Duquesne University 2008 Campus Sustainability Leadership Award Application

Category

Four-year and Graduate Institutions over 7,500 FTE

Duquesne University: Greening an Urban Campus Photographer: Courtesy of Duquesne University

Contact

Terry O'Rourke
Associate Director
Public Affairs
Duquesne University
Pittsburgh, PA
(412) 396-6124
orourket@duq.edu

Governance & Administration

Duquesne University's mission encompasses a profound interest for world concerns. One of the ways the University demonstrates attentiveness to global affairs is through a responsible stewardship of natural resources.  Duquesne's efforts to improve the environmental quality of its operations began decades ago, and the University's leadership is committed to the continual implementation of sustainable principles in the campus' daily operations.

Operations

In 2008, Duquesne University's sustainability efforts reached an exceptional level as the campus became 100 percent reliant on clean energy. For the past decade, Duquesne University's Energy Center, a co-generation facility, has enabled the University to create nearly 85 percent of its power all of its own electrical power from clean burning natural gas, as well as to capture and use the heat produced in this process to warm and cool the campus. The University also purchases more than 8 million kilowatt hours of electricity from naturally generated, non-depleting sources such as hydrogen, wind and solar power. In April 2008 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized Duquesne University as the 2007-2008 Individual Conference Champion for purchasing more green power than any other school in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Coupling environmental responsibility with cutting-edge technology, Duquesne University implemented a highly efficient cooling system that relies on ice-the first of its kind in a Pittsburgh academic institution and the most efficient kind available. The process begins by creating ice in 28 massive storage tanks. The ice melts, creating chilled water that is pumped across campus to cool University facilities. By performing energy-intensive ice making at night, the University reduces its peak demand. As Duquesne does its part to ease the strain on the power grid, other consumers will have their needs more easily met and utility companies will have increased capacity, ultimately lessening the need for new power plants. 

Duquesne University's newest facility, the Power Center, was designed to earn the Silver Certification in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). All current renovation projects on campus observe LEED principles.

Duquesne University's Purchasing Department is also contributing to the environmental quality of the University's operations by supporting and promoting the purchase of environmentally-friendly products with recycled, recyclable, reusable, refillable, reparable and cost-effective content. Through the implementation of a "green clause" in its request for proposals, the department urges bidders to provide all pertinent and verifiable information with regard to the amount of post-consumer recycled content in the products to be supplied.  The University promotes the use of minimal packaging and use of recycled/recyclable products in packaging.

Among many other environmentally-purposed efforts, the University has reduced its water consumption, increased the use of environmentally-friendly cleaning chemicals, improved recycling methods and implemented organic recycling on campus.

Curriculum & Research

Duquesne University has been ranked No. 8 worldwide by the Aspen Institute for leadership in integrating social and environmental issues into its Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. The MBA Sustainability is an accelerated, one-year master of business administration degree program offered by the internationally accredited Donahue Graduate School of Business at Duquesne University. MBA Sustainability is one of the few MBA programs anywhere to incorporate sustainability into its curriculum fundamentally and thoroughly.

Duquesne's Center for Environmental Research and Education (CERE) has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the Heinz Endowments to carry out a wide-ranging project to assess the University's greenhouse gas "footprint" and to conduct educational and technical projects to reduce greenhouse gases on campus. CERE was established to conduct applied research directed toward the critical environmental problems of southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond and to educate environmental professionals for the twenty-first century.

Campus Culture

Duquesne University continually supports and hosts an array of sustainability-purposed conferences, including:

Rachel Carson Legacy Conference - In 2007, the centennial of her birth, the Rachel Carson Homestead Association partnered with Duquesne University and other institutions around Pittsburgh to host the first Rachel Carson Legacy Conference.  Duquesne University will host the second annual conference on September 20, 2008.  Scientists, business leaders and government officials will discuss green chemistry and solutions for a healthy economy.

Duquesne University's Beard Center hosts annual conferences on Sustainable Business. These conferences focus on issues that businesses face as they attempt to be truly sustainable and address global, national and regional perspectives on best practices and financial implications.

Community Service and Outreach

Community service and outreach are an integral part of the college experience at Duquesne, both in the classroom through service-learning and through student organizations. Students learn their role in the community and grow spiritually by helping charitable causes and social programs. Each year, about 7,600 Duquesne students, faculty and staff volunteer 190,000 hours.

Among the sustainability-related service efforts are:

Since 2006, professors and students from Duquesne University's Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences have volunteered at Murphy's Bottom, a habitat restoration ecological project led by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Duquesne students conduct baseline biological inventories, in which samples of plants and animals are collected and catalogued, to define the species and biological communities at the site. These inventories must be completed prior to implementing habitat modifications.

Since 2005, Duquesne has partnered with the Pennsylvania Resources Council through our AmeriCorps VISTA to engage students in environmental awareness through clean-ups on in the South Pittsburgh communities. Students partner with active community residents in monthly clean-ups that range in scope from trash and refuse collection, weeding, trail cleaning and graffiti remediation.   

Through the student-based organization, Evergreen, students help in educating the University community on sustainability efforts, collaborating with the Facilities Management Department in promoting awareness about recycling efforts available on campus as well as many of the "green" upgrades to campus buildings. In the community,  they collaborate with the Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh, working to keep the Uptown neighborhood cleaner and greener. Activities include Green Week during the fall semester, the Earth Day Fair, Spring Clean-Up and educational opportunities.

Every fall, freshman students are part of the Freshman Orientation Clean-Up.   Students are partnered with community members to learn about the importance of conservation, recycling, and community ownership.