Iowa State University
EN-9: Staff Professional Development

Procurement Process Certification Training High volume p-card users are required to attend “Procurement Process Certification Training” which is an 8 hour course on the procurement process. The training is open to any university employee. The ISU Purchasing Department delegates purchasing authority to departments, which, in turn, select their employees to make purchases on the departments’ behalf. Employees with this authority are recommended to take this training before spending departmental funds. The Procurement Process Certification Training includes a session on green procurement. This covers Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Guidelines, reducing unnecessary waste, purchasing recycled content products, and ways that energy and water savings can be realized through purchasing. In addition, educators learn how to minimize the use of toxins and the generation of pollution by purchasing degradable products, and how to use environmentally preferable paper and wood products. Educators are also taught about various key terms in green procurement, including Energy Star products, life cycle analysis, post-consumer content, and recyclable versus reusable products. After the training, employees can share this knowledge with other coworkers who can purchase within their respective departments. The program is sponsored by the Iowa State University Purchasing department, which provides staff for the training. Training materials are also given to the educators on the Purchasing department's behalf. The Spark The Spark is a weekly email series provided by the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs that serves as ongoing training for Iowa State University faculty and staff on working with multicultural students. Participants read anecdotes from multicultural students about their experience at ISU, relevant operations and academic data, as well as tips and guidance for strengthening multicultural competence and skills in building an inclusive campus environment. Participants are encouraged to create/join faculty/staff discussion groups regarding The Spark findings. Participants were also invited to a workshop led by Multicultural Student Affairs staff in order to detail first-year findings, and strategize future initiatives. https://www.multicultural.dso.iastate.edu/facstaff/spark Learn@ISU Learn@ISU serves as an online hub for professional development courses available to ISU staff. The website offers several modules and courses from a variety of departments covering all three facets of sustainability, including: risk management, environmental health and safety, health and wellness, recycling and waste management, personal finance, leadership, energy conservation, and ethics. www.learn.iastate.edu

Iowa State proudly supported staff and faculty attendance at several external sustainability professional development opportunities during the 2018-2019 year, including: The Big 12 Directors & Housing Operations Conference The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education The Association of College & University Housing Officers-International (ACUHO-I) Annual Conference The APPA and ACUHO-I Facilities Conference The United States Green Building Council IMPACT Conference The Big Ten and Friends Parking and Transportation Conference The Iowa Recycling and Solid Waste Management Conference