{"id":148,"date":"2022-01-24T15:22:30","date_gmt":"2022-01-24T21:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stfrancis100.org\/?page_id=148"},"modified":"2025-10-21T19:14:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T00:14:20","slug":"campus-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/stfrancis.edu\/campus-sustainability\/","title":{"rendered":"Campus Sustainability"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Campus Sustainability<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Welcome to the USF Sustainability website! USF is committed to maintaining and fostering a green campus. Join the committee today and make an positive environmental impact on campus!<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Sustainability Information<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNews<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

\"wormWorm Composting E<\/b>vent: <\/b>This event happened March 15, 2023, hosted by Ashley Swanson, co-chair of the Sustainability Committee<\/span><\/p>

Congratulations!<\/b>\u00a0 The Sustainability Committee would like to congratulate Janine Hicks on her 2021 retirement. Janine was an amazing asset to USF as the sustainability coordinator, and will be greatly missed.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

2021 Involvement Fair:<\/b>\u00a0USF Sustainability co-chairs were present at the Student Government Association bi-annual Involvement Fair on September 9 in the Quad. They handed out sustainably sourced chocolate bars to anyone who followed usf_sustainability on Instagram. 26 students also entered a raffle to win a sustainability starter-kit!<\/p>

\"groupUSF Participates in a Trash Bash for Earth Week 2021<\/a>:<\/strong> 43 students, faculty and administrators participated in a trash bash competition on Wednesday April 23, 2021. The cleanup was coordinated with the City of Joliet who provided the gloves and bags. Members of the men\u2019s soccer team, the pep band and business majors all chipped in to clean up the Broadway Street Greenway. The theme for this year\u2019s Earth day was Restore our Earth<\/em>. This was a perfect way to begin!<\/p>

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Climate Strike:<\/strong>\u00a0A group of USF students and faculty participated in the Climate strike on September 20, 2019. Over 5,000 people attended the march and rally in downtown Chicago. The event was one of many across the globe as people as far away as Australia walk out of class and work demanding action to be taken on national levels.<\/p>

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CEA Sold Honey <\/strong>at the Sodexo Farmers Market:<\/strong> CEA sold honey from the USF beehive on September 19th, 2019 from 11 am-1 pm outside the president’s room. Each bottle is going for $8. They hope to raise money to purchase sustainability kits for students the project will run only off money raised from the beehives to be self-sustaining. More honey selling dates will be available soon!<\/p>

Involvement Fair Success: <\/strong>USF sustainability was present at the Student Government Association bi-annual Involvement Fair September 4th 2019 11 am-1 pm in the Quad. They had free shower timers available for anyone who signed the student sustainability promise and information about their committee meeting dates. Overall 42 students signed the pledge and were entered to win a solar-powered phone charger. They will continue to have pledge signing opportunities and prizes in the future so be on the lookout for those dates. Congrats to Katie Wozniak, Lydia Hill, Darian Love for being the most recent winners of a sustainable battery pack!<\/p>

USF Hosts Office Supply Swap:<\/strong> The University of St. Francis held its annual office supply swap weeks before the 2019 school year started. The event encouraged administrative offices and faculty to bring their unwanted office supplies so other departments across campus could pick out supplies they needed. Any items that were not taken were later donated to Our Lady of Angels and ShareFest. This event diverted what would have been several garbage bags of office supplies away from the landfill. The University plans on hosting the event once or twice per year to encourage repurposing unwanted supplies. (September 2019)<\/p>

\"photoUSF Community Garden Sees Great Success: <\/strong>The first ever community garden at the University of St. Francis began in 2018 and was a huge hit among the USF community so it was renewed for 2019.The garden is located on a small plot of land behind Assembly Hall at the St. Clare Campus to grow vegetables for the USF community. Led by two USF employees, the garden again came alive with plants in spring 2019. Come some, the garden produced large tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers, among other vegetables. The produce was set out in baskets at the security desk at three campuses free of charge to the USF community, but donations were accepted. The Sustainability Committee covered the initial cost of starting the garden, but enough donations were collected to be self-sufficient. USF received a grant to purchase two rain barrels and soaker hoses that will be installed in spring 2020. (September 2019)<\/p>

\"butterflyBee and Butterfly Garden Gets Certified as Monarch Waystation:<\/strong>\u00a0The recently expanded bee and butterfly garden located in the Quad at the University of St. Francis has become a certified Monarch Waystation through Monarch Watch. In spring 2019, a second bee and butterfly garden as well as a solar powered birdbath was installed in the quad. These Monarch Waystations play a critical role in sustaining the monarch butterfly population by providing the necessary resources for them to produce successive generations and sustain their migration. Plants found in the garden include black-eyed Susan, butterfly weed, cleome, purple coneflower, and coreopsis among other types. You can learn more about Monarch Waystations and see a map of certified locations near you on the Monarch Waystation website. (September 2019)<\/p>

Fr. John Dear Speaks at USF:\u00a0<\/strong>Nobel Peace Prize nominee Fr. John Dear spoke on April 5 at the University of St. Francis about his new book, \u201cThey Will Inherit the Earth: Peace and Nonviolence in a Time of Climate Change.\u201d Speaking from biblical references and personal experiences, Dear spoke about reverting back to ways of nonviolence as a way of life and living peacefully with all of creation.\u00a0Click here for Facebook photos from this event.<\/a>\u00a0(April 2018)<\/p>

LaVerne & Dorothy Brown Science Hall Opens:<\/strong>\u00a0The first building to be built on campus in over 30 years opened its doors to students for the spring 2018 semester. The LaVerne and Dorothy Brown Science Hall was built to meet LEED Gold standards meaning it is the most environmentally friendly building on campus. Above the Banks-Bellah Lecture hall is a green roof which is designed to not only reduce the amount of runoff storm water, but to help control heating and cooling costs too. The walls of the building are also highly insulated to help regulate the temperature of the building. Low-e windows are used for all exterior windows to help insulate the building further. The southeast corner of the building which has entire walls made from windows is made from low-e, fritted glass, further reducing the amount of heat from the sun that can enter the building. All LED lights are installed in the building, reducing the amount of heat produced and energy required. Additionally, there are occupancy sensors located in all offices, classrooms and hallways that will turn off the lights if no motion is detected over a predetermined amount of time. The building officially opened in a February 8 grand opening and dedication ceremony. (Feb. 2018)<\/p>

\"studentStudent EcoLeader Finds Second Life for Plastic Bags:<\/strong>\u00a0USF alumna Grace Ball \u201917 was the driving force behind a recent initiative on campus to divert plastic bags away from the landfill while\u00a0also helping the homeless community. Ball got the campus community involved with cutting up and tying together plastic bags to make plastic yarn, also known as plarn. By the end of the semester, Ball had accumulated over 40 balls of plarn from approximately 3,500 plastic bags. The plarn balls were donated to a non-profit organization in Plainfield called New Life for Old Bags, which will crochet the bags into mats for the homeless. (June 2017)<\/p>

USF Continues Environmental Commitment:<\/strong>\u00a0USF continued its commitment to the environment by installing a bee hive\u00a0on campus in late April of 2017 and hosting the BlueStem Earth Festival the following month. According to Dr. Brian Moskalik, assistant professor of biology, the bees and their hive will be utilized for projects in all areas of the natural sciences. USF also welcomed the fourth annual BlueStem Earth Festival to campus on Saturday, May 20, 2017. (May 2017)<\/p>

USF Awarded Joliet\u2019s Historic Preservation Award:<\/strong>\u00a0USF was awarded with the City of Joliet\u2019s 12th<\/sup>annual Joliet Historic Preservation Award at a city council meeting on May 16, 2017. The university was honored for renovations made at the St. Clare Campus, 1550 Plainfield Rd., Joliet. Guardian Angel Hall, the main building on the St. Clare Campus, was previously known in Joliet as the \u201cGuardian Angel Home.\u201d (May 2017)<\/p>

USF Students Trained To Do Water Audits:<\/strong>\u00a0Students from USF and Joliet Junior College received training from the Illinois Sustainability Center on Feb. 10 (photo at right). The training was sponsored by the South Metropolitan Regional Higher Education Consortium. USF students will now conduct a water audit of several USF buildings to determine cost saving measures. (Feb. 2017)<\/p>

USF Announces Support of Clean Power Plan:<\/strong>\u00a0USF will support the Clean Power Plan (CPP) as organized by the Catholic Climate Covenant. The Covenant, established in 2006 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), addresses growing ecological awareness and inspires and equips people and institutions to care for both creation and the poor. USF President Arvid C. Johnson joined 125 U.S. Catholic leaders in signing a letter urging the new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, President Trump, Congressional leaders and state governors to adopt the CPP.\u00a0(Feb. 2017)<\/p>

USF to Participate in Northern Illinois Food Bank Food Recovery Program:\u00a0<\/strong>USF is now participating in a food recovery program with assistance from Northern Illinois Food Bank. To begin, Sodexo (USF\u2019s food provider) met with the students from the Enactus club on campus. That meeting was followed up by another one with Colin Mossup from Northern Illinois Food Bank, who was able to coordinate the weekly pickup with the local recipient: Daybreak Center homeless Shelter in Joliet. Says Janine Hicks of the USF Sustainability Committee, \u201cIt\u2019s important to note that careful thought goes into our daily food production and we are only donating product that we cannot use at the university. If we all reduced food waste by 15% it would help cut hunger in half!\u201d (Jan. 2017)<\/p>

Students Selected for SMHEC EcoLeaders Summit:\u00a0<\/strong>Grace Ball, Cathy Gende and Taylor Ranney (pictured at right) attended the South Metropolitan Higher Education Consortium\u2019s sixth annual Student Sustainability Summit: \u201cBecoming EcoLeaders.\u201d\u00a0The summit is an exciting event for a very select group of students who are interested in growing their career potential through sustainability-related projects. Students who attend receive a professional and nationally-recognized certification. SMHEC has partnered with the National Wildlife Federation and its existing EcoLeader program to offer training and development on student projects.\u00a0The summit equips students with leadership skills, project development and management strategies and a plan for implementation when projects are complete. Gende and Ranney, who are both studying environmental science and biology, are focusing on a water usage study to be implemented next semester. Ball is designing a project for the reuse of plastic bags and studies recreation and sport management. (Oct. 2016)<\/p>

USF Adopts Document Imaging System<\/strong>\u00a0(Sept. 2011)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSustainability Statement<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

As an expression of our Catholic Franciscan Identity, the University of St. Francis community demonstrates respect for all creation by being responsible and ethical stewards of God\u2019s resources, meeting current needs without sacrificing the survival, health and success of future generations and by advocating on behalf of the underserved in our world. Affirming our commitment to ensure all of God\u2019s creation is used and sustained in manners that safeguard the health and survival of God\u2019s gifts, the University will:<\/p>

  1. \u00a0Ensure graduates will have a mindset of sustainability by incorporating environment, ethical, social and economic impacts in the University-wide education programs and experiential learning opportunities.<\/li>
  2. \u00a0Model sustainability in all aspects of institutional functions, including planning, operations, purchasing, and maintenance and will both collaborate with as well as contribute leadership and expertise to local and regional community environmental efforts.<\/li>
  3. \u00a0Establish a system to monitor and assess practices to reduce the consumption of materials and energy as well as the emission of pollutants without adversely impacting the quality of education, scholarly work, and services provided.<\/li><\/ol>

    The above statement received the following endorsements:<\/p>

    Executive Council \u2013 October 17, 2011
    Administrators & Staff Council \u2013 November 9, 2011
    Academic Assembly \u2013 November 17, 2011
    Student Government Association \u2013 November 21, 2011
    Board of Trustees \u2013 February 9, 2012<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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    The USF community is encouraged to make all events as sustainable as possible. In the 2015-2016 academic year, the Student Government Association (SGA) passed legislation requiring every club to host at least one green event per year. In order for the event to be counted as a \u201cgreen event\u201d a handful of requirements from a list of possibilities must be met. These requirements include publicizing the event digitally and via word of mouth rather than by fliers, utilizing reusable water bottles instead of single-use bottles, or holding the event in an area with low energy expenditure (such as outdoors or only using some of the lights in a room). In the 2018-2019 school year SGA began offering additional funds to any club event that was approved as a green event.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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