Sustainability at UD

The Response to the Cry of the Earth is a call to protect our common home for the wellbeing of all, as we equitably address the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and ecological sustainability.

Actions could include the adoption of renewable energies and energy sufficiency measures, achieving carbon neutrality, protecting biodiversity, promoting sustainable agriculture, and guaranteeing access to clean water for all.

• Hanley Sustainability Institute: Extends UD's sustainability efforts campus-wide and into the community. Our distinctive, highly integrated approach prepares students to meet the growing demand for sustainability skills in the workplace. Leveraging existing programs, degrees and courses, such as Environmental Biology (B.S.), Earth and Environmental Geosciences (B.S.), Renewable and Clean Energy Engineering (M.S.), and the Sustainability Minor, the Institute is making enormous strides to become a leader in sustainability education. HSI has developed a cross-disciplinary network of innovative people and projects, stimulating and supporting dynamic collaboration between the UD College of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering, School of Education and Health Sciences, School of Business Administration, the University of Dayton Research Institute, and within the community.
• River Stewards: The Rivers Institute Program provides students with solutions-focused, applied learning experiences that address water stewardship and sustainability challenges on campus, in the greater Dayton community, U.S., and abroad. Each annual cohort of 15 students represent majors from all schools of the university (engineering, business, health and sports science, and arts and sciences). This three-year program develops environmental leadership and civic engagement skills and guides students to develop innovative solutions to meeting sustainability challenges such as environmental justice, water stewardship, and climate change. To assess the success of the projects, River Stewards and Dayton Civic Scholars are evaluated on the application of the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community's five practiced principles of community building and their overall year and a half project process.
• Rivers Institute: The Fitz Center - Rivers Institute initiative brings key partners in the Greater Dayton community together to promote, preserve and protect the area's watershed. Students, faculty, and staff work with community members, stakeholders, and local organizations to build community around local rivers. The group focuses on promoting learning and undergraduate research, and the team's multifaceted projects bring both the UD and Dayton communities to the river.
• Xerces Society Bee Campus USA: Thinking globally and acting locally, Bee Campus USA provides a framework for communities to work together to conserve native pollinators by increasing the abundance of native plants, providing nest sites, and reducing the use of pesticides. UD has been a certified Bee Campus USA affiliate since April 2022.

The Response to the Cry of the Poor is a call to promote eco-justice, aware that we are called to defend human life from conception to death, and all forms of life on Earth. Actions could include projects to promote solidarity, with special attention given to vulnerable groups such as indigenous communities, refugees, migrants, and children at risk, analysis and improvement of social systems, and social service programs.

• Common Academic Program — Diversity and Social Justice Component: As a Marianist university, UD has a special concern for the poor and marginalized and a responsibility to promote the dignity, rights and responsibilities of all persons and peoples. UD's curriculum is responsible for contributing to this effort and does so throughout the Common Academic Program, but in a more focused way through a Diversity and Social Justice component. Every student will investigate human diversity issues within a sustained academic context by taking at least three credit hours of course work that have a central focus on one or more dimensions of diversity that are relevant to social justice. The course must have a central focus on one or more dimensions of human diversity on the basis of which systems, institutions, or practices that obstruct social justice have functioned. The dimensions may include, but are not limited to, race, gender, socioeconomic class, and sexual orientation. Courses may address diversity within the United States, in a global context, or both. Since the course uses a social justice framework, it will consider constructive responses to such injustice.
• Abolition Ohio Human Rights Center: Works in partnership with concerned community members and partner organizations in the Miami Valley, as well as across the state and the country, to prevent human trafficking, protect victims and survivors, and help prosecute the criminals responsible through awareness-raising, advocacy, education, and research.
• Moral Courage Project: Aims to tell the stories of "upstanders" (those who refuse to be bystanders), and identify and celebrate individuals who take risks to make important contributions in their communities during moments of crisis. In all communities, there are individuals who stand up on behalf of others in danger, regardless of the risk. These people embody moral courage, yet are often left out of history. The project trains students to take testimony and engage in human rights storytelling. These skills coupled with the opportunity to conduct fieldwork provide students with invaluable and transformative experiences.
• Human Rights Center — Social Practice of Human Rights Conference: The biennial conference, the Social Practice of Human Rights provides a unique space for scholars and practitioners to engage in collaboration, dialogue and critical analysis of human rights advocacy and practice, locally and globally. SPHR conversations forge alliances and help set agendas for research, advocacy and action.
• Catholic Relief Student Ambassadors: Carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the U.S. to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas and in the U.S. Members are motivated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ to cherish, preserve, and uphold the sacredness and dignity of all human life, foster charity and justice, and embody Catholic social and moral teaching as they act to: promote human development by spreading awareness, seek to contribute to CRS' efforts in responding to global injustices and human need, and serve Catholics in the United States as they live their faith in solidarity with their brothers and sisters around the world.
• Service and Social Action Clubs: UD's Center for Social Concern sponsors more than 30 student-run service and social action clubs. Each club engages in a different type of direct service to the community or involved in advocacy work. Some clubs work directly with at-risk youth, senior citizens, or people with disabilities. Other clubs do more hands-on work, such as building affordable housing with low-income families, or clearing trails for nature hikes. Some do fund-raising work for local, national and international agencies. Still others raise awareness about important justice issues and advocate on behalf of the poor or vulnerable in our society.
• BreakOut Trips: An experiential opportunity to engage with others through a variety of services, including — but not limited to — visiting seniors, engaging in learning about a social justice issue, tutoring and mentoring school-aged children, and cultural immersion and appreciation, while also broadening perspectives. Trips to Ecuador; El Salvador; Salyersville, KY; and Nazareth Farm, WV, focus on the relationship between poverty and care for God's creation. BreakOut groups prepare together and use group reflection and journaling to make essential connections between the experience and a larger goal of social justice, rooted in Catholic Social Teaching.
• Summer Appalachia Program: Each summer, a group of about 12 UD students spends nine weeks living in community and doing service as members of the Summer Appalachia Program in Salyersville, KY. Two goals the UD students have each summer are to learn about the people who live in Appalachia and to appreciate the Appalachian culture. Students achieve these goals by living and working in solidarity with the people of Salyersville — their families, children and elderly. In this ministry with the Salyersville community, the UD students offer the following programs: A Day Camp for kids ages 5 to 12, a Teen Center for older kids, and visits to a local nursing home. Another goal for the summer is for UD students to live simply in a faith-community setting. They will build strong, respectful, relationships among themselves. They will share things in common and have daily prayer and meals together. In living simply, the UD students will recycle and reuse materials, being respectful of nature and the environment.
• Catholic Social Ministry Gathering — Young Leaders Initiative: Began when organizers realized that a new generation of Catholic leaders need to be involved in learning about and acting on Catholic social teaching. The first three days of the Gathering are filled with opportunities to learn more deeply about Catholic social teaching in general, as well as what it has to say about specific issues, including environmental justice. On the fourth day, participants go in state delegations to meet with Senators, House Representatives, and their aides to advocate for three or four issues that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sees as important pieces of upcoming legislation. These issues tend to be around poverty, migration, and climate change.

Ecological Economics acknowledges that the economy is a sub-system of human society, which itself is embedded within the biosphere — our common home. Actions could include sustainable production and consumption, ethical investments, divestment from fossil fuels and any activity harmful to the planet and the people, supporting circular economies, and prioritizing care labor and protecting the dignity of workers.

• Industrial Training and Assessment Center: Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct energy, waste and production assessments for small- to mid-sized industries.
• Building Energy Center: Helps to improve building performance and energy efficiency while educating energy-efficiency engineers and advancing the science of building energy performance.
• Green Revolving Fund: Allows community members to research and propose sustainability projects that will promote environmental stewardship and save UD money, using an open application process.
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory: Departments report data on an annual basis to Facilities Management Energy and Sustainability. They collect as much data as possible on Scope 3. Data is entered in SIMAP for GHG inventory calculations. Commuting is estimated based on past survey data. Business travel data is provided by purchasing, covering all transportation costs paid for by the university through normal procedures. Study abroad travel miles are provided by the staff managing the study abroad program. Solid waste and composting data is provided by the university's waste hauler. Wastewater data is based on the university's non-irrigation billed water consumption from the City of Dayton. Paper purchasing data is provided the purchasing department. We use all of the standard SIMAP emissions factors including for T&D losses.
• Facilities Energy Management: The energy management team oversees UD's multi-million dollar energy and utility program. More than 75% of UD's greenhouse gas emissions footprint is a result of the University's energy consumption. In 10 years, the energy management team reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 20%. The energy team also works with faculty, staff, and students educating the community on energy issues and providing hands-on learning opportunities for UD students.
• Divestment from Fossil Fuels: In 2014, UD announced it would begin divesting coal and fossil fuels from its $670 million investment pool. The University will initially eliminate fossil fuel holdings from its domestic equity accounts, then it will develop plans to eliminate fossil fuel from international holdings, invest in green and sustainable technologies or holdings, and restrict future investments in private equity or hedge funds whose investments support fossil fuel or significant carbon-producing holdings.
• Divest/Invest Conference: The conference at the University of Dayton engaged Pope Francis's call to action by convening representatives of diverse Catholic institutions, colleges and universities, health care systems, social service and relief agencies and religious orders to discuss the practical implications of the Church's teaching and of the climate crisis for institutional investment practices. Catholic institutions who have committed to divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in renewable energy solutions will be highlighted.
• Hanley Sustainability Fund: Within the Hanley Center for ESG Investing, students manage the Hanley Sustainability Fund. The Fund aims to outperform the S&P 500 index by investing in companies that are committed to Environmental, Social, and Governance principles. By investing in companies that prioritize sustainability, ethical practices, and good governance, the fund seeks to achieve both financial returns and positive social and environmental outcomes.

The Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles is grounded in the idea of sufficiency, and promoting sobriety in the use of resources and energy. Actions could include reducing waste and recycling, adopting sustainable dietary habits (opting for a more plant-based diet and reducing meat consumption), greater use of public transport, active mobility (walking, cycling), and avoiding single use items (e.g. plastic, etc.).

• Procurement for the Common Good — Supplier Diversity and Sustainability: The University considers the prudent expenditure of funds to be an important responsibility and reflective of the University's mission and the Marianist values. UD is uniquely positioned to foster partnerships in the local and global community. Thus, the University views its purchasing decisions as opportunities to choose environmentally and socially preferable products and services, to support vendors with strong commitments to sustainability, to support the local economy, and to pursue the common good.
• Building Design and Construction: New construction and renovations built to LEED silver standards.
• Sustainable Dining Practices — Local Food Sourcing: UD created an urban community garden on campus. Food from this garden supports dining, catering, and the campus farmers market. The farmers market is a joint effort of Student Development, Dining, Facilities and Human Resources. UD financially supports Mission of Mary Cooperative and Lincoln Hill Gardens, and the Dakota Center. MMC operates a CSA and Farmers Market in an underserved urban neighborhood in Dayton. The Dakota Center supports an urban garden in an underserved neighborhood and introduces youth to gardening and fresh produce.
• Dining Composting Program: UD uses both pre-consumer and post-consumer compostable material. All pre-consumer food waste is sorted and collected at all dining halls and from catering's kitchens on campus for composting. Post-consumer food waste is sorted and collected in the kitchens of all dining halls on campus. Dining services has a slow-grind system and food waste goes to an industrial compost facility, with the end-product used as soil conditioner or mulch. In addition to food scraps, dining services have converted all disposable products used on campus to compostable alternatives. While washable china, flatware and cups are encouraged, they do offer disposable "take-out" containers, cups, and flatware, which are all compostable as an alternative to the reusable to-go containers. Initiating composting on the UD campus has reduced waste from dining units by more than 90%. Dining services has a 3-trash system where compostable waste is sorted in the dish rooms and put into a compostable compactor unit for hauling to commercial composting facilities.
• Dining Cooking Oil Diversion Program: Dining Services recovers and recycles cooking oil through Restaurant Technologies Inc., who works with other companies to recycle or re-use the oil — keeping it out of landfills.
• Bicycle-Friendly Campus: UD earned a Bicycle Friendly University Bronze Certification from the League of American Bicyclists.
• Green Cleaning Certification: UD's contracted service for all building cleaning and janitorial services is Alpha and Omega Building Services (Kettering, OH); it has been certified with The International Sanitary Supply Association since 2012. The certification applies to all buildings on campus.

Ecological Education is about re-thinking and re-designing curricular and institutional reform in the spirit of integral ecology in order to foster ecological awareness and transformative action. Actions could include ensuring equitable access to education for all and promoting human rights, fostering Laudato Si' themes within the community, encouraging ecological leadership (students, teachers), and ecological restoration activities.

• Hanley Sustainability Institute: Extends UD's sustainability efforts campus-wide and into the community. Our distinctive, highly integrated approach prepares students to meet the growing demand for sustainability skills in the workplace. Leveraging existing programs, degrees and courses, such as Environmental Biology (B.S.), Earth and Environmental Geosciences (B.A.), Renewable and Clean Energy Engineering (M.S.), and the Sustainability Minor, the Institute is making enormous strides to become a leader in sustainability education. HSI has developed a cross-disciplinary network of innovative people and projects, stimulating and supporting dynamic collaboration between the UD College of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering, School of Education and Health Sciences, School of Business Administration, the University of Dayton Research Institute, and within the community.
• Undergraduate Sustainability Degree Programs: Our Sustainability Program provides students an understanding and appreciation of the interdisciplinary aspects of sustainability, energy, and the environment. The goal of the program is to equip students with tools to implement sustainability in their careers. The Sustainability (B.A., B.S.) degrees are designed to be part of a double major. Students eyeing environmental protection careers could double major in Environmental Biology (B.S.) and Sustainability. A double major in History (B.A.) or Sociology (B.A.) and Sustainability could suit future urban planners. Students pursuing nonprofit careers — especially combatting food deserts — could benefit from a double major in Philosophy (B.A.) and Sustainability. Majors in Sustainability will be marketable for fields such as engineering, architecture, agriculture, data analysis, education, facilities management, and public administration, among others.
• Graduate Certificate in Sustainability: The Sustainability Program is a multidisciplinary effort to encourage students to explore complex societal sustainability issues that do not fit easily into one traditional academic discipline. The genesis of this program lies in the realization that a scientific and technical knowledge of environmental, ecological, and energy system challenges will not be sufficient to develop viable answers. Many disciplines at the University make contributions to these issues, ranging from ethical, spiritual, and artistic, to economic, political, and sociological approaches. Students will take interdisciplinary courses and will participate in interdisciplinary research.
• ETHOS Center: Connects students to community partners around the world for community-engaged engineering education, research, partnerships and action. Students can participate in immersions or breakouts in the U.S. and abroad for hands-on social impact engineering projects.
• Conference on Teaching Laudato Si': Scholars and experts discussed Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si' theology, ethics, economics, science and policy. The conference led to the publication of the book The Theological and Ecological Vision of Laudato Si': Everything is Connected.
• Development of Sustainability Courses: Sustainability faculty and faculty from related disciplines developed several courses related to sustainability, including Sustainable Communities (SEE 280), Sustainability Scenarios (SEE 310), and Sustainable Development Goals (SEE 325).
• Support for Sustainability Research: UD's annual Stander Symposium recognizes and celebrates academic excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, including multidisciplinary, sustainability-focused research and student projects. This annual event provides an opportunity for students from all disciplines to showcase their intellectual and artistic accomplishments. This event offers a forum for students to present their work to the university and Dayton communities. The 2019 Stander Symposium included dozens of papers and presentations on all seventeen of the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals with research coming from students with a variety of majors. One highlight was a partnership of graphic design students crafting supporting signage for UD's Solar Prairie. The 2020 Symposium and celebration of Earth Day 50 included student research and work on many sustainability themes such as the University of Dayton River Stewards' 2020 senior capstone project to create a children's book about the Great Miami Watershed. 'Into the River' included drawings, writings, and ideas from local children about how they think of the river. Another presentation was about how the Mission of Mary Cooperative became Dayton's first net-zero energy organization. The 2021 Symposium included in-person and virtual sessions about many sustainability-related topics, such as the tie between religion and approaches to climate change, the adaptation of a youth nutrition and cooking-skill program to a virtual, online format and an exploration of living wages in Dayton. The University of Dayton's Hanley Sustainability Institute also supports graduate assistants in sustainability research, offering a stipend and tuition waiver.
• Sustainability Scholars: UD is home to more than 100 faculty members and researchers with scholarly interests in sustainability. The Sustainability Scholars network brings these scholars together to learn about and celebrate one another's work. The initiative seeks to foster new collaborations to understand and respond to humanity's grand challenges in sustainability in ways that are only possible by building bridges between traditional disciplinary departments.
• Student Sustainability Leaders: The sustainability leaders program is an experiential learning and professional development program open to all UD undergraduate students. The UD campus and community benefit with expanded capacity in the work of making our campus and community more sustainable. Our sustainability leaders benefit with greater opportunity to develop professional skills in the very diverse field of sustainability and valuable mentorship in exploring their vocation while at UD.
• Urban Farming Plunge: This is a day-long dive into the local food movement in Dayton. Participants will look at the benefits and challenges to growing local food through visits to a few urban farms, gardens, markets and discussions with the farmers themselves. Plungers will also get their hands dirty by helping out with needed tasks. Meals on this plunge will include the fruits of local labors. Discussion and reflection on food justice, distribution, and the environmental impact of growing and shipping food will provide plungers with a starting point to act toward a more just system and to re-evaluate their own food choices.
• Dayton Law-HSI Collaborative: Through UD School of Law's partnership with the Hanley Sustainability Institute, students gain an understanding of the legal issues surrounding climate change and sustainability, while putting that understanding into real-life practice. Students in the Dayton Law-HSI Collaborative pursue a concentration in Law and Sustainability by combining law courses in subjects such as administrative and environmental law with HSI classes in sustainability studies. Applying their classroom knowledge, students advance to solving problems presented in externship and summer environmental law fellowships.

Ecological Spirituality springs from a profound ecological conversion and helps us to "discover God in all things", both in the beauty of creation and in the sighs of the sick and the groans of the afflicted, aware that the life of the spirit is not dissociated from worldly realities. Actions could include promoting creation-based liturgical celebrations, developing ecological catechesis, retreats and formation programs, etc.

• Wilderness Retreats: This UD-sponsored backpacking retreat through Red River Gorge provides the space, quiet, and conversations for students to rediscover themselves and reconnect with God.
• Feast of St. Francis Program: An annual 90-minute program that focuses on Ecological Spirituality through prayers, readings, reflection/discussion questions, a short video, a Franciscan contemplation exercise and suggested activities.
• Serenity Pines: This garden was dedicated in October 2001 to the memory of campus administrator Joe Belle and others who died while they were students, faculty, or staff members at UD. Belle, who died in July 2000 after a 14-month battle with brain cancer, had envisioned a garden that would offer a contemplative place for students. He called it Mother Mary's Sanctuary and had preliminary plans drawn that included a pine grove setting for uplifting the spirit, a water feature for reflection, intimate areas for private thoughts and a Mother Mary sculpture for inspiration.

Community resilience and empowerment envisage a synodal journey of community engagement and participatory action at various levels. Actions could include promoting advocacy and developing people's campaigns, encouraging rootedness and a sense of belonging in local communities and neighborhood ecosystems.

• Hanley Sustainability Institute: Engaging Communities Beyond Campus is one of the four Strategic Priority Areas of the Hanley Sustainability Institute: Advance sustainability, resilience and integral ecology beyond UD by creating deep and mutually beneficial relationships with community partners.
• Human Rights City-Dayton: Human Rights Cities is an international initiative aimed at having local governments adopt human rights declarations that bring their local policies and priorities in line with international human rights norms. The Dayton initiative is a collaborative, community-led effort supported by the Human Rights Center.
• REAL Dayton: Three-day community engagement experience during Fall break with elements from alternative BreakOuts, immersions, and retreats, making it unique and inspirational. REAL Dayton involves Reaching out, Encountering Dayton, Acting with others, and Leading together. Reach out beyond the confines of an individual's comfort zone. The discoveries may surprise. Encounter Dayton and its many gifts, especially the neighbors whose passion and compassion make Dayton so special. Act with others by taking part in a service experience done on campus in collaboration with local partners. Lead together with Daytonians and fellow Flyers to build a stronger community. The REAL Dayton is just the beginning of leading for the common good with Dayton's neighbors and friends.
• Summer Cross-Cultural Immersions: Participating in a Cross-Cultural Summer Immersion through the Center for Social Concern is a unique way to expand your education beyond the classroom, into a new culture, a new lifestyle, and a new way of thinking. Each trip offers a distinctive experience for students, involving elements of cultural immersion, study of government, social services, religion, family life, economics, and everyday life in the host country. Participants travel in a group with a reflection leader to help guide the group through the joys and struggles of encountering life outside your normal experience and to come to a better understanding of Global Solidarity as God's children.
• Dayton Civic Scholars: The Dayton Civic Scholars program is a co-curricular scholarship program administered through the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community at the University of Dayton. The DCS program strives to shape students into civic leaders through a rigorous academic track, sustained civic engagement and several professional development opportunities. Fifteen students are selected at the end of their first year to become a cohort that will embark on a three-year commitment together.
• Health Equity Scholars: The Health Equity Fellows Program is a UD student program through the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community. The student Health Equity Fellows start their work in their sophomore year and work with the Fitz Center for three years through mini courses, connected curriculum, internships, health literacy community engagement, capstone projects and research opportunities. Interested students are encouraged to apply in the beginning of the spring semester of their first year at the University of Dayton or the UD-Sinclair Academy.
• Fitz Center: Community Partnerships, Engagement, and Outreach: Students and partners are empowered to think broadly, listen deeply, engage genuinely, act in partnership, and understand the challenges facing urban communities today. A hallmark of all Fitz Center programs is the integration of community partners, students, and faculty through all aspects of the Center's work.