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Furman University 2006 Campus Sustainability Achievement Award Application

Category

Four-year and graduate institutions 1,001 – 10,000 student FTE

Contact

Nancy Spitler
Director of Publications, Office of Marketing & Public Relations
Furman University
Greenville, SC
(864) 294.3391
Nancy.Spitler@furman.edu

Governance & Administration

• In February 2001, the Board of Trustees of Furman University unanimously approved the goal to "Enhance Awareness of Environmental Sustainability" as part of the university's Strategic Plan called "Engaging the Future." Such support for enhancing Furman's environmental commitment helped establish the University as a leader among the 16 institutions that comprise the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS) consortium. Our Strategic Plan contains the following section:

• In November 2004, Scott Derrick, Director of Student Activities and the University Center, assumed a 1/4 time position as Sustainability Coordinator for Furman.


• The Office of Admissions is committed to helping attract more students that have an interest in environmental issues and have suggested strategies for raising awareness among both potential and current students.


• Furman has hired an Environmental Intern in an effort to increase its ability to undertake sustainable projects.


• An Environmental Sustainability committee was formed in 2005 to explore and to raise awareness of sustainability initiatives throughout the university. This committee has partnered with students, faculty and staff to sponsor a number of events, including a "Let's Get Trashed" event held during Earth Month. With the assistance of facilities services, assorted trash from residence halls was dumped in front of the library; students sorted through that during a two-day period and display the recyclable amount of trash.

Operations

Furman has made an overarching commitment to sustainability in its daily and long-term operations. Commitments to sustainability include the following:

• A campus energy policy is now in effect. This policy not only includes practical suggestions for conserving energy, such as shutting off lights when not in use and replacing light bulbs with CFL's, but also the following:

• Public Safety has replaced one of its old cruisers with a new Hybrid vehicle. Future vehicle replacements will also include hybrids.


• ARAMARK, Furman's dining services provider, has committed to local and organic food sources to the extent that it is able to obtain these products. Nationally, ARAMARK has instituted a new position, Vice President for Sustainability, and has designated Furman as a pilot program for this project.


• Furman will plant its first organic garden in Spring 2007, utilizing student, staff, and community labor. Furman will also begin its first composting initiative in Fall 2006.


• Green Purchasing guidelines have been created and implemented for all university purchasing endeavors.


• Furman's Janitorial Services department has switched its product line to Butcher's products, all of which are environmentally friendly and biodegradable.

Curriculum & Research

Nine departments in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities are contributing to a new Concentration in Environmental Studies. Students in the capstone course for the concentration are involved in service learning projects in the community. The Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES) department is taking a more systems-focused perspective. The Chemistry department has added a certified track in Environmental Chemistry, and new courses such as Environmental Ethics have been added to the curriculum.

In addition, environmental research has grown dramatically. The River Basins Research Initiative is a project piloted by the EES Department and supported by over $700,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, and South Carolina DHEC. For the last two years, 11 faculty from seven departments (Biology, Chemistry, EES, Sociology, Economics, Political Science, and Philosophy) and 58 students supported by these grants have conducted research on the effect of land use on water quality in major upstate river systems. This is the largest single research initiative in Furman's history, and it provides our undergraduates with an unparalleled interdisciplinary experience in engaged learning.

The faculty has approved a revised curriculum, which includes the following:

All undergraduates will be required to take two courses in "Global Awareness". One will focus on the relationship between "Humans and the Natural Environment", and one will focus on "World Cultures". Although Furman has long had a requirement that exposes students to cultural diversity, the "Humans and the Natural Environment" requirement marks an important step in the evolution of Furman's curriculum. By including this requirement, Furman recognizes that:

• human cultures evolved within an environmental context, and remain dependent on the environment for resources and irreplaceable ecosystem services such as air purification, water purification, and soil fertility.
• understanding how the world operates as an environmental system that supports life is fundamental, required knowledge for an educated person in our modern society
• environmental issues are often moral issues that force us to consider how our behaviors - and patterns of resource use and waste production - directly and indirectly affect the lives of other people and organisms on this planet.

Community Service and Outreach

Furman University has a clear commitment to community outreach in its sustainability efforts. Projects include the following:

• Furman's Riley Institute will host a national three-day conference entitled The Environment: Critical Issues in the 21st Century. The conference is open to the public and includes both local and national environmental leaders.


• Furman is partnering with community members and public and private groups in a grassroots effort to convert the abandoned "Swamp Rabbit" rail line into a trail for hikers, runners, and cyclists. The 13-mile railroad line extends from downtown Greenville to Traveler's Rest and passes through campus.


• Furman works closely with Upstate Forever, a Greenville-based nonprofit that combats sprawl and encourages smart growth in a 7- county region in upstate South Carolina, one of the fastest growing regions in the country. Furman students have interned for UF over the past several years and UF has co-sponsored events with Furman's Riley Institute.


• Since 2000, Furman brings together, in April, community organizations, including city and county government, the Sierra Club, community artists, and the friends of Paris Mt State Park to celebrate Earth Day. Thousands of people are touched by these events.


• The SC Solar Council was founded on the Furman Campus in 2004.


• Furman is a project partner in the Saluda-Reedy Watershed Consortium, a group of organizations and individuals concerned about the impacts of development and changing land use on waterways and lakes in the Saluda-Reedy River basin.


• President David Shi is chair of Greenville's Vision 2025, a visioning process designed to create a sustainable Greenville by the year 2025, when the city's population is estimated to reach 1.3 million.


• The athletic department is using their role as one of the major public faces of the university to promote sustainability:
• Pre-recorded and live public addresses at all athletic events will provide spectators with information on Furman's sustainability initiatives as well as tips on sustainable living.
• Garners Natural Foods, a small, locally owned organic/local food store in Greenville, will partner with the athletic department to provide healthy and local food at home football games this year.
• Earth Fare, a regional natural food supermarket will be a healthy food vender at home soccer games.
• An information booth will be located within the football stadium staffed by students and Furman's environmental sustainability intern where patrons pick up information on sustainable living.
• The mission of Furman's new sustainability website is to provide up-to-date information on Furman's environmental and sustainability initiatives as well as being a reference for the public and teachers on sustainability issues at the local to the global level. The site is also intended to attract more sustainability-minded students to Furman.


• Twenty incoming freshmen are receiving $1,000 each as participants in Furman's ECOS (Environmental Community of Students) program. These students have committed to being involved with sustainability initiatives on and off campus, and to help create a culture of sustainability at Furman.

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