Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 74.24
Liaison Lindsey Lyons
Submission Date April 30, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Dickinson College
EN-4: Outreach Materials and Publications

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Tyce Herrman
Projects Coordinator
Center for Sustainability Education
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Does the institution produce the following outreach materials and/or publications that foster sustainability learning and knowledge? :
Yes or No
A central sustainability website that consolidates information about the institution’s sustainability efforts Yes
A sustainability newsletter Yes
Social media platforms that focus specifically on campus sustainability Yes
A vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability Yes
Building signage that highlights green building features Yes
Food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems Yes
Signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies employed Yes
A sustainability walking map or tour Yes
A guide for commuters about how to use alternative methods of transportation Yes
Navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians Yes
A guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience Yes
Regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper, either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat No
Other sustainability publications or outreach materials not covered above Yes

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A brief description of the central sustainability website:
Dickinson has a sustainability 'microsite' that is a gateway to extensive information about our sustainability commitment, policies, and efforts, which span the curriculum, co-curricular programs, research, campus operations, living laboratories, the Dickinson College Organic Farm, Center for Sustainability Education, financial management, community service and engagement, student and faculty opportunities, and climate action. Prominently linked to from Dickinson's "About" page, the landing page for sustainability is one of the Dickinson website's most visited pages.

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The website URL for the central sustainability website:
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A brief description of the sustainability newsletter:
The sustainability newsletter was started in Fall 2009 and is managed by the Center for Sustainability Education. It is a bi-weekly e-publication produced in MailChimp and is distributed to an actively managed list of nearly 1,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni, community members, and sustainability partners. The newsletter provides current information about sustainability events, programs, opportunities, and achievements. Users can subscribe to the newsletter in a variety of ways and campaigns are conducted every semester to encourage subscriptions.

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The website URL for the sustainability newsletter:
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A brief description of the social media platforms that focus specifically on campus sustainability:
The Center for Sustainability Education maintains an active Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube channel. Each semester CSE hires a "content creation" intern to manage sustainability social media activity and campaigns. CSE also maintains the Biking@Dickinson, Greater Carlisle Project, and Eco-Reps blogs.

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The website URL of the primary social media platform that focuses on sustainability:
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A brief description of the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability:
Dickinson College launched the Dickinson Science Magazine in April 2014 in which students and faculty can publish their research. Each issue includes multiple sustainability articles. Students also disseminate their sustainability research by presenting at the bi-weekly Earth Issues (Environmental Studies) and Rush Hour (Earth Sciences) seminars, the annual science symposium, and via the 'highlighted research' webpage for sustainability related research. In March 2014, Dickinson organized and hosted the first statewide Student Sustainability Symposium that was attended by over 100 students from 24 Pennsylvania colleges and universities and included 19 student presentations, 21 posters, and 7 roundtable discussions. Symposium presentations are disseminated via the website of the Pennsylvania Environmental Resource Consortium: http://www.pagreencolleges.org/2014SSSRecap. Student research is highlighted online: http://www.dickinson.edu/centers/sustainability/content/Highlighted_Research/

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The website URL for the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability:
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A brief description of building signage that highlights green building features :
The Center for Sustainable Living (Treehouse), Althouse Hall, Waidner Admissions House, the Rector Science Complex (James and Stuart Halls), and the Durden Athletic Training Center, all LEED gold certified, have multiple signs in the buildings to showcase green building features. Althouse has additional signage that details its LEED score. Green building features are also highlighted online, and full LEED submission reports are available for review.

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The website URL for building signage that highlights green building features :
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A brief description of food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems:
The main dining hall at Dickinson has a display that identifies what food was procured from local farms. The dining hall includes signage that highlights our compost program, compost data, and local products. Signage in the dining hall clearly identifies items made with ingredients grown at the Dickinson College Organic Farm. Produce from our farm is sold at a farm stand in the student union. Annual publications and infographics have also been produced to highlight local producers and the amount of local foods purchased.

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The website URL for food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems:
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A brief description of signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies:
Dickinson College has natural meadows, rain gardens, and areas with edible landscaping for which we have signage on campus.

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The website URL for signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies:
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A brief description of the sustainability walking map or tour:
Sustainability tours of campus are provided by Center for Sustainability Education (CSE) staff and student interns on request and are also offered for a variety of events including alumni weekend, admissions days, and Family Weekend. A sustainability walking tour of the Dickinson Organic Farm is offered by student farmers and farm staff. Print versions of the campus and farm sustainability tours are available at the Admissions Office and CSE. A podcast for the farm tour is available online.

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The website URL of the sustainability walking map or tour:
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A brief description of the guide for commuters about how to use alternative methods of transportation:
Information is provided online about alternative means of transportation. The alternatives include carpooling via Commuter Services of PA, ridesharing via RidePost, local public transit, Zipcar, and biking. The latter is supported by Dickinson's Handlebar Bicycle Co-Op, which lends rebuilt Green Bikes to students for a semester at a time, free of charge. There is literature at the Department of Public Safety and the Center for Sustainability Education that provides information on our Zipcar, Red Bike and Green Bike programs. All programs are open to any member of Dickinson College. Commuters are currently being targeted through our new formal partnership with PA Commuter Services, as many new resources are available through this service.

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The website URL for the guide for commuters about how to use alternative methods of transportation:
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A brief description of the navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians:
The borough of Carlisle published a map of the bicycle and pedestrian network. CSE actively distributes these maps and links to the electronic map on our website. We also maintain a bicycle resource map of campus that includes rack, pump, bike repair, locker, indoor bike rooms, and shower locations. Students are currently working to convert the Google map to GIS, thereby facilitating analysis of bike resource campus coverage and accessibility.

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The website URL for navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians:
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A brief description of the guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:
Our Eco-Reps blog is a major online resource for students, especially during move-in, orientation, and the first-year experience. This online resource provides students with ways to conserve energy, tips for green living, and ways to pack/purchase more sustainably when starting at Dickinson.

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The website URL for the guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:
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A brief description of regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper, either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat:
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The website URL for regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper, either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat:
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A brief description of another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above (1st material):
The regional community newspaper, The Sentinel, publishes Dickinson-contributed articles related to water. This partnership began from a Dickinson faculty study group on water, where community outreach was a desired outcome. Contributions to date have included material from both faculty and students. The monthly Water Works features began in October 2014.

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Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (2nd material):
No

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Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (3rd material):
No

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Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (4th material):
No

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Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (5th material):
No

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Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (6th material):
No

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Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (7th material):
No

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Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (8th material):
No

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Dickinson is committed to sharing the latest news, opportunities, and events related to sustainability and supports a broad-spectrum approach of inclusive ways to reach our diverse audiences. We employ students to work solely on sustainability outreach for the college and community. We support publications, blogs, a sustainability newsletter, signage, and extensive web resources to diversify sustainability at Dickinson.

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.