University of Pittsburgh
EN-3: Student Life

STUDENT OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY (SOOS)
The Student Office of Sustainability is A) a physical and collaboration space for individual students and student organizations who are interested in sustainability related events, initiatives, and programs both on campus and in the community and B) a campus-wide coordinating entity that supports the potential of students to creatively revolutionize the way the Pitt community approaches environmental and social justice while inspiring conversations about building a sustainable future. SOOS has ~20 affiliated student groups who all meet monthly during the academic year to coordinate strategy & activities.
>> https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/get-involved/students/student-office-of-sustainability/

Though listed below, more detailed information on all SOOS and campus-wide sustainability-focused and -related student-run programs and student organizations are linked to online - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/get-involved/students/student-organizations/

Current SOOS-Affiliated Student-Run Programs include:

1) Eco-Justice Collaborative
2) Pitt Bike Cave
3) Pitt EcoReps
4) Pitt Green Fund
5) Pitt Green Team
6) Pitt Pantry
7) University of Thriftsburgh

Current SOOS-Affiliated Student Organizations include:

1) Club Triathlon at Pitt
2) Competitive Rock Climbing Team
3) Engineers for a Sustainable World
4) Engineers Without Borders
5) Epsilon Eta
6) Food Recovery Heroes
7) Free the Planet
8) Outdoors Club
9) Planned Parenthood Generation Action
10) Plant2Plate Student Garden
11) Sharing Excess
12) Students For Sustainability
13) The Aquaponics Project

Other campus sustainability-focused and -related organizations include:

1) Conservation Club
2) Corporate Sustainability Club (Business, graduate)
3) Doctors Without Borders
4) Energy & Environmental Law Society (graduate)
5) Equity & Justice Scholars (Education, graduate)
6) Geology Club
7) Global Health & Underserved Populations Interest Group (graduate)
8) Global Health Student Association (Public Health, graduate)
9) Pitt Hydroponics Club
10) Pitt Electric Propulsion
11) Pitt Students for One Health (PSOH, graduate)
12) Strong Women, Strong Girls
13) Water in a Changing World (graduate)

1) PLANT2PLATE STUDENT GARDEN
This student group runs an urban garden on Pitt's campus. The Oakland Avenue garden is maintained by Plant2Plate members. The organization's mission is to teach students how to grow food in a natural and sustainable manner, teach them how to prepare this food, and encourage them to spread this knowledge to the community. All farming activities are facilitated by the on-campus garden. Further Plant2Plate information is provided in STARS credit IN-7: Community Garden.
https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/student-projects/plant-2-plate/

2) HYDROPONICS CLUB
Is dedicated to the education of Pitt students in hydroponic practices, providing educational outreach to local communities, and creation of small-scale hydroponic systems. Biweekly meetings and other events (including tours of larger hydroponic systems) educate Pitt students in the practice of using hydroponics techniques for sustainable growth. Through education and outreach, the club designs, develops, and constructs hydroponic systems to gain hands on experience working with hydroponic systems that are used to conduct research in sustainability, student education, and community outreach. Pitt Hydroponics also collaborates off-campus with the Oasis Project.
https://hydroponicspitt.wordpress.com/about/

3) AQUAPONICS PROJECT
The Aquaponics Project meets biweekly to talk about aquaponics, visit sustainable businesses, build greenhouses and small aquaponic systems, and much more!
https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/student-organizations/the-aquaponics-project/

1) PITT PANTRY
The Pitt Pantry is dedicated to ensuring that all members of the Pitt community have regular access to a balanced and nutritious diet. Open since Spring 2015, the Pantry hosts regular shopping hours for Pitt community members to obtain food and services. All members of the Pitt community can visit to select items of need at the Pantry’s location in the O’Hara Student Center (Kitchen), 4024 O’Hara St, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. The Pitt Pantry is student-run, University-supported, and thankful for charitable donations; it has 6 part-time student interns.
>> https://www.studentaffairs.pitt.edu/care-and-resources/pitt-pantry

2) UNIVERSITY OF THRIFTSBURGH
Opened in March 2015, the University of Thriftsburgh on-campus thrift store was created by 2 undergraduate students -- and opened in the University’s O'Hara Student Center (where it remains today). Thriftsburgh’s mission is to promote sustainable purchasing for students on campus and to call attention to the policies of the textile industry and fashion industry. In addition to selling second-hand clothing, shoes, and accessories year-round, Thriftsburgh hosts an annual Reuse Rummage Sale each August. Second-hand dorm, kitchen, and bathroom essentials are sold at low costs to arriving students. Thriftsburgh employs 5 part-time student coordinators and serves as a basic needs component of the University’s Wellness Team.
Learn more: https://www.studentaffairs.pitt.edu/care-and-resources/thriftsburgh

3) PITT BIKE CAVE
On-campus student-created and coordinated bicycle maintenance teaching shop that supports and improves the bike community at Pitt and in Pittsburgh via access to tools and mechanics, education, advocacy, and outreach. The Pitt Bike Cave provides Pitt students, faculty, staff, and the public an inclusive space to repair their bicycles, receive safety and educational materials, participate in workshops, and gather as a community. The Pitt Bike Cave employs 5 part-time student coordinators and is open to anyone with an interest in biking. In 2020, the Pitt Bike Cave began selling donated bikes.
Learn more: https://www.pts.pitt.edu/mobility/biking/pitt-bike-cave

PITT GREEN FUND
The mission of the Pitt Green Fund is to finance and support student-initiated projects and programs that make Pitt’s operations more environmentally sustainable, socially equitable, and energy efficient. By supporting these initiatives, the Pitt Green Fund empowers project proposers to make a visibly positive change on campus -- and thus helps to educate the entire Pitt community about sustainability principles that can be applied in everyday life. The Pitt Green Fund is managed by the Green Fund Allocations Board (GFAB) and receives its budget from the Student Activities Fee via the Student Government Board, as well as donations from other programs across campus.
https://www.pittgreenfund.com/

SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO AT PITT
The Socially Responsible Investment Portfolio at Pitt seeks to generate long-term outsized returns by investing in S&P 500 companies that do right by all of their stakeholders.
https://sriatpitt.com/

1) STUDENT SUSTAINABILITY SHOWCASE & SYMPOSIUM
Held every semester, this event highlights undergraduate students' sustainability course projects and accomplishments, while creating an inclusive space for an open dialogue about sustainability. The Fall Student Sustainability Showcase brings together students, faculty, administrators, and community groups to increase awareness about and advance efforts behind sustainability initiatives on Pitt’s campus and in the region. The Spring Student Sustainability Symposium also includes the Pitt Sustainability Awards luncheon. Both events are organized by students.
Sample Event Detail: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/event/student-sustainability-symposium-23/

2) PITT GREEN SPEAKEASIES
Generally held monthly in the academic year, Pitt Green Speakeasies give graduate students and faculty a chance to connect and learn about each other’s sustainability related research. Started in 2014, Pitt Green Speakeasies foster future collaborations and support sustainable innovation to tackle wicked problems. Hosted by the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation and supported by the Office of Sustainability, Pitt Green Speakeasies are often co-sponsored by other centers, departments, and schools.
Learn more about upcoming & past Pitt Green Speakeasies - https://www.sustainabilityinstitute.pitt.edu/faculty/green-speakeasy-events

3) 2022 SUSTAINABILITY SUPPER
In September 2022, the Chancellor’s Scholars involved with ScholarCHEF (Scholar, Community, Honors, Ecosystem, Food) hosted a Sustainability Supper. This forum for students, faculty, and community members focused on environmentally conscious food choices. Attendees consumed a low carbon meal that was responsible for less than half a pound of carbon dioxide emissions each. Participants ate their carbon-tracked meals at themed tables based on areas of interest such as sustainable agriculture, food waste, alternative diets, food security, carbon tracking and Pittsburgh’s local food ecosystem.
https://www.frederickhonors.pitt.edu/chancellors-scholars-host-dinner-focused-sustainability

4) UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH-NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY COLLABORATIVE PLACE-BASED CONFERENCE
In October 2022, the University of Pittsburgh and Newcastle University hosted a conference focused on exploring and sharing best practices on how Universities advance place-based approaches through community and student engagement, including how we measure our impact and demonstrate accountability to our communities and stakeholders.
Conference program - https://www.ncl.ac.uk/media/wwwnclacuk/whoweare/files/Conference%20Programme%20(3)%20(1).pdf

1) PITT PARK(ING) DAY
Pitt has hosted Pitt Park(ing) Day for several years, but in 2019, it was the first official activity for the Year of Creativity. At this annual nation-wide event, participants turn parking spaces into temporary parklets, creative interventions, and social spaces. Over the years at Pitt, several sustainability-focused groups and organizations participate, including Pitt’s Surplus department (promoting furniture reuse) and Pitt student groups. In 2022, Pitt’s Grounds crew in partnership with the Pollinator Habitat Committee turned 2 parking spaces into a temporary garden. In 2023, the program was put on hiatus due to construction.
https://www.utimes.pitt.edu/news/annual-parking-day-moving

2) ”SOMEWHERE”
In October 2021, the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Theater Arts performed the play “Somewhere.” Set during future climate collapse, the play chronicles two protagonists’ journey to track the world’s last monarch butterflies. Pitt Theater created props from upcycled materials and included educational content about supporting pollinators, like the monarch butterfly, in the playbill.
https://www.pitt.edu/pittwire/features-articles/somewhere-play-sustainably-produced

3) “RECREATE” WALL
An entire wall at Pitt’s Center for Creativity: The Workshop has been dubbed the “ReCreate” wall, as it contains materials that can be repurposed into creative projects instead of being landfilled. Materials include. but are not limited to, corks, biology slides, broken beads, and scraps from previous art projects. Discarded pieces of paper and paper scraps are taken to the Text & con Text Lab in the Hillman Library where it is made into new paper.

4) CARTONERA WORKSHOP
Annually, Pitt’s Center for Creativity, University Library System, and Center for Latin American Studies hold a workshop to create Cartoneras out of recycled cardboard. The Cartonera movement began in Buenos Aires in 2003 and was organized by writers and artists producing hand-made books at low-cost using recycled cardboard, (thus the name "cartonera"). The books are produced in a collective-circular way -- in which authors become designers become publishers become authors. These small independent publishers historically provided a better return on recycled cardboard by turning the cardboard into books. These books were cheaper than large publishing houses, allowing equitable access to reading materials.
https://pitt.libguides.com/cartonera-at-pitt/Engaging

5) BUTTERFLY PUDDLER WORKSHOP
Since 2022, Pitt’s Center for Creativity has been celebrating National Pollinator Week with an annual workshop teaching the Pitt community how to make their own backyard butterfly puddler. Dubbed “Make A Splash: Creative Butterfly Puddlers,” this workshop teaches attendees the importance of pollinators and then guides them in making puddlers out of a variety of recycled materials to provide a water and nutrient source for native butterflies.
>> 2023: https://calendar.pitt.edu/event/make_a_splash_creative_butterfly_puddlers_6408
>> 2022: https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/pollinator-week-2022/

The University of Pittsburgh’s Outdoors Club began in the late 1960s as an informal group of students with an affinity for adventure. Today, it is a fully recognized student organization complete with elected officers. The club has weekly meetings, and sponsors frequent outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, biking, rock climbing, etc.
https://outdoorsclubpitt.blogspot.com/

1) PITT SUSTAINABILITY-FOCUSED ACADEMIC COMMUNITY: NATURE / CITIES / HUMANS

The University of Pittsburgh’s Academic Communities are designed for first year undergraduate students, who take up to 3 classes together with the same small group of students. Pitt has offered the “Nature / Cities / Humans” Academic Community every year since 2019. Students all register to take the following 3 classes:

A) Introduction to Environmental Science (3 credits, + shared 0 credit recitation)
B) Introduction to Urban Studies (3 credits)
C) Academic Foundations (1 credit) – Currently taught by the Sustainability Academic Program Manager for the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation.

Learn more - https://www.asundergrad.pitt.edu/first-year-students/academic-communities/list-academic-communities#Nature/Cities/Humans

2) PITT’S “YEAR OF”

The first “Year of” designation at the University of Pittsburgh was for the 2014-2015 "Year of Sustainability," supported through the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of the Provost. In subsequent years, the Pitt Sustainability community has created and received funding for proposals for that are sustainability-focused or related as a part of the "Year Of" series, including during this 2021-23 reporting period, which included the Years of Engagement, Data and Society, and Emotional Well-Being.

2020-21: " YEAR OF ENGAGEMENT."
Engagement with each other—whether civic, community, or campus—allows us to create new possibilities for humanity, for fellowship, and for innovation and discovery. Engagement is fundamental to community building, to deepening the connections between us, and to critical self-discovery. A Year of Engagement is ideal for a university setting because here we learn and teach about communities, while coming together to create new ones. The Pitt Sustainability team is always engaged on- and off-campus, but in this year, the team emphasized engagement in a number of ways, including designing a Pitt Green Home Office Challenge (including new virtual programming), virtually reaching across campus on development of Pitt Climate Action Plan with 7 presentations and 440 individuals (including Staff Council, a University Senate Committee, the Student Office of Sustainability, the Faculty Sustainability Task Force, & more), plus a small student survey (~140 responses). Officially, the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation also received a Year of Engagement grant for the “Greenhouse for Year-Round Growing” project to assist its ongoing collaboration with the Oasis Group on hydroponics and more.

2021-2022: “YEAR OF DATA AND SOCIETY”
A focus on data and society is ideal for a university setting because this is where we gather together to research, analyze and try to better understand, and improve the world around us. Data science now permeates education, government, medicine, engineering, entertainment, science, the arts, humanities, and business, touching nearly every facet of life. All parts of our university collect and use data; each effort offers unique perspectives on how data can contribute to student and faculty success, human well-being, and the greater social good. During the Year of Data & Society, the University asked profound questions and sought innovative and compassionate answers.

Pitt Sustainability efforts are driven by data and sharing our progress as an institution towards achieving all 68 sustainability goals. In this vein, Pitt Sustainability launched several new sustainability dashboards in 2021-22, including on bike share utilization and building energy and water use intensity.

>> Bike Share Dashboard - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/new-bike-share-dashboard/
>> Building Energy & Water Use Intensity Dashboards - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/new-dashboards-for-building-energy-water-use-intensity-2014-2019/

2022-2023: “YEAR OF EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING”
This theme offers an opportunity to engage collectively with a focus on restoring and enhancing our emotional well-being. The pandemic underscored the importance of fully supporting the emotional welfare of students, faculty and staff as everyone navigates the new terrain. This is a time of burgeoning research and collective reflection on our emotional needs and the qualities that make for a good life. Undoubtedly, our Year Of topic yielded learnings that better people's lives well beyond the boundaries of the University.

In recognition of the link between sustainability and emotional well-being, Pitt Sustainability added a new elective course to the Pitt Sustainability Professional Development Certificate program called “Sustainable Landscapes,” which is taught annually. In this course, participants explore campus and gain understanding about how nature helps promote our wellbeing both physically and mentally.

Additionally, the self-guided Campus Tree Trek was launched in May 2023 as an Emerging Leader project to help promote well-being and appreciation of nature among students and employees; encouraging them to take a 20-minute walk around campus to learn about different tree species.
More information - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/campus-culture/tree-trek/

More about Pitt’s “Year of” efforts - https://www.provost.pitt.edu/priorities/year-pitt

1) PITT GREEN RESIDENT PROGRAM

The Pitt Green Resident program provides students living in Pitt’s residence halls resources to live sustainably on campus and affirm sustainable behaviors through a self-assessment that highlights a residents’ sustainable habits (by calculating the greenhouse gas emissions impacts of those choices). Students complete the Pitt Green Resident Self-Assessment, answering questions about habits on campus including shower length, commute mode, and dietary choices. Each answer is scored based on annual carbon dioxide emissions savings; each student is then provided with a score compared to other participants’ responses (plotted on a graph and divided into ranges). Ranges are inspired by the Ecological Stages of Succession -- students who score in the “Intermediate” or “Climax” range earn the “Pitt Green Resident” designation.

The Pitt Green Resident program is managed by the Pitt EcoReps student sustainability interns, who annually promote the program and analyze results (which are provided to the University to inform them about student sustainable living trends and needs).

In Fall 2023, the Pitt EcoReps celebrated 166 Green Residents. Previously, there were 120 Pitt Green Residents in Fall 2022, 559 in Fall 2021, and 335 in Fall 2020.

More about the Pitt Green Resident program - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/get-involved/students/pitt-green-residents-floors/

The Pitt Green Resident program is part of the overall Pitt Green suite of designations, which includes Pitt Green Host, Laboratories, and Offices. Students can help encourage their departments to implement best practices and obtain these designations.
>> https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/get-involved/employees/pitt-green-office-lab/

2) PITT STUDENT GREEN GUIDE
First officially published in 2017, the Pitt Student Green Guide evolved to include interactive content that was embedded into the Pitt Sustainability website in 2020. This dynamic resource combines information from across the University, allowing Pitt student to easily engage in Pitt’s thriving culture of sustainability. In 2023, the new “Off-campus Student Green Guide” was launched, helping students’ living off-campus to embed sustainability in their off-campus living experience.
>> https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/off-campus-student-green-guide/

1) PITT SUSTAINABILITY INTERNSHIPS

The University of Pittsburgh offers hands-on and practical sustainability employment with Pitt Sustainability internships across the University and in all semesters (Fall, Spring, & Summer). In any given year, there are ~40 paid Pitt Sustainability interns in a variety of campus departments, including, but not limited to:

- Office of Sustainability (3)
- Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (5)
- Student Affairs, including the Student Office of Sustainability (7), Thriftsburgh (5), Pitt Pantry (6), & Pitt Bike Cave (5)]
- Housing (5)
- Dining (2+)
- Athletics (1)
- Facilities Management (1)

Student interns work on a wide variety of sustainability projects, including communications; materials recycling and composting education and programming; responsible dining programs; sustainability documentation; and much more.

Regardless, all Pitt Sustainability interns learn valuable communications, collaboration, marketing, engagement, and outreach skills through their positions. They are encouraged to work cooperatively with other departments and divisions across campus on a variety of sustainability-focused and -related projects. Pitt Sustainability interns also work on new sustainability programs to implement on and across campus.

In addition, the Coordinator for SGB Outreach and Advocacy for the Student Office of Sustainability serves as a liaison to Pitt’s Student Government Board (SGB) helping advise on sustainability-related programs and initiatives and helping create an agenda for new programming in this area.

>> Current Pitt Sustainability intern team - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/team/interns/

2) SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH

Though not a typical internship, Pitt’s Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation offers a 12-week paid undergraduate summer research program that pairs students with sustainability-focused faculty members to conduct research on sustainability topics and considerations. In Summer 2023, 26 students worked on funded projects.

More about MCSI’s summer undergraduate research program & videos of select past projects: - https://www.sustainabilityinstitute.pitt.edu/research/undergraduate-research-summer-program

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INTERDISCIPLINARY TRANSCRIPT OF DISTINCTION IN SUSTAINABILITY
University Transcript Distinctions are designed to combine curricular, co-curricular, and experiential learning activities that support an undergraduate student’s growth and development in particular interdisciplinary areas. By participating in a sequence of courses that are then blended with high-impact activities outside the classroom, students learn to translate their knowledge into practical applications and are prepared to communicate these experiences to a broad audience. Pitt’s Sustainability Transcript Distinction provides undergraduate students with a mechanism to gain recognition and “credit” for their outside-the-classroom endeavors and broaden the number of undergraduate students participating in sustainability activities throughout campus.

In addition to 6 to 9 credits of sustainability courses, students complete the Outside-the-Classroom Curriculum (OCC) Sustainability Badge, 3 High Impact Activities, and a final reflection.
• The OCC Sustainability Badge is a series of required activities that enhance a student’s personal and professional development through attendance at speaker events, participation in campus initiatives, and service opportunities with the Green Team.
• High Impact Activities include long-term dedication and leadership development through internships, field experiences, service learning, co-ops, research, and board positions all related to sustainability.

Learn more - https://www.sustainabilityinstitute.pitt.edu/education/sustainability-distinction