Talking Stick - July/August 2008 - 58

Reporting Out Reports and news from independent regional and national organizations and other groups with news relevant to ACUHO-I professionals EPA and Associations Offer Sustainability Tools As college and university campuses grow, so does the need to reduce their carbon footprints. Sustainability has become a key issue in higher education institutions; as environmental changes have been taking place on campuses all over the nation, colleges and universities are now finding better ways to measure their carbon dioxide emissions on a universal scale. In the March/April 2007 issue of Talking Stick, ACUHO-I reported on an online compliance assistance center emerging from the collaboration of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), the Campus Consortium for Environmental Excellence (C2E2), the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers (APPA), and the Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association (CSHEMA). A year later, CampusERC is in full swing. CampusERC is an environmental resource center targeting business/finance, environmental health/safety, and facilities officers. It provides news, practices in environmental management, case studies, and an updated compliance guide on EPA regulations. The resource center hosts campus tours organized around nine typical areas on a campus that are subject to environmental regulation. It also showcases model environmental practices from colleges and universities. “We hope to create an ongoing dialogue with users who will share relevant information,” says Tom Balf, project director of CampusERC. “We want this site to not be developed for colleges and universities, but developed by colleges and universities.” The site was introduced in conjunction with NACUBO’s 2008 Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference, which took place in April. A major focus of the conference was environmental benchmarks for colleges and universities. To accommodate environmental challenges on campus, other performance monitoring programs have surfaced in the past year. The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has created the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS), a voluntary self-reporting system for making meaningful measurements and comparisons of sustainability efforts within the higher education community. Sixteen public and private institutions are also taking part in a pilot initiative called “GreenLine,” during which their environmental practices will be studied in order to create comparable data and standards. “GreenLine” is sponsored by Sightlines, an organization that helps campuses measure, monitor, and benchmark the facilities management function. Balf agrees that the need for these resources in higher education will continue to grow: “There’s a great deal of interest in greening of the campus and minimizing the environmental footprint. A fundamental component of greening of the campus is to make sure rules and regulations are followed.” 5 Northern Colorado Receives Diversity Award The National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH) presented their Commitment to Diversity Award to the Department of Housing and Residence Life at the University of Colorado in Greeley. This award, recognizing UNC’s studentdirected diversity and educational programming, was presented during the organization’s annual conference at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater in May. “The students positioned the bid collectively and captured the purposeful actions and collaborative efforts of students, faculty, staff, and the community of Greeley,” says Tobias Guzman, executive director of auxiliary and student services. “I continue to be inspired by the approach our campus is taking as it relates to social justice, diversity, and the foundations of humanity.” Submit Your Information For more information on CampusERC, visit www.campuserc.org. For more information on STARS, visit www.aashe.org/stars. For more information on GreenLine, visit www.sightlines.com/Greenlines1.aspx. Talking Stick Reporting Out includes information from regional and national associations that have information of interest to ACUHO-I members. ACUHO-I also encourages other organizations to submit news. Individual items vary in length but should not exceed 100 words. Shorter is better. We encourage contributors to submit relevant, professional-quality photos. Please send submissions and photos to camille@acuho-i.org.

http://www.campuserc.org http://www.aashe.org/stars http://www.sightlines.com/Greenlines1.aspx

Talking Stick - July/August 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - July/August 2008