We have installed a waterless urinal at our Suffolk site for evaluation. If it proves successful, we will begin to faze them in on the main campus. They are Energy Star and GREEN SEAL approved.
- One the main campus we have installed low-water-consumption flush-o-meters in the restrooms. These units use half the water of the older units. We are evaluating their functionality in relationship to the campus waste pipe system.
- The drinking fountains throughout campus have been fitted with charcoal carbon filters to improve the quality of the drinking water.
Administration and Finance:
Molloy College focused on 2009 Earth Week activities, which were open not only to the student body, but to the surrounding community as well. The College appointed an individual who was dedicated for almost a year to planning the events. The week’s events featured several lectures, including a keynote speaker, a live performance of the renowned one-woman play “A Sense of Wonder,” student exhibits, and a campus-wide effort to calculate and reduce individual carbon footprints - the calculations were performed with user-friendly software, and were done by students and faculty.
Molloy was fortunate to have a group of faculty members, led by the Office of Mission, who engaged in planning celebration. Molloy College President Drew Bogner, Ph.D., is very supportive of “green” initiatives and supported the significant financial investment in the new Sustainability Institute (hired 5 new staff). He sent out a campus-wide email informing students and faculty about campus green efforts and encouraged participation in Earth Week activities.
We also partnered with Dominican Sisters who are working in Nigeria, in an area that has been greatly impacted by global warming, to bring some relief to that area. We held a bread and soup luncheon where for a nominal donation (all proceeds going to help relief efforts in Nigeria) participants were provided with a luncheon of bread, soup and cookies. There was a prayer service and a discussion led by a volunteer who had just returned from the devastated area.
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