| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72.56 |
| Liaison | Natalie Hayes |
| Submission Date | June 22, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Bentley University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Natalie
Hayes Associate Director of Sustainability Office of Sustainability |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
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Is the institution utilizing the campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in the following areas?:
| Yes or No | |
| Air & Climate | Yes |
| Buildings | Yes |
| Dining Services/Food | Yes |
| Energy | Yes |
| Grounds | Yes |
| Purchasing | Yes |
| Transportation | Yes |
| Waste | Yes |
| Water | Yes |
| Coordination, Planning & Governance | No |
| Diversity & Affordability | Yes |
| Health, Wellbeing & Work | Yes |
| Investment | Yes |
| Public Engagement | Yes |
| Other | No |
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Air & Climate and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Students in studying weather and climate (NASE 377) typically conduct an energy waste analysis on two buildings on campus where lights are typically left on overnight. Studnets calculated wasted energy in kWhs and translated that to greenhouse gases to study the climate change effects.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Buildings and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
In NASE 344 Energy Alternatives professors lead discussions on modern energy technologies. Bentley's campus is used as a model for discussions of the costs associated with an alternative energy approach, the amount of energy that needs to be generated, and business models that could allow sustainability-focused startup companies to work with universities.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Dining Services/Food and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
In spring of 2016 a senior wrote his capstone presentation on reducing food waste at Bentley. He interviewed numerous people around campus and explored ways that Bentley could use both behavior modification and new practices to reduce the amount of food waste created on campus. From this work he was hired through the AmeriCorps VISTA program to work in the Bentley Service Learning and Civic Engagement Center, creating a left-over prepared food, food donation program.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Energy and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Students often examine the feasibility of renewable energy installations on Bentley’s campus. This is because Bentley does not yet have a significant renewable energy system installed.
While exploring this issue, students have studied the environmental benefits and economic feasibility of installing wind turbines and solar arrays on campus. In NASE344 (Alternative Energy) a group of students wrote their final paper on a survey of renewable energy installations on New England Campuses. They explored tax incentives, renewable energy credits, carbon footprint impact and return on investment. The paper was written at the request of the Office of Sustainability to inform the exploration of increased renewable energy installations on campus.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Grounds and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Bentley’s campus grounds include a protected area called the Bentley Pond. This unique water feature is home to a few different protected species. Several courses in the Natural and Applied Sciences department use the pond as a living laboratory including NASE328 (water quality) which studies drinking water and its sources, delivery, and treatment as well as the treatment and disposal of wastewater. In the course students analyze local water samples for bacteria, heavy metals, pesticides, and fertilizers. Samples are sourced from the Bentley Pond, the Charles River, and Walden Pond.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Purchasing and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Students in the Student Government Association have worked with the Purchasing department to ban Styrofoam and to switch campus over to 30% recycled paper. These both were student –led efforts which included doing research, passing a bill, and making a formal presentation to the Bentley Purchasing department.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Transportation and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
N/A
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Waste and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
One of our IT courses looks at campus efforts to recycle IT materials, such as phones, laptops, projectors and other electronics. The environmental impacts of electronic obsolescence is discussed along with detailed education about Bentley's IT equipment "take back and refurbish" polices and the university's electronics recycling program.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Water and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A Bentley honors student completed a research project which investigated the feasibility of eliminating sale and distribution of single-use water bottles on Bentley's campus. The student used data from Bentley's bottled water filling stations and a survey of fellow students regarding bottled water and a proposed bottled water ban.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Coordination, Planning & Governance and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
n/a
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Diversity & Affordability and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A sociology course uses Bentley's population as a microcosm to compare to the City of Waltham (where Bentley is located). Issues of socio-economic class, nationality, ethnicity, gender identity and sexual orientation, age and religious identity are discussed.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Health, Wellbeing & Work and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Bentley’s campus has an active Center for Health and Wellness with nurses and counselors available to students. Students in Expository Writing classes are often challenged to write pieces on alcohol or drug abuse, and stress in the college environment. These students access the clinicians at the Center for Health and Wellness for their research.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Investment and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
A student studying finance and Earth Environment and Global Sustainability organized a sustainable investing competition as his capstone project. The competition was designed to give students first-hand experience in researching publicly traded companies that are both profitable and socially responsible. Teams of Bentley undergraduate students used the Bloomberg Terminals in Bentley’s Trading Room to conduct research into the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance publicly traded companies as a means to select a winning stock for a pitch to a panel of judges (serving as the asset management company) as an addition to a mock portfolio. Competition judges were Boston sustainable investment professionals who provided feedback to students on the strength of their pitches and quality of their research.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Public Engagement and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Over 1,000 students per year are engaged in Bentley's Service Learning and Civic Engagement Center. Many Bentley professors provide a "4th credit option" in their classes where students can work on projects in the local community that tie directly into what is being taught in the classroom. Students work on myriad projects in the local community providing support for educational, sustainability and social justice initiatives. In order to gain the "4th credit" students have to participate in a certain number of volunteer hours in the local community and complete a final research project related to their experience. Students pursuing the "4th credit option" have done work on campus for the Office of Sustainability as part of an Environmental Psychology class.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory in Other areas and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
In Fall 2017 a graduate student worked on an idea to engage Bentley students in more sustainable habits. He developed the idea for a Bentley specific app which would use social media to encourage students to act more sustainably. The app would encourage students to post pictures of themselves doing sustainable actions and this would encourage others to act.
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The website URL where information about the institution’s campus as a living laboratory program or projects is available:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
We were able to gather this information from talking to various professors and through a survey we sent to faculty to gather information for AC-1, AC-8 & AC-9/
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.