Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 50.27
Liaison Jessica Thompson
Submission Date Feb. 18, 2020

STARS v2.2

Northern Michigan University
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 3.00 Sarah Mittlefehldt
Professor
Earth, Environmental & Geographical Sciences
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

1st Partnership 

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Climate Adaptation Task Force

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership?:
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? :
No

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:
The Climate Adaptation Task Force (CATF) is a partnership between Marquette County, the Superior Watershed Partnership (SWP) and Northern Michigan University (NMU), along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NOAA provides the partners with special training on the White House Climate Tool Kit (see below). In addition, the SWP, City of Marquette and NMU develop local climate planning tools and provide information on these tools to the NOAA.

The CATF has hosted a number of forums available to elected officials and community members to provide input into the planning process and ensure a socially acceptable outcome. The task force has considered the various aspects of sustainability as it relates to climate change, such as: robustness, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of electricity generation in Michigan's Upper Peninsula; assisting local governments and units in identifying and prioritizing problems related to climate change in their communities; climate change effects lake levels and aquifers, and other aspects of the local environment; raising public awareness of how local communities and businesses can take proactive action in response to extreme weather events and other consequences of climate change.

Please refer to the link below for more information on the Climate Adaptation Task Force:

http://superiorwatersheds.org/catf.html

2nd Partnership

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
Northern Climate Network is the outreach committee of the Marquette County Climate Adaptation Task Force - which is a collaborative group with lead partners from Marquette County, the Superior Watershed Partnership and NMU.

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):
No

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
NMU hosts the Climate Adaptation Task Force & Northern Climate Network - provides meeting space, refreshments and supports faculty time to participate. This partnership is ongoing, initiated in 2014 with three founding community partners and has continued with collaborative programming, policy guidance and community engagement with local sustainability issues of climate resilience, public health in an era in climate change.

https://www.nmu.edu/northernclimatenetwork/home

3rd Partnership 

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
---

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
---

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
---

Which of the following best describes the partnership? (3rd partnership):
---

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):
---

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
---

Optional Fields 

A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:
---

Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

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.