Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 64.57
Liaison Sherri Mason
Submission Date June 14, 2023

STARS v2.2

Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Sherri Mason
Director of Sustainability
School of Science
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

1st Partnership 

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Sustainable Communities Collaborative

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? :
Not Sure

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:
The Sustainable Communities Collaborative (SCC) connects faculty, students, and staff with local communities to address sustainability challenges through an engaged, collaborative effort. Innovative University/community-based collaborations are developed to engage PSU faculty and students in existing courses from across the University with real world, community-identified projects to meet the partnering community’s sustainability priorities. Each project is a facilitated effort, involving interdisciplinary faculty expertise and students, co-led by a key community leader and the University’s SCC staff, to help develop and support thriving, healthy communities and advance student learning about the scholarship of sustainability.

https://sustainability.psu.edu/live/staff/sustainable-communities-collaborative

2nd Partnership

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
Sustainable Food Systems

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):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
The Sustainable Food Systems Program at Penn State, developed in 2016, stands on three legs: (1) a Food Systems Curriculum, currently in development, (2) a Student Farm that allows people with diverse backgrounds and interests to learn about where food comes from and apply their unique skills and experiences to a farm setting, and (3) an active engagement and outreach program that connects the campus community with the interests and needs of the broader community within which it resides.

https://behrend.psu.edu/research-outreach/sustainable-food-systems-program

3rd Partnership 

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

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

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

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

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):
No

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
In collaboration with Erie County, Behrend serves as one of the dozens of organizations that work across the county in this world-wide trash collecting event.

https://erielittercritters.com/

Optional Fields 

A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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