Vanderbilt University
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
Reporter |
Chelsea
Hamilton Sustainability Outreach Program Manager Environmental Health, Safety, and Sustainability |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Student groups
Yes
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
• Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Responsibility (SPEAR) - SPEAR’s mission is to increase environmental awareness and promote more environmentally sustainable habits and infrastructure within the Vanderbilt and Nashville community. Various projects sponsored by this organization include: cardboard crew, compost discovery area, house energy competitions, Climate Change Solutions Week, pollinator garden, Rites of Spring recycling, and a First-Year Sustainability Representatives Program
• Vanderbilt Student Government’s Environmental Affairs & Facilities Committee - This committee works to make Vanderbilt a more sustainable university by collaborating with students, faculty, and administrators on a host of environmental issues with hopes of making Vanderbilt a leader in developing practical and effective solutions. Recent projects have included collaboration and feedback on institutional renewable energy projects, fossil fuel divestment, a sustainability-themed thrift shop, and charity events for Australian wildlife.
• Owen Graduate School of Management Net Impact - Owen Net Impact is a member of the larger Net Impact community with over 150 student and professional chapters worldwide. Net Impact aims to positively contribute to a community of new leaders in fields such as corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, nonprofit management, international development, and environmental sustainability who will use business to improve the world. Net Impact has in the past hosted events such as a Green Career Symposium, “Green Week” and the Net Impact National Conference. This group has also partnered with the Sustainability and Environmental Management Office to devise business plans and programming for various environmental projects and efforts on campus.
• Vanderbilt Initiative for Vegetarian Awareness (VIVA) - VIVA aims to advocate a healthy lifestyle that has a positive effect on humans, animals, and the planet.
• Environmental Law Society - The Environmental Law Society is an organization for students interested in learning more about environmental law and environmental legal careers. This group has sponsored numerous speakers, panels, and activities since its inception and aims to strengthen relationships between Vanderbilt Law students and local environmental groups.
• Vanderbilt Fusion Project - The Vanderbilt Fusion Project is a transformative, cross-disciplinary engineering project team and research initiative. By building a functional miniature nuclear fusion reactor, the group hopes to spark innovation and inspire others within the campus, community, and nation. Once completed, the reactor platform will open up new research paradigms with applications ranging from nanotechnology to renewable energy.
• National Arboreal Project - The Nashville Arboreal Project's mission is to educate Nashville's youth about the environment while reinvigorating our community's connection to nature by planting the seeds for a greener future.
• Wildlife Conservation Club - The Wildlife Conservation Club’s mission is to promote animal welfare in the contexts of zoos, entertainment industries, research facilities, and the wild (i.e. anti-poaching and habitat preservation) via education, fundraising, and volunteering.
• Wilderness Skills (WilSkills) - Wilskills, Vanderbilt’s outdoor experience club, incorporates a focus on environmental protection as part of their curriculum. This includes holding lectures on environmental protection of surrounding ecosystems, campaigning to spread awareness about animal conservation, and requiring every member to participate in at least two volunteer recycling events per year.
• Vanderbilt Student Government’s Environmental Affairs & Facilities Committee - This committee works to make Vanderbilt a more sustainable university by collaborating with students, faculty, and administrators on a host of environmental issues with hopes of making Vanderbilt a leader in developing practical and effective solutions. Recent projects have included collaboration and feedback on institutional renewable energy projects, fossil fuel divestment, a sustainability-themed thrift shop, and charity events for Australian wildlife.
• Owen Graduate School of Management Net Impact - Owen Net Impact is a member of the larger Net Impact community with over 150 student and professional chapters worldwide. Net Impact aims to positively contribute to a community of new leaders in fields such as corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, nonprofit management, international development, and environmental sustainability who will use business to improve the world. Net Impact has in the past hosted events such as a Green Career Symposium, “Green Week” and the Net Impact National Conference. This group has also partnered with the Sustainability and Environmental Management Office to devise business plans and programming for various environmental projects and efforts on campus.
• Vanderbilt Initiative for Vegetarian Awareness (VIVA) - VIVA aims to advocate a healthy lifestyle that has a positive effect on humans, animals, and the planet.
• Environmental Law Society - The Environmental Law Society is an organization for students interested in learning more about environmental law and environmental legal careers. This group has sponsored numerous speakers, panels, and activities since its inception and aims to strengthen relationships between Vanderbilt Law students and local environmental groups.
• Vanderbilt Fusion Project - The Vanderbilt Fusion Project is a transformative, cross-disciplinary engineering project team and research initiative. By building a functional miniature nuclear fusion reactor, the group hopes to spark innovation and inspire others within the campus, community, and nation. Once completed, the reactor platform will open up new research paradigms with applications ranging from nanotechnology to renewable energy.
• National Arboreal Project - The Nashville Arboreal Project's mission is to educate Nashville's youth about the environment while reinvigorating our community's connection to nature by planting the seeds for a greener future.
• Wildlife Conservation Club - The Wildlife Conservation Club’s mission is to promote animal welfare in the contexts of zoos, entertainment industries, research facilities, and the wild (i.e. anti-poaching and habitat preservation) via education, fundraising, and volunteering.
• Wilderness Skills (WilSkills) - Wilskills, Vanderbilt’s outdoor experience club, incorporates a focus on environmental protection as part of their curriculum. This includes holding lectures on environmental protection of surrounding ecosystems, campaigning to spread awareness about animal conservation, and requiring every member to participate in at least two volunteer recycling events per year.
Gardens and farms
Yes
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
• Vanderbilt Community Garden - The Vanderbilt Community Garden, previously student-run, was transitioned to a new more central location on campus. The new community garden continues to use the efforts of the Vanderbilt Community Garden student group with support from the Campus Dining and Facilities groups. The garden includes more than just plants and produce, it acts as a testing ground for sustainable gardening methods. The garden is available for use by the broader Vanderbilt community, as well as creating strong ties to the Vanderbilt Children and Family Center who will use the garden as part of their curriculum. Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Responsibility (SPEAR) currently manages the garden. https://anchorlink.vanderbilt.edu/organization/vandygardeninitiative/about
• Latin American Ethnobotanical Garden – Latin American ethnobotanical garden features 49 of the most culturally significant plants from the region. The garden was opened in 2017 and is sponsored by the Vanderbilt Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS). The species selected reflect CLAS’ particular research strengths in Mexico, Central America, Brazil, the Andes, and the Black Atlantic regions. The garden contains a sage section, an agave section and an annual section, which features important food crops like amaranth, corn, squash and beans. https://www.vanderbilt.edu/arboretum/community-gardens/
• Menus of Change Advisory Group – The Menus of Change Advisory Group works to advance the Menus of Change principles at Vanderbilt. Co-founded and jointly led by Stanford University and The Culinary Institute of America, the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative is a working group of leading scholars, food service business leaders and executive chefs from invited colleges and universities who are accelerating efforts to move Americans toward healthier, more sustainable plant-forward diets.
• Community Garden Advisory Group – This group was formed in 2018 to recommend a new community garden on Vanderbilt’s campus. The group consisted of faculty, administration, staff, and community members from across the University and Nashville. The group is working to develop plans for a new community garden to be installed in 2020 that integrates student participation, community involvement, educational opportunities, and food provision for both VU and the community.
• Food Waste Working Group - The Food Waste Working Group is a subset of the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative Advisory Committee. The Food Waste Working Group is focused on helping Vanderbilt achieve food waste reductions. The working group includes a variety of staff, faculty, and students from across the university. The working group liaisons to the Zero Waste Advisory Committee and will help them devise a strategy to meet their Food Waste reduction goal that will be set at the conclusion of the Zero Waste Plan.
• Latin American Ethnobotanical Garden – Latin American ethnobotanical garden features 49 of the most culturally significant plants from the region. The garden was opened in 2017 and is sponsored by the Vanderbilt Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS). The species selected reflect CLAS’ particular research strengths in Mexico, Central America, Brazil, the Andes, and the Black Atlantic regions. The garden contains a sage section, an agave section and an annual section, which features important food crops like amaranth, corn, squash and beans. https://www.vanderbilt.edu/arboretum/community-gardens/
• Menus of Change Advisory Group – The Menus of Change Advisory Group works to advance the Menus of Change principles at Vanderbilt. Co-founded and jointly led by Stanford University and The Culinary Institute of America, the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative is a working group of leading scholars, food service business leaders and executive chefs from invited colleges and universities who are accelerating efforts to move Americans toward healthier, more sustainable plant-forward diets.
• Community Garden Advisory Group – This group was formed in 2018 to recommend a new community garden on Vanderbilt’s campus. The group consisted of faculty, administration, staff, and community members from across the University and Nashville. The group is working to develop plans for a new community garden to be installed in 2020 that integrates student participation, community involvement, educational opportunities, and food provision for both VU and the community.
• Food Waste Working Group - The Food Waste Working Group is a subset of the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative Advisory Committee. The Food Waste Working Group is focused on helping Vanderbilt achieve food waste reductions. The working group includes a variety of staff, faculty, and students from across the university. The working group liaisons to the Zero Waste Advisory Committee and will help them devise a strategy to meet their Food Waste reduction goal that will be set at the conclusion of the Zero Waste Plan.
Student-run enterprises
Yes
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
Hydrocore - Hydrodore is a student run business that supplies water dispensers to campus clients, increasing water accessibility and reducing plastic waste on Vanderbilt’s campus and in the greater Nashville area. https://hydrodore.org/
VanderBIKES - VanderBIKES is a Vanderbilt student run organization offering bicycle rentals by the day, semester or year. The program gives the students the ease of bicycle transportation without having to worry about storage and maintenance and encourages students to explore Nashville beyond Vanderbilt’s borders. http://studentorgs.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbikes/
Leaves Plates - Leaves Plates is a company which produces various types of fully biodegradable flatware and helps alleviate some of the rampant pollution on a global level. The flatware produced by Leaves Plates aids its customers lead a more sustainable lifestyle posing zero threat to the environment and leaving no ecological footprint. The company is run by Vanderbilt students.
Ofo - In spring of 2018, Vanderbilt students participated in bringing ofo to campus for a pilot program and acted as representatives for the company. Ofo was the world’s first and largest station-free bike sharing platform.
VanderBIKES - VanderBIKES is a Vanderbilt student run organization offering bicycle rentals by the day, semester or year. The program gives the students the ease of bicycle transportation without having to worry about storage and maintenance and encourages students to explore Nashville beyond Vanderbilt’s borders. http://studentorgs.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbikes/
Leaves Plates - Leaves Plates is a company which produces various types of fully biodegradable flatware and helps alleviate some of the rampant pollution on a global level. The flatware produced by Leaves Plates aids its customers lead a more sustainable lifestyle posing zero threat to the environment and leaving no ecological footprint. The company is run by Vanderbilt students.
Ofo - In spring of 2018, Vanderbilt students participated in bringing ofo to campus for a pilot program and acted as representatives for the company. Ofo was the world’s first and largest station-free bike sharing platform.
Sustainable investment and finance
Yes
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
• Vanderbilt Green Fund - The Vanderbilt Green Fund (VGF) is a fund of $150,000 set aside for sustainability projects proposed by students. Members of SPEAR and VSG established the Green Fund in the spring of 2011. The VGF looks for innovative and educational ideas that improve sustainability on campus. The VGF was designed to systematically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and improve the sustainability of Vanderbilt University by funding student-initiated projects with both environmental and economic benefits, and by enabling students, faculty, and administration to engage in the process of transitioning to a clean and sustainable energy future. Any student, faculty, or group associated with Vanderbilt University can propose a project for consideration. https://www.vanderbilt.edu/sustainability/what-we-do/vanderbilt-green-fund/
• Eos Project - The Eos Project is a microfinance internal grant initiative that supports innovative initiatives at Vanderbilt University to promote understanding of urgent environmental issues and social action-pathways to respond to the challenges of climate change. The goal is to energize attention to environment/society concerns in diverse disciplines and campus constituencies. The project organizes programming and offers small grants and fellowships to support faculty and students to develop the vision, knowledge, leadership skills, and networks needed to address pressing problems at the intersections of ecology and social justice, where the well-being of human communities is inseparable from the well-being of more-than-human life-worlds. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/tag/eos-project/
• Eos Project - The Eos Project is a microfinance internal grant initiative that supports innovative initiatives at Vanderbilt University to promote understanding of urgent environmental issues and social action-pathways to respond to the challenges of climate change. The goal is to energize attention to environment/society concerns in diverse disciplines and campus constituencies. The project organizes programming and offers small grants and fellowships to support faculty and students to develop the vision, knowledge, leadership skills, and networks needed to address pressing problems at the intersections of ecology and social justice, where the well-being of human communities is inseparable from the well-being of more-than-human life-worlds. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/tag/eos-project/
Events
Yes
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
• Carol M. Browner, who served as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from 1993 to 2001, delivered the Energy, Environment and Land Use Program’s inaugural Distinguished Lecture on Climate Change Governance on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.
• Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Vice Chancellor for Administration Eric Kopstain were joined by Michael Greenstone, distinguished environmental economist and director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, to share details of Vanderbilt’s new collaboration with Climate Vault. Attendees heard firsthand how a series of innovative solutions put Vanderbilt on track to become the first member of the Association of American Universities to achieve carbon neutrality in spring of 2021—decades ahead of its initial sustainability goal. “Climate change is one of the world’s greatest challenges, and research universities can and must play a unique role in identifying and modeling solutions,” Diermeier said in the announcement of the collaboration. “At Vanderbilt, this means constantly asking ourselves how we can accomplish more—and then serving as a laboratory for innovation to reduce our total carbon footprint. This announcement commits Vanderbilt to accelerating our efforts to find novel solutions in this area. Climate Vault offers a bridge for our work, giving us a greater immediate impact on the problem and also stimulating much-needed research in carbon removal technologies that can have far-reaching benefits for the future.”
• Vanderbilt also welcomed climate scientist Carlos A. Nobre, who is renowned for his work on the impact of Amazon deforestation, to deliver the 2021 Earth Day Lecture. Nobre’s talk, “The Amazon Near a Tipping Point: The urgent need of a novel standing forest bioeconomy,” was part of a joint venture by the Vanderbilt Evolutionary Studies Initiative and the Center for Latin American Studies to highlight science in Latin America. Nobre, an Earth system scientist from Brazil, obtained a Ph.D. in meteorology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983. His work focuses mostly on the Amazon and its impacts on the Earth’s systems. He chaired the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia and has been a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Nobre continues research on the risks of a “savannization” tipping point in the Amazon Forest driven by factors such as global warming, regional deforestation and forest fires. But he is also working to find solutions. He started the Amazon Third Way Initiative and Project Amazonia 4.0 to develop a “standing forest, flowing rivers” innovative bioeconomy for the Amazon, based on adding value to the forest’s products and harnessing its immense biological and biomimetic assets.
• Vanderbilt continued its tradition of “pop-up” projects aimed at activating outdoor spaces around campus in a sustainable way. Each pop-up included FutureVU “experts” who were available for discussion. Pop-ups are focused on sustainability and greening of the campus through FutureVU. Projects transform underutilized spaces with the goal to green and beautify campus spaces for the enjoyment of all, promote a sustainable and walkable campus, encourage community building and social interaction and celebrate creativity and artistic expression.
Additionally, the Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and the Environment, the Civil and Environmental Engineering department, and the Earth and Environmental Sciences department all have weekly sustainability symposia and speaker series that are open to the public with students as the intended audience.
http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/5128
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/americanstudies/sustainability/events.php
Other lectures and events:
2021/2022
Event: PARKing Day
Event: Green-a-Thon
Lecture: Former EPA Administrator Carol Browner, “Climate Change Governance”
Event, Vandy Cooks: “plant-based foods using a plant-forward approach” with Chef Marlanea Wheaton
Event: Graduate and Professional Student Housing Topping Out Ceremony
Event: Rand Farmer’s Market
Event: Earth Hour
Virtual Event: “Climate Change and Sustainability, focusing on the solutions” with Michael Vandenbergh and Benji Backer
Event: Vanderbilt I Solar Farm Groundbreaking
Lecture: “Benefit of Grid Edge Synchronized Measurements” with Yilu Liu
Cooking Demonstration: Waste Not Cooking Demo with the James Beard Foundation, Nashville Food Waste Initiative, Mayor’s Food Saver Challenge, and Vanderbilt University Campus Dining
Tour: DofA In-Focus Session: Arboretum Tour with James Moore
Event: DofA In-Focus Session: “Transportation 101: The Transit Crisis and MoveVU”
Event: DofA In-Focus Session: “FutureVU”
Tour: DofA In-Focus Session: Campus Dining Tour
Lecture: Climate Justice Speaker Panel
Lecture: “Sustainable Fashion” with Lacie Thorne
Event: VU Community Garden Spring Planting
Event: VU Community Garden Paint the Garden Beds
Event: VU Community Garden Adopt-a-Houseplant
2020/2021
Lecture: Chancellor’s Lecture, Amanda Little, Steven Pinker, and Carl Zimmer with moderator Jon Meacham “2020 and Beyond: Tackling Global Issues in the Decades to Come”
Public Listening Session: WeGo Public Transit System
Event: “The Future of Climate Change” virtual event by Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Vice Chancellor for Administration Eric Kopstain with Climate Vault
Lecture: Carlos A. Nobre, “The Amazon Near a Tipping Point”
Webinar: School of Nursing, “Green Recovery, Climate Solutions, and a Just Transition”
National Academy of Medicine Annual Meeting: Jeff Balser, “Confronting Urgent Threats to Human Health and Society: COVID-19 and Climate Change”
Cooking Demonstration: Waste Not Cooking Demo with the James Beard Foundation, Nashville Food Waste Initiative, Mayor’s Food Saver Challenge, and Vanderbilt University Campus Dining
Event: PARKing Day
Event: Vanderbilt Green-a-Thon
Art Exhibition: Emily Kopec senior exhibition, “Merely” features a series of works created from recycled clothing and wearable materials
Virtual Event: Eric Kopstain and Linda Breggin, “Planning for a Changing Climate in Nashville”
Conference: Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review Conference
Virtual Event: LEED Project Showcase – Vanderbilt University
Webinar: School of Medicine, “Anesthesia and Environmental Impact”
Virtual Conference: Owen Forward, “The Future of Sustainability”
Event: Dr. Patrick Greiner, “Environmental Justice in Nashville”
Event: Elizabeth Yeampierre, “Environmental and Climate Justice”
Webinar: Angie Schmitt and Dr. Destiny Thomas, “Race, Class, and the Pedestrian Safety Crisis”
Workshop: Michael Vandenbergh and panelists, “Draft Nashville Carbon Competitiveness Report”
2019/2020
Lecture: Dave Reidmiller, Director of 4th National Climate Assessment, and Joe Casola, Deputy Director of University of Washington Climate Impacts Groups: National Climate Assessment
Lecture: Xiao Recio-Blanco, Director of Ocean Program at Environmental Law Institute: International Environmental Law and the World’s Oceans
Event: Making Nashville Living Building Ready: Materials and Community
Panel Discussion: Sunrise Movement
Lecture: Laura Barker, Vanderbilt Plant Operations horticultural specialist: VU Life Phase Series ‘Raised-Bed Gardening with an Expert’
Event:, Behavioral Wedge Workshop
Panel Discussion:, Environmental Justice Dr. Shirley Meng, University of California San Diego Sustainability Power and Energy Center: “Enabling High Energy Long Life Rechargeable Batteries by Advanced Materials Diagnosis and Operando Characterization”
Lecture: Emma Banks, Warren Center Graduate Student Fellow: “Rising from the Ashes: Remaking Community around Conflict and Coal”
Event: VSG and SPEAR Transit Lunch and Learn
Event: Nashville’s Affordable Housing Crisis
Panel Discussion, Nashville’s Affordable Housing Crisis
Lecture: Dr. Erik Sperling, Assistant Professor of Geological Sciences at Stanford University
Event: Vandy Cooks: “Cooking Unfamiliar Vegetables from the CSA Box”
Event: Vanderbilt Farmer’s Market
Event: International Student Orientation Resource and Vendor Fair
Event: University Resources and Services Fair
Event: Fall Planting Palooza
Lecture: Tiffany Wilmot, area businesswoman: Solar Project Development
Lecture: Danny McKissack and Laura Barker, Vanderbilt Plant Operations Grounds Maintenance team: Fall Gardening with the Experts
Event: Community Supported Agriculture Boxes Bring Local Produce to You
Webinar: DOE and Biological Sciences
Event: Nashville Meeting of Air and Waste Management Association
Event: Commons Unplugged
Lecture: Robert Bullard: The Quest for Environmental and Climate Justice
Lecture: Wil Burns, Co-Director, Institute for Carbon Removal Law & Policy, American University School of International Service “Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies & Human Rights”
Lecture: Stephanie Stuckey, Sustainability Services Coordinator at Southface Institute and former Chief Resilience Officer for the city of Atlanta: Where Hope Meets the Streets
Event: Kitchen Table Series: How Does Climate Change Affect Women?
Event: Al Gore, Former Vice President of the United States: Global Climate Crisis Presentation
Event: PARKing Day
Event: Greenest Commodore on Campus
Event: Free Bike Safety Class with Vanderbilt University Public Safety
Event: Food Scrap Cooking Competition Event, VSG Sustainable Fashion Pop-Up Thrift Shop
• Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Vice Chancellor for Administration Eric Kopstain were joined by Michael Greenstone, distinguished environmental economist and director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, to share details of Vanderbilt’s new collaboration with Climate Vault. Attendees heard firsthand how a series of innovative solutions put Vanderbilt on track to become the first member of the Association of American Universities to achieve carbon neutrality in spring of 2021—decades ahead of its initial sustainability goal. “Climate change is one of the world’s greatest challenges, and research universities can and must play a unique role in identifying and modeling solutions,” Diermeier said in the announcement of the collaboration. “At Vanderbilt, this means constantly asking ourselves how we can accomplish more—and then serving as a laboratory for innovation to reduce our total carbon footprint. This announcement commits Vanderbilt to accelerating our efforts to find novel solutions in this area. Climate Vault offers a bridge for our work, giving us a greater immediate impact on the problem and also stimulating much-needed research in carbon removal technologies that can have far-reaching benefits for the future.”
• Vanderbilt also welcomed climate scientist Carlos A. Nobre, who is renowned for his work on the impact of Amazon deforestation, to deliver the 2021 Earth Day Lecture. Nobre’s talk, “The Amazon Near a Tipping Point: The urgent need of a novel standing forest bioeconomy,” was part of a joint venture by the Vanderbilt Evolutionary Studies Initiative and the Center for Latin American Studies to highlight science in Latin America. Nobre, an Earth system scientist from Brazil, obtained a Ph.D. in meteorology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983. His work focuses mostly on the Amazon and its impacts on the Earth’s systems. He chaired the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia and has been a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Nobre continues research on the risks of a “savannization” tipping point in the Amazon Forest driven by factors such as global warming, regional deforestation and forest fires. But he is also working to find solutions. He started the Amazon Third Way Initiative and Project Amazonia 4.0 to develop a “standing forest, flowing rivers” innovative bioeconomy for the Amazon, based on adding value to the forest’s products and harnessing its immense biological and biomimetic assets.
• Vanderbilt continued its tradition of “pop-up” projects aimed at activating outdoor spaces around campus in a sustainable way. Each pop-up included FutureVU “experts” who were available for discussion. Pop-ups are focused on sustainability and greening of the campus through FutureVU. Projects transform underutilized spaces with the goal to green and beautify campus spaces for the enjoyment of all, promote a sustainable and walkable campus, encourage community building and social interaction and celebrate creativity and artistic expression.
Additionally, the Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and the Environment, the Civil and Environmental Engineering department, and the Earth and Environmental Sciences department all have weekly sustainability symposia and speaker series that are open to the public with students as the intended audience.
http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/5128
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/americanstudies/sustainability/events.php
Other lectures and events:
2021/2022
Event: PARKing Day
Event: Green-a-Thon
Lecture: Former EPA Administrator Carol Browner, “Climate Change Governance”
Event, Vandy Cooks: “plant-based foods using a plant-forward approach” with Chef Marlanea Wheaton
Event: Graduate and Professional Student Housing Topping Out Ceremony
Event: Rand Farmer’s Market
Event: Earth Hour
Virtual Event: “Climate Change and Sustainability, focusing on the solutions” with Michael Vandenbergh and Benji Backer
Event: Vanderbilt I Solar Farm Groundbreaking
Lecture: “Benefit of Grid Edge Synchronized Measurements” with Yilu Liu
Cooking Demonstration: Waste Not Cooking Demo with the James Beard Foundation, Nashville Food Waste Initiative, Mayor’s Food Saver Challenge, and Vanderbilt University Campus Dining
Tour: DofA In-Focus Session: Arboretum Tour with James Moore
Event: DofA In-Focus Session: “Transportation 101: The Transit Crisis and MoveVU”
Event: DofA In-Focus Session: “FutureVU”
Tour: DofA In-Focus Session: Campus Dining Tour
Lecture: Climate Justice Speaker Panel
Lecture: “Sustainable Fashion” with Lacie Thorne
Event: VU Community Garden Spring Planting
Event: VU Community Garden Paint the Garden Beds
Event: VU Community Garden Adopt-a-Houseplant
2020/2021
Lecture: Chancellor’s Lecture, Amanda Little, Steven Pinker, and Carl Zimmer with moderator Jon Meacham “2020 and Beyond: Tackling Global Issues in the Decades to Come”
Public Listening Session: WeGo Public Transit System
Event: “The Future of Climate Change” virtual event by Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Vice Chancellor for Administration Eric Kopstain with Climate Vault
Lecture: Carlos A. Nobre, “The Amazon Near a Tipping Point”
Webinar: School of Nursing, “Green Recovery, Climate Solutions, and a Just Transition”
National Academy of Medicine Annual Meeting: Jeff Balser, “Confronting Urgent Threats to Human Health and Society: COVID-19 and Climate Change”
Cooking Demonstration: Waste Not Cooking Demo with the James Beard Foundation, Nashville Food Waste Initiative, Mayor’s Food Saver Challenge, and Vanderbilt University Campus Dining
Event: PARKing Day
Event: Vanderbilt Green-a-Thon
Art Exhibition: Emily Kopec senior exhibition, “Merely” features a series of works created from recycled clothing and wearable materials
Virtual Event: Eric Kopstain and Linda Breggin, “Planning for a Changing Climate in Nashville”
Conference: Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review Conference
Virtual Event: LEED Project Showcase – Vanderbilt University
Webinar: School of Medicine, “Anesthesia and Environmental Impact”
Virtual Conference: Owen Forward, “The Future of Sustainability”
Event: Dr. Patrick Greiner, “Environmental Justice in Nashville”
Event: Elizabeth Yeampierre, “Environmental and Climate Justice”
Webinar: Angie Schmitt and Dr. Destiny Thomas, “Race, Class, and the Pedestrian Safety Crisis”
Workshop: Michael Vandenbergh and panelists, “Draft Nashville Carbon Competitiveness Report”
2019/2020
Lecture: Dave Reidmiller, Director of 4th National Climate Assessment, and Joe Casola, Deputy Director of University of Washington Climate Impacts Groups: National Climate Assessment
Lecture: Xiao Recio-Blanco, Director of Ocean Program at Environmental Law Institute: International Environmental Law and the World’s Oceans
Event: Making Nashville Living Building Ready: Materials and Community
Panel Discussion: Sunrise Movement
Lecture: Laura Barker, Vanderbilt Plant Operations horticultural specialist: VU Life Phase Series ‘Raised-Bed Gardening with an Expert’
Event:, Behavioral Wedge Workshop
Panel Discussion:, Environmental Justice Dr. Shirley Meng, University of California San Diego Sustainability Power and Energy Center: “Enabling High Energy Long Life Rechargeable Batteries by Advanced Materials Diagnosis and Operando Characterization”
Lecture: Emma Banks, Warren Center Graduate Student Fellow: “Rising from the Ashes: Remaking Community around Conflict and Coal”
Event: VSG and SPEAR Transit Lunch and Learn
Event: Nashville’s Affordable Housing Crisis
Panel Discussion, Nashville’s Affordable Housing Crisis
Lecture: Dr. Erik Sperling, Assistant Professor of Geological Sciences at Stanford University
Event: Vandy Cooks: “Cooking Unfamiliar Vegetables from the CSA Box”
Event: Vanderbilt Farmer’s Market
Event: International Student Orientation Resource and Vendor Fair
Event: University Resources and Services Fair
Event: Fall Planting Palooza
Lecture: Tiffany Wilmot, area businesswoman: Solar Project Development
Lecture: Danny McKissack and Laura Barker, Vanderbilt Plant Operations Grounds Maintenance team: Fall Gardening with the Experts
Event: Community Supported Agriculture Boxes Bring Local Produce to You
Webinar: DOE and Biological Sciences
Event: Nashville Meeting of Air and Waste Management Association
Event: Commons Unplugged
Lecture: Robert Bullard: The Quest for Environmental and Climate Justice
Lecture: Wil Burns, Co-Director, Institute for Carbon Removal Law & Policy, American University School of International Service “Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies & Human Rights”
Lecture: Stephanie Stuckey, Sustainability Services Coordinator at Southface Institute and former Chief Resilience Officer for the city of Atlanta: Where Hope Meets the Streets
Event: Kitchen Table Series: How Does Climate Change Affect Women?
Event: Al Gore, Former Vice President of the United States: Global Climate Crisis Presentation
Event: PARKing Day
Event: Greenest Commodore on Campus
Event: Free Bike Safety Class with Vanderbilt University Public Safety
Event: Food Scrap Cooking Competition Event, VSG Sustainable Fashion Pop-Up Thrift Shop
Cultural arts
Yes
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
• Green poetry event: Vanderbilt Creative Writing held a green poetry reading co-sponsored by the program in Environmental and Sustainability Studies. Eight poems were selected to be read that were thematically related to the environment, eco-consciousness, and the place of humans in the natural setting. Cash prizes were given to the winners.
• ReVerb: Created by the Kefi Project, ReVerb is an attempt to take the ordinary things of life and to remind us that they can be used in beautiful and unexpected ways. In partnership with SEMO, Kefi completed an interactive, musical installation in conjunction with the American Gamelan Concert held at the Blair School of music. The installation celebrated reuse and recycling. The art installation demonstrated the wide range of options we have to reuse and recycle everyday items and echoed the percussion/musicality of the Gamelan by being a musical instrument itself. The art piece included three interactive pillars, each representing one of the three pillars of consumer sustainability – reduce, reuse, recycle – with each pillar being made of a different recyclable material. https://www.vanderbilt.edu/sustainvu/2015/02/blair-school-of-music-vortex-percussion-presents-the-american-gamelan/ https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152819963618920.1073741835.234117583919&type=3
• FutureVU Pop-Up Events: Vanderbilt launched a series of “pop- up” projects aimed at activating outdoor spaces around campus in a sustainable way. Projects transform underutilized spaces with the goal to green and beautify campus spaces for the enjoyment of all, promote a sustainable and walkable campus, encourage community building and social interaction and celebrate creativity and artistic expression. Events included programming like yoga classes and collaborative interactive art creation that used re-purposed materials. In addition, many of the events highlighted ongoing sustainability efforts and projects.
• Bottled: An Exploration of Water and the Plastic that Often Contains it. Installation created by the Kefi Project, and composed of over 2,228 plastic water bottles collected from the Vanderbilt campus, the three installations that make up Bottled explored the many components of this liquid integral to our existence. Launched on March 22, 2014 (World Water Day), each piece had its own distinctive message, ranging from sustainability on campus to the limited access of clean water around the globe. https://kefiproject.wordpress.com/2015/01/05/bottled/
• Vortex and the American Gamelan: Hosted by Blair School of Music, this event celebrated the world music legacy of Henry Cowell and Lou Harrison. This orchestra, built entirely of recycled metal is “the most beautiful instrument on the planet,” according to Lou Harrison. This unforgettable orchestra of metal — one of only four in the world — traveled 900 miles to Nashville.
• Film Screenings: The Vanderbilt organizations SPEAR (Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Responsibility) and VFJ (Vanderbilt Food Justice) often hold film screenings on sustainable topics for the student body to watch and participate in a panel discussion after. Examples of these screenings from the last year include “Cowspiracy”, “Food and Empire: Black Gold”, and “Food and empire: The Price of Sugar.” Campus Dining also hosts film screenings including “Just Eat It.”
• ReVerb: Created by the Kefi Project, ReVerb is an attempt to take the ordinary things of life and to remind us that they can be used in beautiful and unexpected ways. In partnership with SEMO, Kefi completed an interactive, musical installation in conjunction with the American Gamelan Concert held at the Blair School of music. The installation celebrated reuse and recycling. The art installation demonstrated the wide range of options we have to reuse and recycle everyday items and echoed the percussion/musicality of the Gamelan by being a musical instrument itself. The art piece included three interactive pillars, each representing one of the three pillars of consumer sustainability – reduce, reuse, recycle – with each pillar being made of a different recyclable material. https://www.vanderbilt.edu/sustainvu/2015/02/blair-school-of-music-vortex-percussion-presents-the-american-gamelan/ https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152819963618920.1073741835.234117583919&type=3
• FutureVU Pop-Up Events: Vanderbilt launched a series of “pop- up” projects aimed at activating outdoor spaces around campus in a sustainable way. Projects transform underutilized spaces with the goal to green and beautify campus spaces for the enjoyment of all, promote a sustainable and walkable campus, encourage community building and social interaction and celebrate creativity and artistic expression. Events included programming like yoga classes and collaborative interactive art creation that used re-purposed materials. In addition, many of the events highlighted ongoing sustainability efforts and projects.
• Bottled: An Exploration of Water and the Plastic that Often Contains it. Installation created by the Kefi Project, and composed of over 2,228 plastic water bottles collected from the Vanderbilt campus, the three installations that make up Bottled explored the many components of this liquid integral to our existence. Launched on March 22, 2014 (World Water Day), each piece had its own distinctive message, ranging from sustainability on campus to the limited access of clean water around the globe. https://kefiproject.wordpress.com/2015/01/05/bottled/
• Vortex and the American Gamelan: Hosted by Blair School of Music, this event celebrated the world music legacy of Henry Cowell and Lou Harrison. This orchestra, built entirely of recycled metal is “the most beautiful instrument on the planet,” according to Lou Harrison. This unforgettable orchestra of metal — one of only four in the world — traveled 900 miles to Nashville.
• Film Screenings: The Vanderbilt organizations SPEAR (Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Responsibility) and VFJ (Vanderbilt Food Justice) often hold film screenings on sustainable topics for the student body to watch and participate in a panel discussion after. Examples of these screenings from the last year include “Cowspiracy”, “Food and Empire: Black Gold”, and “Food and empire: The Price of Sugar.” Campus Dining also hosts film screenings including “Just Eat It.”
Wilderness and outdoors programs
Yes
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
Wilderness Skills is Vanderbilt University’s premier outdoor experience. The entirely student-run course is designed to integrate academic study with practical experience in the wilderness. It utilizes both the classroom and the environment, combining lectures, films, and discussions with trips to the surrounding areas. The trips are designed to teach students the basic techniques of backpacking, caving, rock climbing, and whitewater paddling. As man is not only an explorer, but the product of the natural world, students are taught the proper methods of coexistence with the environment without harmfully altering it. http://studentorgs.vanderbilt.edu/wilskills/?page_id=56
Sustainability-focused themes
Yes
A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
All first-year students are required to participate in the “Vanderbilt Visions” program, which is a small-group orientation program that meets weekly during their first year on campus. The Visions program includes discussion sessions on topics relevant to sustainability and the environment that all students must complete. Additionally, first-year students are required to complete “Commons Reading”, which often includes sustainability themed books (Earth – Bill McKibben and Half the Sky - Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn).
Vanderbilt University provides myriad opportunities for students to partake in sustainability and environmentally-focused coursework, research and educational opportunities. In Fall 2011, Vanderbilt’s program in American Studies initiated the Sustainability Project (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/americanstudies/sustainability/index.php), which aims to encourage campus-wide dialogue that will promote and further the university’s sustainability efforts. Due to the success of the program, the Sustainability Project continued into the 2012-13 academic year with a focus on implementing the new minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies. Vanderbilt’s Center for Teaching sponsored the Cumberland Project (http://cumberland.vanderbilt.edu/) in May 2012, a two-day workshop intended to foster an interdisciplinary teaching and learning community around sustainability themes at Vanderbilt. During the 2011-2012 academic year, various departments within VU, including Department of English and Department of History, taught general courses with a sustainability theme. This was such a success that it was continued into 2012-2013.
http://as.vanderbilt.edu/academics/experientiallearning/vanderbiltvisions/
In 2016, Vanderbilt focused on the Eos Project as it did in 2011 with the Sustainability Project. The Eos Project supports innovative sustainability initiatives at Vanderbilt University to promote understanding of urgent environmental issues and social action-pathways to respond to the challenges of climate change. The goal is to energize attention to environment/society concerns in diverse disciplines and campus constituencies. The project organizes programming and offers small grants and fellowships to support faculty and students to develop the vision, knowledge, leadership skills, and networks needed to address pressing problems at the intersections of ecology and social justice, where the well-being of human communities is inseparable from the well-being of more-than-human life-worlds.
http://eosprojectvu.org/ http://as.vanderbilt.edu/academics/experientiallearning/vanderbiltvisions/
Vanderbilt University provides myriad opportunities for students to partake in sustainability and environmentally-focused coursework, research and educational opportunities. In Fall 2011, Vanderbilt’s program in American Studies initiated the Sustainability Project (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/americanstudies/sustainability/index.php), which aims to encourage campus-wide dialogue that will promote and further the university’s sustainability efforts. Due to the success of the program, the Sustainability Project continued into the 2012-13 academic year with a focus on implementing the new minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies. Vanderbilt’s Center for Teaching sponsored the Cumberland Project (http://cumberland.vanderbilt.edu/) in May 2012, a two-day workshop intended to foster an interdisciplinary teaching and learning community around sustainability themes at Vanderbilt. During the 2011-2012 academic year, various departments within VU, including Department of English and Department of History, taught general courses with a sustainability theme. This was such a success that it was continued into 2012-2013.
http://as.vanderbilt.edu/academics/experientiallearning/vanderbiltvisions/
In 2016, Vanderbilt focused on the Eos Project as it did in 2011 with the Sustainability Project. The Eos Project supports innovative sustainability initiatives at Vanderbilt University to promote understanding of urgent environmental issues and social action-pathways to respond to the challenges of climate change. The goal is to energize attention to environment/society concerns in diverse disciplines and campus constituencies. The project organizes programming and offers small grants and fellowships to support faculty and students to develop the vision, knowledge, leadership skills, and networks needed to address pressing problems at the intersections of ecology and social justice, where the well-being of human communities is inseparable from the well-being of more-than-human life-worlds.
http://eosprojectvu.org/ http://as.vanderbilt.edu/academics/experientiallearning/vanderbiltvisions/
Sustainable life skills
Yes
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
The FutureVU Sustainability Leaders Program, launched in 2020, uses community engagement and peer mentoring to foster a sustainable campus culture, improve sustainability literacy, improve interaction with sustainability initiatives such as net zero energy and zero waste, and encourage and enable positive behavior change within campus, student, departmental, administrative, professional, residential, and other VU communities. Sustainability leaders support Vanderbilt’s carbon neutrality goal through culture change, education, peer mentoring, and facilitation of actionable goals.
Volunteer membership in the sustainability leaders program includes:
• Monthly meeting throughout the academic year
• Leaders will also facilitate sustainable office/department/residence certifications in their areas, provide education and guidance at departmental and organizational meetings and events, plan outreach events and competitions, and lead by personal example
https://www.vanderbilt.edu/sustainability/what-you-can-do-2/
Volunteer membership in the sustainability leaders program includes:
• Monthly meeting throughout the academic year
• Leaders will also facilitate sustainable office/department/residence certifications in their areas, provide education and guidance at departmental and organizational meetings and events, plan outreach events and competitions, and lead by personal example
https://www.vanderbilt.edu/sustainability/what-you-can-do-2/
Student employment opportunities
Yes
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
FutureVU Sustainability regularly employs seven undergraduate students as student-workers for the year. These students work primarily with sustainability outreach and data entry for Vanderbilt’s annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory. In addition, 8-9 students are employed each semester to serve as recycling technicians, who regularly service residential recycling areas on campus. FutureVU Sustainability also hires an annual summer intern who focuses primarily on the recycling program at Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt students also regularly intern at companies with ties to VU. This includes 3 students who intern with Climate Vault, VU’s carbon offset partner, and over 20 graduates who work at Silicon Ranch, the developer of the Vanderbilt I Solar Farm.
Vanderbilt students also regularly intern at companies with ties to VU. This includes 3 students who intern with Climate Vault, VU’s carbon offset partner, and over 20 graduates who work at Silicon Ranch, the developer of the Vanderbilt I Solar Farm.
Graduation pledge
No
A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
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Optional Fields
Sustainability Leaders Program uses community engagement and peer mentoring to foster a sustainable campus culture, improve sustainability literacy, improve interaction with sustainability initiatives such as net zero energy and zero waste, and encourage and enable positive behavior change within campus, student, departmental, administrative, professional, residential, and other VU communities. Sustainability leaders support Vanderbilt’s carbon neutrality goal through culture change, education, peer mentoring, and facilitation of actionable goals. The program is open to Vanderbilt faulty, students, and staff.
The Vanderbilt Walk Bike Coalition includes parties from across the campus to address issues facing bikers and pedestrians at Vanderbilt. They are focused on sustainability, health, and fun and tackle issues of safety and accessibility. The group acts to leverage resources and make connections for partnerships within Vanderbilt and in the Nashville Community.
The Vanderbilt Walk Bike Coalition includes parties from across the campus to address issues facing bikers and pedestrians at Vanderbilt. They are focused on sustainability, health, and fun and tackle issues of safety and accessibility. The group acts to leverage resources and make connections for partnerships within Vanderbilt and in the Nashville Community.
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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