Portland State University
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Education and Research:
Portland State University’s (PSU) approach to education and research reflects an integrated and systemic understanding of sustainability, a mission-centered commitment to community engagement and partnerships, and a physical location in the heart of Portland, Oregon, one of the nation’s most sustainable cities.
Efforts around sustainability in research and education are coordinated through the Center for Sustainable Processes and Practices, which also administers a graduate certificate in sustainability. Rather than isolate sustainability courses in a specific program or discipline, however, PSU has made strides to incorporate sustainability theory and problem-based approaches throughout both undergraduate and graduate curriculums, from programs in architecture and engineering, to sociology, art, business and the humanities.
This past year, PSU received a ten-year, $25 million matching grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation in support of its sustainability programs. This funding has served as a catalyst for ongoing work and a leverage point for securing additional external funds.
In 2008-2009, PSU called for sustainability proposals from faculty, awarding $1.7 million in grants that supported additional curriculum development and new research investigations. One example is the establishment of a Green Building Research Lab, which supports research, training, and industry support of a vibrant and growing sector in the Pacific Northwest. It builds on longstanding expertise in green roofs, pulling faculty from mechanical engineering, architecture, urban studies and planning, and other disciplines. A second RFP has been issued, and will fund projects for the 2009-2010 academic year.
The university also sponsored an “idea generator” for students. Sustainability related proposals were presented at an open forum attended by students, faculty, and staff from across campus and then were revised based on feedback. Those funded included a “Take Back the Tap” education initiative on plastic bottled water, a sustainable publishing initiative that also led to the establishment of a new sustainable imprint within PSU’s Ooligan Press.
The Miller grant has also facilitated new collaborations across campus in sustainability, drawing researchers together from across disciplines and institutions, and engaging students and community partners. The University has an emerging cluster of activity around the theme of “sustainable urban communities,” combining a focus on environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability to meet the challenges of the region (and the world’s) urban and rapidly urbanizing communities. A parallel area of focus is on high-priority regional issues.
The result will be continued investment and expansion of those areas related to green building and living labs; integrated green infrastructure, integrated approaches to social, environmental, and economic aspects; deepening social sustainability scholarship; and sustainable international development with an emphasis on urban communities.
PSU continues to expand capacity in sustainability; it has established three new tenured faculty lines with cross-disciplinary expertise in sustainability and is conducting a national search for a permanent director for the sustainability center. It has also established a visiting scholars program (two for 2009-2010) and a post-doctoral fellows program (three for 2009-2010) as well as a new position in support of student sustainability leadership.
Campus Operations:
Portland State University continues to develop a campus environment that reflects a widespread commitment to sustainability from students, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community.
Most visible is the University’s synergistic relationship to the region’s mass transit. PSU is served by bus lines, streetcar and in fall 2009, a new light rail line that will run through campus in the heart of downtown. Bicycling continues to grow in popularity, with an increase of 50% among students (and 125 new bike racks) on campus this past year. Subsidized transit passes and outreach have helped reduce the percentage of PSU’s 30,000 students, faculty and staff who drive alone to campus to just 25%.
Every new building constructed since 2003 has received the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification, including two housing mixed-use housing facilities, research greenhouses, a remodeled 1915 former elementary school, and a five-story engineering building that earned LEED Gold. A remodel and retrofit of a century-old former high school that now houses performing arts programs aims for LEED certification, as does the new Academic and Student Recreation Center, scheduled for completion in late 2009.
Building renovations and retrofits included HVAC system improvements, a multimillion-dollar campus steam and chilled water loop expansion and upgrade, and installation of energy-efficient lighting.
Food services offer recycling and food composting; composting efforts have expanded in the past year to include on-campus events and some offices. A student-run on-campus café, “Food for Thought,” provides organic and locally sourced breakfast and lunch items as well as catering. On Saturdays from March through December, the campus is home to Portland Farmer’s Market, attracting over 15,000 visitors each week during peak season.
This year, the PSU Recycles program will expand its “trash data audits” service to help offices and departments better assess and improve the amount of garage generated. Over 40% of garbage on campus is diverted from landfills through various efforts; the goal is to achieve 75% in the near future.
This past year, 25 “green teams” were formed: faculty and staff volunteers implementing ground-level conservation efforts at the department level.
The quarterly “Chuck It for Charity” event collects discarded clothing, nonperishable food items, and furniture from campus housing residents. These items are diverted from the waste stream and donated to local nonprofits.
In 2006, PSU was recognized by the Salmon Safe organization for its commitment to reducing water use through the development of a water conservation plan and improved irrigation efficiency, eliminating "high-risk" pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, and continued progress toward meeting its stormwater management plan objectives including employing such designs as flow-through planters, stormwater harvesting systems, and eco-roofs.
The University will derive 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010. The PSU campus participated in the 2009 Power Down for the Planet, which led to improved power management software tools installed on ~850 computers across campus, saving electricity and reducing carbon emissions. Plans are underway to install a 9 kW solar array in 2009 that will provide energy as well as data for research.
Administration and Finance:
Successful adoption and implementation of sustainable practices requires full participation from the administrative and financial elements of the university. At PSU, with a motto of “Let Knowledge Serve the City,” its roots in community engagement, as well as longstanding programs in affiliated programs like urban planning and environmental studies catalyzed the rapid adoption of sustainability. In 2002, the University hired its first sustainability coordinator for operations and facilities; soon thereafter it added a coordinator for academic programs.
In 2006, PSU was among the first universities to sign the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. In 2008-2009, it adopted sustainability as a learning outcome for all undergraduate students.
In October 2008, the campus sustainability office established an online “sustainability action hub” called the EcoWiki, which generated 75,000 visits by June 2009, providing information, blogs, events, discussions, and other sustainability related information.
President Wim Wiewel, who joined PSU in 2008, hosted an inauguration forum in 2009 with the theme “Building University-Community Partnerships for a Sustainable Regional Economy.” At that event, he and Portland Mayor Sam Adams signed a memorandum that furthered the university and city’s partnerships around issues including sustainability and economic development.
For 2009-2010, PSU will implement a “sustainability pledge” that encourages faculty, staff, and students to adopt sustainable behaviors at work, and then (via email) will send reminders about how to accomplish these tasks. It will also include sustainability as a presentation at all new and transfer student orientations, and at new faculty and staff orientations.
The campus is currently negotiating with the city of Portland to establish an “ecodistrict” around the ~50 acre downtown campus. This would provide a neighborhood-scale approach to sustainability that might include green-retrofits of existing buildings, as well as extensive measurement and analysis of building performance on a district-level scale. PSU would be a participant as a development and research partner, providing students and faculty members a “living laboratory” in which to student implementation and performance of sustainability.
At the heart of the eco-district proposal: the world’s first large-scale “living building,” located on PSU’s campus and home to the Oregon Sustainability Center. The building, currently in the design analysis phase, would 200,000+ square foot urban, mixed-use high-rise. The project is positioned to become the regional hub for Portland and Oregon’s sustainability activities. The center would produce 100% of its energy on site through self-sustaining energy generation and distribution systems; its design also includes integrated water reuse (for black, grey and storm water management), net-zero energy consumption and no carbon footprint.
Even in light of severe budget forecasts and reductions, Portland State University remains committed to sustainability in academics, research, operations, and community partnerships.
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