Southern Oregon University
PAE-20: Inter-Campus Collaboration on Sustainability

Southern Oregon University students presented at the Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference in 2013 on socially responsible investments and the campaign to divest from fossil fuels. The students met with the Internal Bank and are working with other Oregon schools to encourage the Oregon University System to divest from fossil fuels system-wide and engage in socially responsible investing. Steve Schein, a professor in SOU's Business department, presented his research on corporate sustainability and developing sustainable leadership mindsets at the International Conference on Business and Sustainability at Portland State University as follows: In the fall of 2010, he presented "The Chief Sustainability Officer: A New Archetype in Corporate Leadership" and "Innovate Approaches for Sustainability Education within the Business Curriculum" In the fall of 2011, he presented "New Levels of Corporate/NGO Collaboration"

SOU is an AASHE member institution and STARS participant. The Sustainability & Recycling Coordinator serves on the local City of Ashland Conservation Commission. The powers, duties and responsibilities of the Commission are to educate and advocate for the wise and efficient use of resources by the City of Ashland and Ashland citizens. The Commission recommends to the City Council the adoption of policies, implementation strategies and funding related to: recycling, source reduction and solid waste/landfill issues; electric conservation issues; water conservation issues; resource conservation issues; new power resource decisions, but not decisions involving wholesale power contracts; renewable resource decisions; education of citizens about resource efficiency issues. The coordinator is also a member of the Campus and University Recycling Coalition.

SOU collaborates with other sustainability coordinators from colleges and universities throughout Oregon through regular phone calls and meetings at sustainability conferences. The SOU sustainability coordinator participated in the OUS Sustainability Initiative Committee Workshop on May 27, 2009. SOU participated in the planning for the second OUS Sustainability Conference, which was held at Oregon State University in February 2011. In 2010, SOU became a participant in the College Sustainability Green Report Card. SOU also participates in the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership.