Duquesne University
EN-3: Student Life

Evergreen is an environmentally conscious organization that helps to educate the DU community on sustainability on-campus and works to keep local neighborhoods clean and green. They collaborate with Facilities Management on Campus to help educate students and staff on recycling efforts available on campus as well as many of the new "green" upgrades being made to campus buildings. Off-campus, they collaborate with the Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh working to make the Uptown neighborhood a cleaner and greener place. Activities include Green Week during the fall semester, the Earth Day Fair and Spring Clean-Up during the spring semester as well monthly litter pick-ups and educational opportunities throughout the year.

The purpose of the Environmental Law Society is to provide a source of information regarding current environmental and natural resources law and policy, to allow and encourage discussion and debate about these topics, to promote environmental awareness, to aid the academic knowledge and awareness of its members, and to assist its members in employment within the environmental law field after graduation.

A former undergraduate student, Kristen Roth, published her undergraduate thesis titled "Regenerative Landscaping: An Urban Garden for Storm Water Management at Duquesne University." With guidance from a professor, her thesis developed plans to install an urban vegetable garden on campus. These plans turned into reality when the Center for Environmental Research and Education's Graduate Program Coordinator, Mary Kate Ranii, took the lead on the project. With the help of Facilities Management and two Graduate Assistants, raised beds were constructed and over wintering oats were planted. In addition, two rain barrels, which will provide the water necessary for future crops, were installed. Though the garden will not begin producing vegetables until the spring, cover crops were planted in October to help restore nutrients in the soil. Once this project is completed, the garden will serve as one solution for reducing storm water runoff on campus. Additionally, the garden will increase biodiversity, improve soil quality in the area, and enhance campus aesthetics. Duquesne is partnering with Amplify Church and Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh to ensure that yields are donated to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

Duquesne has a Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) Program that provides students with a compelling experience in money management and contributes to their preparation for successful careers in finance and investment management. One of the investment funds is referred to as the Duquesne Values Fund (DVF) "Investing for the Greater Good." This is one of the largest undergraduate funds of its type in the nation, as it pursues a stock selection strategy employing fundamental equity analysis and valuation. Eligible investments are deemed consistent with responsible investing criteria and Spiritan values, which include preserving the planet through sustainable initiatives. The $1 million student managed investment fund also employs socially responsible investment strategies.

The Duquesne University New Venture Challenge is a two-stage competition that encourages students to submit new venture ideas that have commercial and/or social missions. Winning programs are awarded $5,000 to put their projects into effect. Winners from 2019 includes LeanMed - innovative medical equipment designed to improve access to healthcare in low-resource regions.

The Annual Presidential Conference on the Integrity of Creation focuses on the topic Toward a Healthy Planet to discuss what is going right with planet earth. The interdisciplinary conference invites participants from different disciplines to engage each other in civil discourse on a different topic each year.

The conference series was commissioned by former President Charles J. Dougherty as an endowed academic event that celebrates the Spiritan mission of Duquesne University. The current University President, Ken Gormley, continues to inspire excellence in support of the Spiritan mission as the conference series develops.

The conference has three goals:

1. To provide a scholarly opportunity to engage established and emerging research on the conference topic

2. To foster interdisciplinary discourse on each topic, such as among science, health, philosophy, religion and policy

3. To enlighten public awareness and discussion of the conference topic

Daniel Robinson (Environmental Science, 2019) ran a photo exhibition that featured a selection of nature photographs. The photos were taken by Daniel beginning in his freshman year at Duquesne up through an expedition to Alaska sponsored by the Honors College in the summer of 2017. The objective of the exhibition was to demonstrate the intersection of nature, art, and science through photography and to instill in the viewer the same sense of awe for nature that originally compelled Daniel to choose his major of Environmental Science. The photo exhibition and associated descriptions are still available for general view in Mellon Hall on Duquesne's Main Campus.

Additionally, Duquesne hosts the Human Rights Film Series each year. Though the theme of the conference changes yearly, it always focuses on sustainable societal advancement. Some recent previous films that have been shown include Merchants of Doubt, Food Chains, Place at the Table, Time to Choose, Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, Human Flow, and Death by Design.

Duquesne University’s Outdoors Club acts as an open student organization that welcomes all students to participate. The club provides interested students with education about the outdoors that partners with different outdoor activities. This club stresses dedication to learning about the outdoors, engaging in various environmental activities, volunteering for environmental conservation, and promotes outdoor recreation for community youth.

The MBA in Sustainable Business Practices has three themed semesters:
1st Semester- Auditing in Regards to Sustainable Businesses
2nd- Processing improvement in Regards to Sustainable Businesses
3rd- Change Management in Regards to Sustainable Businesses.

The Center for Environmental Research and Education hires between two and five students every academic year to assist with conducting with campus greenhouse gas emissions assessments and local environmental research opportunities.

MBA research fellows tuition remission work with faculty research

The Center for Environmental Research and Education hosts monthly EnviroBytes, which is an environmental speaker series. This series features speakers ranging from local environmental non-profit organizations, local environmental scientists, and local environmental companies (like solar panel installers) and are advertised to the entire campus.