Loading...
An Evaluation of Effective Structures for Campus Sustainability Programs At Institutions of Higher Education
Edmonds, Lauren C.
Edmonds, Lauren C.
Abstract
The need for sustainability in both the education and operations of colleges and universities has inspired many to launch sustainability programs on their campuses. As institutions of higher education invest in creating and expanding their campus sustainability programs, there is a need to identify the most effective institutional structure for achieving campus sustainability goals. This comparative study analyzed the sustainability programs at eight colleges and universities. I selected these institutions to be somewhat similar to my own, The College of William and Mary. Personal interviews and in-depth research were conducted to gather detailed information on the structure of each campus' program. This information was used to score the institutions on a series of twenty variables. These variables were then correlated to a measure of the program's success, adapted from their score on the Sustainable Endowments Institute Green Report Card. Through quantitative and qualitative analyses, the factors most strongly associated with program success were: the amount of funding it received; the reliability of that funding; the program's size; the physical space allocated to the program; and the source of its initiation. The greatest success correlated to large amounts of reliable funding, a large program size, dedicated space for the program, and a bottom-up initiation. Based on the results of this research, when colleges and universities decide to take up sustainability goals, they need to make serious investments in their sustainability programs while also fostering strong student support. Both institutional investment and grass-roots student support appear crucial for enacting effective sustainability initiatives.
Description
Thesis is part of Honors ETD pilot project, 2008-2013. Migrated from Dspace in 2016.
Date
2011-05-14
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Collections
Download Dataset
Rights Holder
Usage License
Embargo
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Campus sustainability
Citation
Department
Environmental Science and Policy