Overall Rating Bronze
Overall Score 34.87
Liaison Courtney Gallaher
Submission Date June 4, 2024

STARS v2.2

Northern Illinois University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Courtney Gallaher
Associate Professor, Sustainability Coordinator
Earth, Atmosphere and Environment
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Campus Engagement

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement:
Students in ENVS 302 create a fictional program that would make NIU sustainable. They also are required to do an environmental service learning experience where they get their hands dirty by helping to restore, conserve, or manage resources, clean up campus, and/or work on sustainable farming (among other things).

Students in BIOS 407/507 restore a natural area on campus

Students in BIOS 406/506 conduct research projects at Nachusa Grassland focused on how management of restored prairie impacts plants, animals, and functioning.

Public Engagement 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Public Engagement?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Public Engagement:
The students in my Philosophy of Food [PHIL 338] course:
i. volunteer at Feed My Starving Children,
ii. plant seeds in NIU's greenhouse, and
iii. perform service in NIU's Communiversity Gardens to grow food for NIU's Husky Food Pantry - service activities include: prepping, planting, weeding, mulching, and maintaining the gardens.

The students in my Animals and Environmental Ethics [PHIL 430-530] course are assigned to groups focused on different high-impact ways to lower our carbon footprint, research the topic in question, and produce a panel presentation of the high-impact action they have identified as part of the Worldwide Climate Justice Teach-In. These students also perform service in NIU's Communiversity Gardens to grow food for NIU's Husky Food Pantry - service activities include: prepping, planting, weeding, mulching, and maintaining the gardens.

The students in my Animal Ethics [PHIL 334] course volunteer at Heartland Farm Animal Sanctuary.

Air & Climate 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Air & Climate?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Air & Climate:
1. virtual experimental show on how to synthesize CO2 capture materials such as metal-organic framework
2. Hands-on training (before COVID) on electromicroscopic imaging technology to vitalize microstructures of solar cells
3. Hands-on training of synthesis (before COVID) of nanoporous materials with a wide range of energy and environmental related applications
4. Students are required to write a short proposal in the format of the project summary of NSF grant proposals (namely Objective, Intellectual merit, Broader impact), prepare a powerpoint presentation to present and defense their ideas in front of all students and me. All the students in the audience are required to ask questions. Students' proposal and involvement of this Q&A will be graded as part of the final grade.

Buildings  

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Buildings?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Buildings:
My students do "audits" of buildings on campus and examine issues around messaging of belonging. They are asked to examine issues related to sustainability as it pertains to belonging.

Energy 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Energy?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Energy:
My students work on a research project all semester. They determine a specific problem that's connected to their topic, conduct some research to see whether their peers are aware of the issue, and then propose solutions to the issue. Issues include climate justice, food security, housing rights, and sources of renewable energy.

Food & Dining 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Food & Dining?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Food & Dining:
Students read, discuss, and write papers on aspects of climate history and environmental history such as Mediterranean fishing, forest management, the Mediterranean Diet, Atlantic fisheries and fish populations, the Little Ice Age, climate change, early globalization, commercial booms and busts, economic bubbles, intensive agriculture, deforestation, food supply management, epidemic diseases, quarantine practices, and other issues.

Grounds 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Grounds?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Grounds:
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Purchasing 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Purchasing?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Purchasing:
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Transportation 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Transportation?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Transportation:
Students are required to research the assessment and regulation of an environmental, health, and/or safety risk in the US, Illinois, and Ogle and DuPage counties.

Waste 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Waste?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Waste:
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Water 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Water?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Water:
Climate Action Communication project - Students choose an intervention aimed at climate change mitigation and use communication skills learned in class to motivate interest groups outside the class to advocate for/participate in the intervention
Waterworlds team research project - Students work together to decide on a class-wide research focus and team subtopics related to DeKalb/Sycamore water issues

Coordination & Planning 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning:
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Diversity & Affordability 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
Currently students in ARTH 453 and in ARTH 701 are doing research projects in the construction of racial inequities through Confederate monuments. The planning, installation, and continuing power of these monuments was and continues to be the nurturing of a narrative of white supremacy. The monuments were constructed during heightened racial segregation through Jim Crow laws, and promoted a false history of the Civil War and slavery that has largely endured among white supremacists today.
The students are encouraged to publish their research through various venues such as Huskie Commons and YouTube videos.
ARTH 331- Student research has focused on waterways, clean water, and how, from antiquity to the present (in locations as far apart as Mumbai and Aurora IL), the most inexpensive housing is in areas of flooding and water pollution. This forces the poor to be environmentally and socially harmed.

Investment & Finance 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance:
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Wellbeing & Work 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
Utilization of Public Transportation by persons with disabilities.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s living laboratory program is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
AASHE_STARS_Academics_V4.xlsx

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
We were able to obtain this data from a survey we sent out to all professors on campus. The responses we have received are found in the file we attached here. Please refer to the file for further details.

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.