James Madison University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

The following is an example of a relevant project: In "Compost Land Management and Soil Carbon Sequestration," a capstone project in the B.S. Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT) Program that was completed in 2016, Kylene Hohman modeled carbon sequestration through compost application on the on-campus East Campus Hillside.

No projects were identified for this category, but there may have been projects. "Unknown" would be a more accurate answer than "no".

The following is an example of a relevant project: For their ISAT capstone project, completed in 2017, Connor Ganley and Nathaniel Sohn conducted an energy audit on the JMU campus bookstore. They analyzed the energy flows of the building in order to find areas where building energy efficiency could be improved.

The following is an example of a relevant project: 2015 Zane Showker Entrepreneurship Award winner, Amanda Presgraves ('16), has seen her idea for a food truck, Fueled, grow from a concept developed at the Shenandoah Valley Small Business Development Center's "What's Cookin'" program to a business model developed in the spring 2015 MGT 472: Venture Creation class and validated in the Society of Entrepreneurs, and ultimately to a JMU Dining program in 2016 through Aramark and JMU faculty. Sustainability is a focus of the food truck. See http://www.jmu.edu/news/cob/2016/06/06-fueled-a-jmu-entrepreneurs-legacy.shtml

The following is an example of a relevant project: Dr. Mikaela Schmitt-Harsh, Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies, worked with students to identify and geo-locate trees on campus. They developed a spatial database of 460+ trees and selected a subset of the tree population to create a "walking tour" of campus that highlights the diversity of trees on campus. The project was completed in 2016. To access the tour, go to https://www.jmu.edu/idls/trees-of-jmu%20.shtml.

The following is an example of a relevant project: In a capstone project completed in 2017, ISAT students Sarah Di Croce, Travis Hooven, and Adam Turosky partnered with Aramark to (1) understand what issues, if any, JMU students have in regards to genetically modified foods on campus and to (2) present a feasible plan to address these problems.

The following is an example of a relevant project: For their ISAT capstone project, completed in 2016, Michael Garcia, Chris Johns, and Raymond Oram conducted a study, "Improving Transit Bus Operations using Low Cost Bluetooth/Wi-Fi Technology." The goals of this project were to improve the passenger’s experience by refining the current infrastructure in place, to improve planning and route distribution, and to increase bus ridership through better scheduling and route management.

The following are examples of relevant projects: "Disposable Cup Waste and Reusable Options on Campus" was an ISAT capstone project completed in 2016 by Kendrick Pankey and L.J. Anderson. In an ISAT capstone project completed in 2017, Nicole Raftery examined ways to significantly and permanently reduce wasted food at JMU and to increase proper disposal of the waste.

The following is an example of a relevant project: "Edith J. Carrier Arboretum Stream Restoration and Storm Water Monitoring" by Carli Kohler and Matthew McCarter was an ISAT capstone project, completed in 2016. For more information, see https://www.jmu.edu/bsisat/documents/2016-senior-symposium.pdf.

The following is an example of a relevant project: Kimia Favagehi, Jaclyn Rose Finn, Jacob Christian Ruefer, Sara Elaine Hardiman, Mary Theresa Ross, and Christina Elaine Deane presented a poster, "SGA Diversity Ad hoc Committee: Diversity Awareness at JMU" at the 2017 JMU SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference. As part of their senior public relations capstone, the team designed a campaign pitch for the ad hoc committee. The pre-campaign research examined diversity issues, campus involvement, and cultural intelligence at James Madison University. The Diversity Ad hoc Committee, a branch of SGA that deals directly with issues of diversity on James Madison University's campus, was founded in 2014. The committee "seeks to spread the concept of diversity by collaborating with various other student clubs and organizations on campus."

No projects were identified for this category, but there may have been projects. "Unknown" would be a more accurate answer than "no".

Two examples of relevant projects that advance student sustainability learning and sustainability in the community are: With partial support from a grant from the Healthy Community Council (HCC) of Harrisonburg-Rockingham County, three JMU faculty and a graduate student, led by Dr. Maria DeValpine, Professor, Department of Nursing, conducted the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Healthy Community Assessment 2016. The assessment results, published online, provide HCC member agencies and the communities with data and research to support human services grant proposals and support improvements in health and quality of life for area citizens. The study assembled previously published data, research on the social determinants of health, results of an original quality of life participatory survey, and a profile of health and community services. The profile was compiled by students in Dr. Laura Trull's Social Work 341 course. The survey was administered by Council Steering Committee members. Implications for Harrisonburg-Rockingham County and next steps were discussed at a public summit on June 14, 2016 at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community. The High Impact Immersion Experience (HIIE) for elementary education majors is a pilot program between faculty at JMU’s College of Education and Harrisonburg City Schools. Teacher candidates are frequently traditional students from white middle class families, while the student bodies they serve are ethnically, culturally, economically, and linguistically diverse. Students at the Harrisonburg City School Division are 63% non-white and 72% in or at risk of poverty (free or reduced lunch); 42 languages are spoken and 47 countries are represented. Six JMU faculty members (Smita Mathur, Teresa Harris, Joy Myers, Susan Barnes, Mark Keeler and Martha Reish) worked with classroom teachers to design and pilot HIIE, which created dialogue between classroom teachers, faculty, and teacher candidates and better prepared future teachers to understand their students. Over two semesters in 2016, 35 classroom teachers and 45 teacher candidates participated.

No projects were identified for this category, but there may have been projects. "Unknown" would be a more accurate answer than "no."

An example of a relevant project is: Completed in 2016, Emma Martin's "Environmental, Conservation, Sustainability and Development" capstone looked at "Using Residential Location to Assess the Environmental Value-Action Gap in Students at James Madison University".

Entries for this credit were compiled by Ms. Melissa Altman and some were submitted by faculty members and students named in this credit. Some entries are included in the Campus Environmental Stewardship Tour. More information about the tour can be found at https://www.jmu.edu/stewardship/tour.