Colorado State University
IN-2: Innovation 2

CSU was founded in 1870 as a land grant university with a three-fold dedication to: education, research, and extension. It is because of this Land-Grant Mission that CSU consistently demonstrates above-average results on the STARS Assessment: because CSU has been committed to environmental excellence and innovation since the beginning, and consequently exceeds accepted standards in these three areas today. For example - In the area of education, CSU had some of the very first Environmental Degrees, such as the first Water Engineering program. Almost 150 years later, CSU has 19 majors and 7 minors in sustainability (http://sustainability.colostate.edu/education/csu-programs-undergraduate-students), and there are at least 22 fully accredited graduate programs at the Masters and/or PhD level in sustainability (http://sustainability.colostate.edu/education/csu-programs-graduate-students). The most recent additions to those programs, in the last three years, include the Global Environmental Sustainability Minor and the Ecosystem Science and Sustainability Major. Additionally, in the last three years, the Global Social Sustainable Enterprise Masters program has launched several student-run sustainable businesses including Panda Bicycle (sustainable bamboo bikes), Siembra Organica (getting small scale organic farming to market) and Running Water International. Similarly in the area of Extension CSU has shown early and sustained leadership in Sustainability. In the dust bowl, CSU employees were out along the Front Range installing wind breaks to try and mitigate environmental and, in particular, agricultural results of the drought. In the last year, CSU invested huge resources into helping with local floods and fires. We hosted fire fighters in our dorms, and used our outdoor educational campus as secondary camp to reduce traveling to and from the fire. We also hosted community forums during and after the fires to explore action and recovery. CSU also ran the CSU Cares Fund to assist effected community members in rebuilding their lives. The fun raised over $100,000 between the 2012 Hyde Park Fires and the 2013 Fall Floods. This credit, and the attached letter of support, attests to the Innovative ways in which CSU has adapted to its initial land grant mission. It has demonstrated an initial land-grant driven inspiration for the environment and a sustained commitment to Sustainability which is unique in its peer group.