Case Western Reserve University
EN-3: Student Life

Student Sustainability Council (SSC) is a student led organization that works directly to educate and promote economic, social, and environmental sustainability and equity to allow for a greater understanding and respect for our environment. SSC collaborates with other Northeast Ohio higher ed and community environmental organizations to promote sustainabillity for our campus and the greater Cleveland area. The Graduate Student Senate created a sub-committee focused on sustainability issues which has now become an independent group called the Graduate Student Sustainability Council (GSSC). The GSSC operates similarly to the SSC, focused on issues of importance to the Grad Student population. CWRU also has several student organizations working on food issues: Slow Food and the Food Recovery Network, that is working with our on-campus food service provider to donate unused food to hunger organizations, which helps to reduce the impact on landfills. There is a chapter of Net Impact active within the Weatherhead business school that engages students to work on sustainability issues with business.

The Garden@Case, established in 2011, employs organic gardening techniques and is open to students, faculty, staff, as well as community members. Volunteers help with weeding, watering, and the upkeep of the garden, recording activities in a garden log. Produce is donated to a community partner, the Cory Hunger Center in Cleveland, OH. https://community.case.edu/garden/about/
CWRU also has a 400-acre farm with 3 acres currently under food production. Food produced at the CWRU Squire Valleevue Farm is sold to the on-campus food service provider and other local restaurants. Students are welcome as both volunteers and paid employees and to conduct food based internships, to help with the food production and sales program expansion and community connections. https://case.edu/farm/

A environmental service company, Aropha, was launched in 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio by a Ph.D. candidate at Case Western Reserve University. It is a startup company pioneering the application of automation and AI to advancing the biodegradability testing and biodegradable material discovery.
https://www.aropha.com/about.html

CWRU offers Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Programs to help students earn MS in Biology or Physics while starting their own company. The MS program in Entrepreneurial Biotechnology allows students to strengthen and showcase their talents within the field. Internationally experienced instructors will help students get prepared for real-world success.
See https://case.edu/step/ for more details.

A list of programs can be found https://case.edu/entrepreneurship/learn/undergraduate-academic-programs for undergraduate students and https://case.edu/entrepreneurship/learn/graduate-and-professional-academic-programs graduate students.

Several university Centers host speakers or have symposia related to sustainability: The CWRWU Climate Action Network hosts Climate Action Week every Fall, the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit (Global Forum for Business as an Agent of World Benefit), Great Lakes Energy Institute (Energy Alliance Speaker Series), and the Inamori Center for Ethics and Excellence (International Ethics Prize and Symposium), there is also an Environmental Law Center and the Swetland Center for Environmental Health that have community and student speakers series and workshops that students can attend. The Office for Sustainability hosts both a "Big Green Event" in the fall to allow a forum for on-campus researchers and staff and students working on sustainability-related projects to report to the campus community, and a monthly Green Bag Lunch series that brings community experts in varying areas of sustainability to campus for lunchtime presentations.

The University purchased pieces this year by artist Lauren Yeager, a 2009 CIA grad and also 2021 Cleveland Arts Prize Emerging Artist awardee. Lauren is one of the artists invited to represent the USA for the 2023 Venice Biennale in Architecture, opening this May. The commissioning organization for the USA Pavilion is SPACES Gallery in Cleveland, the smallest organization ever to be selected. The title of the exhibit is: Everlasting Plastics.
Lauren’s work is composed of recycled plastics – everyday objects -- which will, in one state or another, last longer than revered bronzes or marble pieces. Shown last year at Abattoir Gallery, the work had real attraction to us because it is composed of such familiar, easily purchased, ubiquitous and useful objects, well known by all of us– plastic coolers and tops.

There is a student led Farm Adventure Club, a Wilderness Club and the University Farm which has hiking trails and recreation areas has a leave no trace education campaign and policies.

The Student Sustainability Council (SSC) also sponsors programming that educate individuals on living sustainably.
The Sustainability House, a residential living opportunity that began in the 17-18 school year, allows a small cohort of students to learn together and practice sustainable life skills, as well as green building and renovation information and they produce programming on their sustainable lifestyle commitment and encourage other University students to adopt their practices.

Sustainability-focused employment opportunities are available for students as Sustainability Ambassadors, who are trained by the Office of Energy & Sustainability on a range of issues effecting our climate footprint, and assigned different topic areas to work on sustainability-related projects. The Office also hires a number of interns in any given year to assist with a variety of projects.

The Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit is centered in the Weatherhead School of Management and hires students to work on sustainable business case stories, as well as a cohort of Fowler Fellows who assist any number of projects focused on sustainability in business. https://weatherhead.case.edu/centers/fowler/

Students can also apply for a position during the summer in the Summer Undergraduate Research in Energy & Sustainability program. Students work full time during the summer on sustainability or energy-related research projects across campus and within different disciplines, and meet weekly for enrichment seminars.

And the University Farm hires 3-5 students annually who work on many sustainability related projects.