Hanley Sustainability Institute
Passion and Purpose
Through deepening existing partnerships and developing many new partnerships on and off campus, the Hanley Sustainability Institute is working with the University and Dayton community to make progress towards our goal of a more sustainable campus and community and becoming a leader in sustainability education. In 2019, the University added sustainability undergraduate degrees to go along with the existing sustainability minor and graduate certificate.
STARS GOLD
UD ranks in the top 3 percent of all AASHE STARS-rated schools; first in Ohio and second among all U.S. Catholic colleges and universities
A 'SIERRA' COOL SCHOOL
UD again named the only Midwestern educational institution in the top 20 of Sierra Club's Cool Schools for sustainability and third among all U.S. Catholic colleges and universities
Climate Commitment
In 2019, University of Dayton President Eric Spina updated the University's sustainability goals to include taking meaningful action through our planning processes to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and to collaborate with other Miami Valley organizations in planning for climate resilience. The 15-member UD Climate, Action, Resilience, and Environmental Sustainability (CARES) Council will meet periodically.
Our role is not just to help implement projects. I like to think of us as providing strategic leadership in how sustainability can be approached on campus.
Student Involvement
Sustainability Club
The student-driven club is not part of the Hanley Sustainability Institute, but there is crossover among HSI leaders and representatives.
Sust. Club Instagram
Rivers Institute
The Rivers Institute's goal is to work alongside the Greater Dayton community to promote, preserve and protect our watershed.
Rivers Institute website
MEEC
The Marianist Environmental Education Center slogan is Restoring Communities of Land and People and hopes people live in communion with the land.
MEEC websiteSTUDENT INVOLVEMENT
ETHOS
The ETHOS Center provides service-learning experiences through technical immersions, student activities, research and hands-on projects.
ETHOS website
Human Rights Center
The HRC recognizes the link between a sustainable climate and human rights. The two centers work together in many ways.
HRC website
Campus Projects
Student-involved initiatives include the solar prairie at Curran Place, the green roof at Kennedy Union plus the Lincoln Hill and River Campus gardens.
Sust. Reps/LeadersGrowing Together in Sustainability
Along with campus partners, many any off-campus groups have and are working with the University of Dayton to achieve sustainability-related initiatives. Our thanks go to organizations which have been instrumental in the Solar Prairie, the Kennedy Union green roof, both the Lincoln Hill and River Campus gardens and other projects.
Community Partners
- Bike Miami Valley
- City of Dayton
- CleanEnergy4All
- Community Solutions / Agraria
- Dayton Regional Green
- East End Community Services
- Five Rivers MetroParks
- Greater Dayton RTA
- Green Energy Ohio
- Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC)
- Mission of Mary Cooperative
- MKSK Studios
- Shumsky
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Ohio
Growing Together in Sustainability
Along with campus partners, many any off-campus groups have and are working with the University of Dayton to achieve sustainability-related initiatives. Our thanks go to organizations which have been instrumental in the Solar Prairie, the Kennedy Union green roof, both the Lincoln Hill and River Campus gardens and other projects.
U.S. News & World Report named the University of Dayton as one of "10 Environmentally Friendly College Campuses" as part of their Best Colleges website section. "For college hopefuls who are passionate about the environment, an undergraduate institution's policies on sustainability may be a major factor they consider during their school search," the slideshow story reads. "The Sierra Club's "Cool Schools" ranking is a resource that prospective college students can use to find an environmentally conscious school. Here are 10 eco-friendly U.S. colleges and universities that placed in the top 50 of that ranking."
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The University of Dayton’s Sustainability Program is now part of the Hanley Sustainability Institute, further illustrating a deepening, campus-wide commitment to sustainability issues and education. The College of Arts and Sciences remains the umbrella organization over both entities, but the academic program now lives within the institute, an organization founded in 2014 after a $12.5 million gift from George ’77 and Amanda Hanley.
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What can a castle in the Austrian Alps contribute to a conversation about sustainability? I found out recently during a family gathering sponsored by my father-in-law. My wife’s family has known Ernst and Gerlinde Schrempf, the owners of the Schloss (Castle) Thannegg-Moosheim, for decades. I actually had been there many years ago.
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In less than two years, the University of Dayton has transformed the front lawn of Daniel J. Curran Place into a “living laboratory” dedicated to sustainability. A solar array was installed in 2018 and a pollinator prairie was planted under those panels this spring. Those projects work hand in hand, according to Hanley Sustainability Institute student leader Elise Erhart. The solar prairie is the among the first in Ohio.
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Sustainability Events Calendar
Join our project teams, campus partners, invited speakers and more for engaging events that inform and inspire.
Upcoming sustainability events
UD Achieves STARS Gold
The University of Dayton earned its first gold rating for its sustainability achievements in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS).
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