Sustainability Award Winners

• David Shi is a visionary leader for sustainability who, as President at Furman University from 1994 to 2010, helped transform the institution into a widely-recognized model for sustainability.  Notable accomplishments under his leadership include the adoption of a general education requirement in sustainability and the launch of a new bachelor of science degree in Sustainability Science. David was also charter signatory of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment and later served on the board of Second Nature. His impact on campus continues to be felt in the work of the Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities, which promotes sustainable communities through education, research and leadership.

Racial Equity and Sustainability Collaborations Award Winner

• Catawba College’s Equity, Diversity, Justice, Inclusion Task Force, which aims to build a campus community where all members thrive by working to cultivate critical conversations and practices that close opportunity gaps and promote equity, diversity, justice, and inclusion on campus and in the larger community.

Campus Sustainability Achievement Award Winners

• Cascadia College’s Cornucopia Food Forest, an integrated learning project at Cascadia College that creates opportunities for students from multiple disciplines to engage in and learn about permaculture.
• Brandeis University’s Sustainable Dining Program, which harnessed the RFP and contracting process for a new dining vendor in 2019-2021 to make huge strides in sustainability in the University’s dining program.
• North Carolina State University’s Steering Committee on Student Food and Housing Security, a large, diverse network of N.C. State and community partners working to address the multidimensional challenge of food and housing insecurity.

Campus Sustainability Student Leadership Award Winners

• Teresa Homsi and Eric Urbaniak at Central Michigan University for Central Sustainability, a successful effort to create a centralized sustainability structure at the University.

Campus Sustainability Research Award Winners

• Wiley J. Hundertmark, Marissa Lee, Ian A. Smith, Vivien Chen, Conor K. Gately, Pamela H. Templer and Lucy R. Hutyra at Boston University and Ashley H.Y. Bang at Brown University for Influence of landscape management practices on urban greenhouse gas budgets. This study quantifies the impact of landscaping management strategies – such as mulch application and expanding tree canopy – on biogenic carbon emissions.
• James Ayers at Blekinge Institute of Technology for Educational contexts and designs for cultivating leaders capable of addressing the wicked issues of sustainability transitions. This thesis investigates the efficacy of academic sustainability programs in developing sustainability competencies among students and suggests strategies for improvement.
• Nicole Redvers and Be’sha Blondin at Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation, Clinton Schultz at Bond University, Melissa Vera Prince at University of Washington, Myrna Cunningham at El Fondo para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas de América Latina y El Caribe (FILAC) and Rhys Jones at University of Auckland for Indigenous perspectives on education for sustainable healthcare. This research paper discusses the urgent need in the health professions education community to prioritize environmentally sustainable healthcare practice, and argues that it must include and prioritize Indigenous voices and Indigenous knowledge systems.
• Alexandra Lyon and Hannah Wittman at University of British Columbia and Harriet Friedmann at University of Toronto for Can public universities play a role in fostering seed sovereignty? This paper examines the history of public research for seed systems in North America, arguing that commercialization of public research has exacerbated inequalities inherent in the founding structure of public agricultural research. It offers a reimagined public seed research agenda that focuses on strengthening links between public research and grassroots seed movements.
• Molly Anderson at Middlebury College, Nicole Tichenor Blackstone at Tufts University, Eleanor Sterling and Erin Betley at American Museum of Natural History, Sharon Akabas at Columbia University, Pamela Koch at Teachers College, Columbia University, Colin Dring and Will Valley at University of British Columbia, Joanne Burke and Karen Spiller at University of New Hampshire for Towards an equity competency model for sustainable food systems education programs. This paper assesses the extent to which sustainable food systems education programs in the U.S. and Canada address equity, and proposes an equity competency model that provides strategies for dismantling racism and other forms of inequity.
• Helen Kopnina at The Hague University of Applied Science and Northumbria University for Education for Sustainable Development Goals (ESDG): What Is Wrong with ESDGs, and What Can We Do Better? Using a course as an intervention, this paper discusses the shortcomings of the current use and practice of sustainable development and education for sustainable development, arguing that they are anthropocentric and have moral and pragmatic limitations. 

• Nan Jenks-Jay, who recently retired as the dean of Environmental Affairs at Middlebury College, is a leading voice for the environment and sustainability in higher education. She played leadership roles in the development of Environmental Studies programs at Williams College, University of Redlands and Middlebury College. In addition to her work as an educator, Nan also pioneered a wide variety of campus sustainability strategies – from green buildings and on-site composting to sustainable purchasing, fuel switching and land conservation – that have helped to make Middlebury an internationally recognized leader in sustainability. She has published and presented widely on her work and served as an advisor to multiple sustainability organizations, including AASHE.

Campus Sustainability Achievement Award Winners

• Palo Alto College’s Community Garden, a space to grow food, cultivate community and improve food security for the greater Palo Alto community.
• Dickinson College, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, Muhlenberg College’s Solar Project Collaboration, a collaboration to source 100 percent of electricity from renewable sources of energy.
• Georgia Institute of Technology’s Serve-Learn-Sustain’s Affiliated Courses Program, a program that helps faculty integrate sustainable communities education into their courses, with an emphasis on experiential learning through community partnerships.

Campus Sustainability Student Leadership Award Winners

• Sarah Swiersz, Emma Roehrig, Dempsey Perno, Celina Lezcano and Jady Chen at the University of Central Florida for Greenspace Sustainability Design Town Halls and Make-A-Thon: A model for empowering campus communities to lead the design of sustainable spaces and places, a student-led partnership that focused on a campus community-driven process for designing a new green space on campus.
• [Honorable Mention] Tyler Warnock and Katherine Liu at the University of Calgary for Building campus capacity for the SDGs: a case study of the SDG Summit conference, an annual training conference that is focused on engaging youth with the Sustainable Development Goals through immersive opportunities for learning, discussion and networking. 

Campus Sustainability Research Award Winners

• Frances Duncan, Aidan Coffin Ness, Emelyn Chiang, and Kelsey Towne at Smith College for “Reducing Smith College’s Dining GHG emissions: An analysis of beef and milk substitutions”. This undergraduate research paper quantifies the carbon emissions and costs savings that Smith College could achieve by substituting turkey, tofu, or black beans for beef and switching to plant-based milk substitutes such as soy milk or almond milk.
• Nuria Bautista Puig at Carlos III University of Madrid (Spain) and University of Gävle (Sweden) for “Unveiling the path towards sustainability: scientific interest at HEIs from a scientometric approach in the period 2008-2017”. This dissertation investigates the patterns of sustainability research from 2008–2017 and proposes a methodology for classifying the scientific output in relation to each U.N. Sustainable Development Goal.
• Scott Munro Strachan, Stephen Marshall and Paul Murray at University of Strathclyde (U.K.), and Edward J. Coyle and Julia Sonnenberg-Klein at Georgia Institute of Technology for “Using Vertically Integrated Projects to embed research-based education for sustainable development in undergraduate curricula”. This research article describes a practical and scalable method of integrating SDG research and research-based education within undergraduate curricula implemented by the University of Strathclyde.
• Joshua Long, Joanna Mendez, Nataley Ford, Keara Hudler and Lilly Dennis at Southwestern University, and Muriel DiNella at University of Sydney (Australia) for “Intersectional sustainability and student activism: A framework for achieving social sustainability on university campuses”. This research paper notes a significant disconnect between rhetoric and action in higher education’s commitment to the social aspects of sustainability and suggests intersectional sustainability as a framework for addressing this disconnect.
• Ryan P. Shea, Matthew O. Worsham, Andrew D. Chiasson, J. Kelly Kissock, Benjamin J. McCall at the University of Dayton for “A lifecycle cost analysis of transitioning to a fully-electrified, renewably powered, and carbon-neutral campus at the University of Dayton”. This research paper analyzes the cost-effectiveness of four primary emissions reduction strategies and finds that achieving a carbon-neutral campus by 2025 would increase the 30-year lifecycle cost of University of Dayton’s energy systems by only 2.4%
• Ana Rita Amaral, Eugénio Rodrigues, Adélio Rodrigues Gaspar and Álvaro Gomes at University of Coimbra (Portugal) for “A review of empirical data of sustainability initiatives in university campus operations”. This research paper catalogs and classifies the actions and initiatives higher institutions are implementing to advance sustainability (as reported in scientific publications and case studies). It finds that increasing energy generation on campus and decreasing energy consumption in buildings are by far the most commonly implemented strategies, though there is limited information about the impact of these strategies.

• Judy Walton, the founding director of AASHE, served the organization in a variety of capacities from 2006 to 2013. In her time with AASHE, she played leadership roles in the development of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment and the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS). Judy also helped found and coordinate the Disciplinary Associations Network for Sustainability and the Higher Education Associations Consortium for Sustainability.

Campus Sustainability Student Leadership Award Winner

• Zahira Chaudhry from the University of California, Berkeley for organizing the Students of Color Environmental Conference, a free conference for students of color from across California to connect and grow with local environmental justice activists.
• Patrick Duke at the University of Calgary for founding Students on Sustainability. Students on Sustainability is a student society that educates grade school students on sustainability topics linked to climate change and supports student action projects. (Honorable Mention)

Campus Sustainability Achievement Award Winners

• Chandler-Gilbert Community College for its Food Waste Recycling Project, a collaboration between campus facilities and students that collects food waste and turns it into fertilizer used on campus.
• University of California, Merced for Fill Plates, Not Landfills: Implementing the Bobcat Eats Food Waste Awareness and Prevention Program. The program has reduced food waste and food insecurity in Merced County in  partnership with the local food bank.
• McGill University for its Staff Engagement Ladder, a program comprised of four separate engagement initiatives that empower staff, students and faculty to take sustainability action.
• University of California, Office of the President for its Sustainable Procurement Program and Policy Overhaul. In the summer of 2018, UC implemented a new version of their Sustainable Practices Policy that sets sustainability goals for major areas of spend and the groundwork for innovative sustainable sourcing standards. (Honorable Mention)

Campus Sustainability Research Award Winners

• Sean Vormwald from SUNY ESF for “Demystifying Sustainability Behaviors on College and University Campuses: A Mixed Methods Analysis.” This dissertation shares the results of three studies: a content analysis of focusing on behavioral interventions in campus climate plans; an examination of the relationship between the organizational climate for sustainability and sustainable behavior; and an evaluation of the relationship between between the organizational climate for sustainability and operational sustainability performance.
• Sara Sherburne from Pomona College for “Let’s Get Sorted: The Path to Zero Waste.” This senior thesis assessed the status of waste production and diversion at Pomona and identified opportunities to move the college toward its 2030 Zero Waste goal.
• Nathan Elser and Judd Michael from Pennsylvania State University for “Personal waste management in higher education: A case study illustrating the importance of a fourth bottom line.” This study proposes a unique accounting method for evaluating sustainability initiatives that incorporates the educational value of the initiatives. for higher education leaders who must decide whether to accept sustainability initiatives that do not have a business case.
• Ted Thornhill from Florida Gulf Coast University for “We Want Black Students, Just Not You: How White Admissions Counselors Screen Black Prospective Students.” This research shows that white admissions counselors from historically and predominantly white institutions are more responsive to black students who present as deracialized and racially apolitical than they are to those who present a commitment to anti-racism and racial justice.
• Rashad Brugmann et al. from the University of Toronto and London School of Economics and Political Science for “Expanding Student Engagement in Sustainability: Using SDG- and CEL-Focused Inventories to Transform Curriculum.” This paper describes how University of Toronto increased student engagement in sustainability through an inventory of academic courses that contribute to one or more of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, an inventory of sustainability-focused community-engaged learning opportunities and an inventory of sustainability co-curricular and extracurricular opportunities.
• Steven Wiryadinata, Josh Morejohn and Kurt Kornbluth from the University of California, Davis for the “Pathways to carbon neutral energy systems.” This study analyzes the costs associated with three different options for UC Davis to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025.

• Dr. Tony Cortese, Principal at Intentional Endowments Network. With over 3 decades of leadership, Dr. Cortese played an essential role in the formation of many of the key organizations and frameworks – including the Talloires Declaration, Second Nature, AASHE, and the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment – that have guided the evolution of the movement for sustainability in higher education.

Student Sustainability Leadership Award

• Evan Zachary of Rochester Institute of Technology for “Recovery and Reuse; On-Campus and Off”, which features two student-driven programs– Goodbye Goodbuy! and Flower City Pickers Inc.–that focus efforts on volunteer-driven waste recovery and redistribution.

Campus Sustainability Achievement Award Winners

• Hampshire College for the “R.W. Kern Center – A Living Building.” R.W. Kern Center is a Living Building Challenge certified multi-purpose facility that generates its own energy, captures and treats its own water, and processes and recycles its waste.
• Bow Valley College for its “progress toward 90% waste diversion goal.” Traditional recycling and composting programs, and special programs for fabric, plastic gloves, batteries, pens, IV bags, cooking oil, and electronics recycling enabled the college to increase its recycling rate from 19% to 76% in only four years.
• Emory University for its WaterHub – Engaging Campus & Community in Water Reclamation. This on-site water recycling system uses biomimicry to reclaim wastewater for heating and cooling buildings and flushing toilets.

Campus Sustainability Research Award Winners

• Breanna Parker at Smith College for “Designing a Proxy Carbon Price Strategy for Smith College.” This undergraduate thesis identified and analyzed strategies to incorporate the proxy carbon price into financial decisions. It provides eight recommendations for proxy carbon pricing for Smith.
• Frida Agbor Besong at University of Buea (Cameroon) for “Infusing Sustainability in Higher Education in Ireland: The Green Curriculum Model (GCM) and the Dispositions, Abilities and Behaviours (DAB) Competency Framework.” This graduate research paper presents the Green Curriculum Model, a conceptual-design framework for educators to re-orient curricula towards sustainability, and a sustainability competencies assessment tool that profiles learners’ sustainability competencies.
• Dafna Gelbgiser at Tel Aviv University and Kyle Albert at George Washington University for “Green for All? Gender Segregation and Green Fields of Study in American Higher Education.” This study examined gender segregation within academic programs and found that green academic programs are characterized by greater gender equality than non-green programs.
• Elizabeth Davey at Tulane University for “Recapturing the learning opportunities of university sustainability indicators.” This paper argues for using the process of assessing sustainability in higher education to engage and educate students.
• Rodrigo Lozano and Kaisu Sammalisto at Gävle University College, Kim Ceulemans at Toulouse Business School, and Francisco J. Lozano at Tecnológico de Monterrey and Michelle Y. Merrill for “Connecting Competences and Pedagogical Approaches for Sustainable Development in Higher Education: A Literature Review and Framework Proposal.” This paper examines how different pedagogical approaches impact the development of sustainability competencies among students.
• Ian Williams at University of Southampton for “Towards a universal carbon footprint standard: A case study of carbon management at universities.” This study develops a standardized method for calculating greenhouse gas emissions generated by higher education institutions.

• Green cities and ivory towers: how do higher education sustainability initiatives shape millennials’ consumption practices? by Ethan D. Schoolman, University of Michigan; Mike Shriberg, University of Michigan; Sarah Schwimmer, University of Michigan; and Marie Tysman, University of Michigan and University of California, Berkeley
• Beyond Interpersonal Competence: Teaching and Learning Professional Skills in Sustainability by Katja Brundiers and Arnim Wiek at Arizona State University
• The Nitrogen Footprint Tool Network: A Multi-Institution Program to Research and Reduce Nitrogen Pollution by Elizabeth A. Castner, University of Virginia; Allison M. Leach, University of New Hampshire; Neil Leary, Dickinson College; Jill Baron, Colorado State University; Jana E. Compton, US EPA; James N. Galloway, University of Virginia; Meredith G. Hastings, Brown University; Jacob Kimiecik, Colorado State University; Jonathan Lantz-Trissel, Eastern Mennonite University; Elizabeth de la Reguera, Marine Biological Laboratory; Rebecca Ryals, University of Hawaii, Honolulu
• Comparative study of the efficacy of intervention strategies on student electricity use in campus residence halls by Allison K. Wisecup, Dennis Grady, Richard A. Roth and Julio Stephens at Radford University
• Relocating Education for Sustainability: From the campus to the community by Nick Morris of Kent State University
• The Drivers Behind Edible Food Recovery Programs at Institutions of Higher Education by Danielle Chun of Messiah College

Campus Sustainability Achievement Award Winners

• Johnson County Community College for Student Sustainability Committee
• Illinois State University for Fix It Friday
• Black Hills State University for Black Hills Food Hub: rural food hubs serving a wider demographic

Student Sustainability Leadership Award Winner

Engineers for a Sustainable World chapter at Georgia Institute of Technology for Natural Herbicides Project

• Finding Heart: Generating and Maintaining Hope and Agency through Sustainability Education by Tina Lynn Evans, Colorado Mountain College
• Water Conservation Initiative by Joanne Ma, Justin Cruz, Itay Porat, Lawrence Giannotti, Thanh Tran at University of Houston
• Doubling Energy Efficiency by 2030 by John Dooley, Whitney Johnson, Divyesh Kumar, Benjamin Kunstman, Kristin Steiner, Brittany Szczepanik at University of Michigan

Campus Sustainability Achievement Award

• Cedar Valley College for Cedar Valley College a Center of Excellence of Sustainability in South Dallas, TX
• Furman University for Carbon On-Setting: Community Impact through Home Weatherization in Greenville, SC
• University of Manitoba for BEE / HOUSE / LAB International Design Competition

Student Sustainability Leadership Award

• Erica Davis at University of Tennessee at Knoxville for Smokey’s Pantry: A FISH Hospitality Pantry

• Learning Through Eating: Bringing Campus Dining Operations into an Introductory Environmental Science Course by Thomas Bryan at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Evaluating Penn’s Green Living Certification: Successes and Recommendations for Improvement by Bailey Rowland at the University of Pennsylvania

Case Study Award

• Portland Community College for Addressing Food Insecurity at Portland Community College-Rock Creek Campus
• Southern Oregon University for Bee Campus USA as a Model for Pollinator-Friendly Campuses
• University of British Columbia for Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Sustainability Program at the University of British Columbia
• College of William & Mary for Tribe Truck Farm (Honorable Mention)
• Emory University for Climate@Emory: an inter-disciplinary, university-wide initiative to advance climate change scholarship, teaching, partnership, and engagement at Emory and beyond (Honorable Mention)

Student Leadership Award

• Pierre Parranto at University of Hawai’i Maui College for University of Hawaii Maui College’s Student Ohana for Sustainability Leadership Initiative
• The Rad Dish Cooperative Cafe at Temple University for Student-Run Food Co-Op

• Growth or Decline? The Form and Function of the Sustainability Agenda in Higher Education by Taya L. Owens at University of Albany

Case Study Award

• Kauai Community College for A Unique Hawaiian Learning Approach to Sustainable Living, Island-Wide
• Austin Community College for How to Start a Comprehensive Composting and Recycling Program at a Commuter College
• University of San Diego for Turning Trash Into Cash- Sustainable Social Entrepreneurship
• University of Louisville for Earn-A-Bike Program

Student Leadership Award

• Kristian Salgado at San Diego State University for San Diego Students for Sustainability

• Analysis of Student Behaviors Impacting Carbon Emissions Through Community Based Social Marketing Research by Aaron Kozloff, Daniella Mostow, Alex Deeter at Oberlin College
• Fostering Sustained Energy Behavior Change and Increasing Energy Literacy In A Student Housing Energy Challenge by Robert Stephen Brewer, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Case Study Award

• Southern Maine Community College for Harnessing Seawater: An Innovative Thermal Exchange HVAC System
• Metropolitan Community College for Solar power, horticulture and culinary arts integration project
• Warren Wilson College for Tree Inventory and Carbon Sequestration/Storage Analysis
• Dalhousie University for College of Sustainability: Transforming a campus for sustainability education

Student Leadership Award

• Next Generation Environmental Leaders at University of Minnesota Morris and University of Minnesota Twin Cities

• Converting University Spending to Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Supply Chain Carbon Footprint Analysis of UC Berkeley by Kelley Doyle, University of California, Berkeley
• Student-Driven Energy Independence: A Case Study of Humboldt Energy Independence Fund by Rachelle Irby, Humboldt State University

Case Study Award

• Alfred State College for Alfred State’s Net-Zero Energy Demonstration Home
• Owens Community College for Harvest Project
• Skidmore College for Innovative District Geothermal System
• University of British Columbia for Implementing UBC’s Climate Action Plan

Faculty Sustainability Leadership Award

• Nico Larco and Marc Schlossberg, University of Oregon

Student Sustainability Leadership Award

• Maria Rosales, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Innovation in Green Building

• University of Wisconsin, Madison for Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery

• Where Meaning Lies: Student Attitudes and Behaviors related to Sustainability in College by Annie Bezbatchenko, New York University

Best Campus Sustainability Case Study

• University of Alberta for Deliberation on Campus Sustainability

Best “Lessons Learned” Case Study Award (aka “Oops! Award”)

• Washington University in St. Louis for Getting to Net Zero: Lessons Learned from a Living Building Challenge

Faculty Sustainability Leadership Award

• Peggy Barlett, Emory University

Student Sustainability Leadership Award

• Jonathan Glencross, McGill University

Innovation in Green Building Award

• University of Texas at Dallas for LEED Platinum Student Services Building

• Shifting from Saying to Doing: Evaluation of an Environmental Course Designed to Create Environmental Change Agents by Dallase Scott, Tufts University

Best Campus Case Study

• Harvard University for Phillips Brooks House Student Weatherization Project
• University of Northern British Columbia for Integrating Teaching, Research and Operational Sustainability: Utilization of Bio-Energy at UNBC

The Oops! Award for Lessons Learned

• University of Colorado at Boulder for Single Stream Recycling Vs. Dual Stream at CU Boulder

Student Sustainability Leadership Award

• Terrell Davis, Delaware State University

• EVs with PVs: Analysis of Electric Vehicle Integration at Stanford University Using Solar PV Panels by a team of graduate students, Stanford University
• Hanging it Out on Campus: A Guide to Providing Line-Drying Options to College Students by Chelsea Hodge, Pomona College (Honorable Mention)

Campus Sustainability Leadership Award

• Butte College (Butte-Glenn Community College District)
• Furman University
• New York University
• University of New Hampshire

Student Sustainability Leadership Award

• Missy! Orr, DePauw University
• Casey Roe, American University (Honorable Mention)

• Food and Fuel: Biogas Potential at Broward Dining Hall by Ryan Graunke, University of Florida
• It’s Not Easy Being Green: Assessments and Strategies for Sustainable Institutions by a team of 30 students, Carnegie Mellon University (Honorable Mention)
• Signaling Change: Studying the Effect of Price Signals on Disposable Hot Beverage Cup Consumption by Laur Fisher, Tufts University (Honorable Mention)
• Feasibility of Green Building at WPI by Suzanne Peyser, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Honorable Mention)

Campus Sustainability Leadership Award

• College of Menominee Nation
• Northland College
• Ithaca College
• Tulane University
• Harford Community College (MD) (Honorable Mention)

Student Sustainability Leadership Award

• Sarah E. Brylinsky, Ithaca College
• Elizabeth Tellman, Santa Clara University (Honorable Mention)

• Chandler-Gilbert Community College
• Green Mountain College
• Middlebury College
• Michigan State University
• The Evergreen State College (Honorable Mention)
• University of California, Berkeley (Honorable Mention)

Student Sustainability Leadership Award

• Megan Naseman, Berea College

• Lane Community College
• Warren Wilson College
• Berea College
• University of British Columbia

Student Sustainability Leadership Award

• Emilie Brill-Duisberg, University of Arizona