Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
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Education and Research:
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (SRU) made a serious commitment to sustainability long before the current ground swell of support we are enjoying today. In 1990 the university founded two groundbreaking sustainability programs, which continue to evolve and be successful.
The first was the 83-acre Robert A. Macoskey Center for Sustainable Systems Education and Research, created to promote sustainability leadership through demonstration, education and research. The center includes a wind turbine and solar panels, organic community and market gardens, a small woodlot, a composting research and demonstration project, and restoration ecology projects. Harmony House, a multipurpose renovated farmhouse at the Macoskey Center, provides space for program activities. It is currently being renovated to provide additional classroom space and make the structure more energy efficient through a $291,050 commitment by the university. The influence of the Macoskey Center goes well beyond the SRU campus. Over the last eighteen years thousands of community members have taken advantage of the center’s sustainability programs, ranging from K-12 student activities to workshops on solar power, bio-diesel production, and organic gardening.
In 1990 SRU also founded the Masters of Science in Sustainable Systems (MS3), a unique graduate program designed to prepare students to face the pressing environmental challenges of the future by considering sustainability as the underlying framework for action. Responding to our increasing environmental problems and diminishing natural resources, the university made another large investment into the graduate program in 2008 with a complete redesign of the curriculum to meet these new challenges. Faculty members of the Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment began the process by researching the emerging “green job” market, the demand for sustainability consultants and officers, changes in energy policy and funding opportunities, and the effects of global climate change. The new 33-credit program is designed to produce environmental leaders who will be professionally successful and make a difference in their communities. The first graduate students to enter the new program in Fall 2009 will develop the skills to:
- Understand the relevant concepts and methods of economics, politics, ethics, design, and environmental geography pertaining to the sustainability of environmental resources and quality of life.
- Critically evaluate the sustainability of energy systems, technology, the built environment, and environmental regulations and policy.
- Work effectively within the private and public sector to develop and implement sound and equitable strategies for achieving sustainability.
Campus Operations:
The long-term goal for Slippery Rock University is to strive for the campus to become a living laboratory where sustainability is knit into the fabric of the institution. The entire campus becomes a classroom in this model. Faculty, staff, and students all share the responsibility to be both teachers and learners regarding sustainability.
To achieve this goal the university has been steadily reducing its use of energy and other natural resources. Since our base year (FY 2003/2004), SRU has reduced its energy usage and related environmental emissions by 9%, despite a 19% growth in the built environment on the campus. The average E.U.I. (Energy Utilization Index) of the campus has decreased by 23% during this time period. In addition, an ESCO energy savings project was started in 2006, and included energy saving light fixture upgrades and low flow plumbing fixtures for existing buildings that is projected to save 549,482 KWH and 11,928,000 gallons of water annually for the next 15 years. Between 2006 and 2008, the university constructed six new LEED-certified residence halls. The Robert A. Macoskey Center for Sustainable Systems Education and Research, currently under renovation, will be the first campus building to achieve LEED EB (Existing Building) certification.
Other ongoing operational activities improving the sustainability of the SRU campus include:
- Replacement of building envelopes in several large academic and residential facilities with more energy efficient roofs, walls, and windows;
- Incorporation of a geothermal heat pump system and other new energy efficient technologies into the renovation of the Macoskey Center, where performance results can be monitored and used in student workshops and demonstrations;
- The pursuit of several grants to demonstrate new technologies such as LED campus site lighting, an automated energy data monitoring system comprised of electrical meters and building dashboards for each individual building, and the incorporation of a unique geothermal heating/cooling system using existing municipality infrastructure as the heating/cooling source for the New Student Union Center currently under design;
- Use of students to survey lighting usage behavior patterns at the Advanced Technology & Health Sciences building, to analyze the cost-effectiveness of retrofitting occupancy sensor controls to the existing classroom lighting systems;
- Consolidation of summer academic programs into fewer buildings to reduce summer energy usage and electrical demand;
- Implementation of a research and demonstration project involving a new window retrofit system incorporating radiant spot heating capabilities to determine potential energy savings that could be replicated in a cost-effective manner in older facilities;
- Ongoing programs aimed at improving recycling efforts and using more local foods at the SRU dining facilities.
Administration and Finance:
During the 2008-2009 academic year Slippery Rock University took steps to ensure that principles of sustainability are embedded within its administrative decision-making structure. President Robert Smith created a diverse committee to draft a new chapter of the university’s strategic plan on our use of natural resources. The following text illustrates the intent of the document:
“SRU graduates must be engaged citizens and problem solvers who can lead others as we find ethical and equitable solutions to our environmental challenges. To accomplish this, SRU must lead by example, making a commitment to sustainable practices throughout every level of its operations, and becoming a leader in sustainability within the region. Ultimately, sustainable practices will become ingrained in our campus culture.”
One of the most substantial recommendations of the new strategic plan is the creation of a new Office of Sustainability, staffed by a full-time director and two graduate assistants. This office will:
- Conduct a sustainability assessment to document SRU’s efforts, and pursue STARS certification.
- Collect and coordinate the data and reporting necessary for the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.
- Develop a series of educational components that can be presented by a variety of staff, faculty and graduate students to ensure that incoming students have multiple opportunities to learn about campus sustainability.
- Expand and manage sustainability-themed workshops and programs through the Macoskey Center (i.e. LEED Workshops for local contractors/engineers, Organic (or similar) Certification Workshops, and Teacher Training Workshops).
Another very successful campus sustainability program was student-driven. Two undergraduate students in environmental studies spent more than a year winning approval for the creation of the Green Fund, which funds sustainability projects. To win support for their idea the students designed a short video, circulated petitions, met with administrators and the Board of Trustees, and even organized a music festival. Their efforts led to SRU’s first student-led referendum passing with 86 percent of the student body voting to raise their student fees by $5 a semester.
For the 2008-2009 school year, the Green Fund Advisory Board awarded $73,000 in sustainability grants. The projects included adding electrical metering equipment for two campus buildings, buying recycling equipment, sending students to participate in the 2009 Powershift conference, and expanding the campus Green Bike Initiative, a commuter bike program that allows students to check out bikes for personal use at the library. One of the more substantial projects funded was the I Ride the Bus System, which will allow students to track the location of the campus Happy Bus from displays at the bus stops or on their cell phones. Ultimately the program will provide data to optimize bus schedules, reduce fuel use, and increase bus ridership.
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