Portland State University - Sustainability Updates

Ivy in the City: Sustainability and Higher Education in the Pacific Northwest

By Becky Brun, Sustainable Industries

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Wim Wiewel is facing the same issues that most university presidents are facing today: increasing student enrollment at a time when in-kind giving is down and states are dealing with budget shortfalls; keeping up with master plans that include major renovations and construction projects; staying on top of faculty research as well as students’ needs—and that’s just skimming the surface.

Wiewel is also trying to make Portland State University (PSU) a national leader in sustainable higher education. Recipient of a $25 million grant from The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation for sustainability education, PSU is gaining even more traction in the sustainability arena. But the current recession could force Wiewel and other university leaders to take fewer risks on things such as new courses and degrees in 2009.

A native of The Netherlands, Wiewel is known for his charismatic leadership and his ability to ignite success in those around him. While the dean of the business school at the University of Illinois, Chicago, Wiewel took the business college from 94th to 49th on the U.S. News & World Report’s national business school rankings. Sustainable Industries caught up with Wiewel on the downtown campus of the state’s largest university to talk about Portland State’s role in helping Oregon become a world leader in sustainability and how his approach to leadership has changed during the current recession.

SI: You’ve said that part of your attraction to Portland and Portland State was the opportunity to apply research to tangible projects in the city. Now that you’ve been at PSU for a year, where do you see the biggest opportunities?

Wiewel: One of the things I had not spent much time thinking about until I came here is the sustainable practices of the institution itself. We are a large corporation, so how we conduct our business obviously matters. Here 62 percent of the faculty, staff and students use transportation other than the automobile to get here. We make the place attractive to bicyclists. We are a co-investor on many projects with Tri-Met. On the facilities side, we go beyond state requirement for green building.

Our Green Building Research Lab, where we develop and test new green building technologies provides workforce training and facilitates the adoption of energy-efficient technologies throughout the building industry. We are working with Glumac, Interface Engineering, PAE Consultants, Gerding Edlen, David Evans and Associates and we will be involving others.

SI: How is PSU prepared to be a national leader in sustainable education?

Wiewel: It already is. I think that we clearly have a lot of people that are doing research in this area. It’s diffused through a lot of the curriculum, so we draw both faculty and researchers who want to teach here, which then makes us more attractive to people who want to get degrees related to this area. Then the students become the workforce and entrepreneurs and the civic leaders who will continue to promote sustainability and enhance Portland’s ability to make sustainability an economic, cultural and social niche for this region.

Read the entire Sustainable Industries interview with Wiewel, as well as interviews with the University of Washington's Dan Poston, and San Francisco State University's Nancy Hayes at http://www.sustainableindustries.com/sijprofile/42019422.html?page=1.

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PSU Studies Effects of Green Roofs, Solar Arrays

Daily Journal of Commerce

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Three faculty members at Portland State University have won a grant to help them pay for their research into the effects of combining green roofs with solar arrays. Carl Wamser, a member of the university’s chemistry faculty; David Sailor, a mechanical and materials engineering faculty member; and Todd Rosenstiel, of the school’s biology faculty, received the $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. The trio’s project also is being supported by Portland General Electric, the city of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services and the Oregon Built Environmental and Sustainable Technologies Center.

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Turning off the Lights: Hiring an Energy Manager Could be Key to Saving Money, Environment

By Wolf Donat, The Daily Vanguard

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Noelle Studer-Spevak believes that Portland State University needs an energy manager. One has merely to walk by the Millar Library or ASPSU office at 3 a.m. and see that all of the lights are on in order to agree with her. Studer-Spevak, the sustainability manager in the Finance and Administration Office, has been working to figure out how to add a Certified Energy Manager to the staff at PSU.

Certified Energy Managers are becoming more popular worldwide, serving industry, business and government. CEMs are professionally certified by the Association of Energy Engineers. Their job duties normally entail analyzing and mitigating energy usage. They track usage an implement new technologies and design changes in order to increase the efficiency of energy system operations.

One of the CEM’s duties would be to help Portland State honor its signing of the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment. The commitment, involving more than 600 universities and signed by former Portland State President Daniel Bernstine, promises that the participating universities will make efforts to become climate-neutral as soon as possible.

Intermediate steps toward the climate-neutrality goal would include overhauling the energy plan currently in place and coming up with a series of long-range steps toward the goal of climate neutrality. One of the issues that Studer-Spevak is facing is that in the face of a budget shortfall, the university has instituted a hiring freeze, meaning that an energy manager could not be hired.  However, the university has also cut the utility budget, “and I’m not sure how we can cut the utility budget without someone to manage those cuts,” Studer-Spevak said. She knows that there are a multitude of things that can be done to save money and energy.

“In the past year, there have been several large projects we’ve done to save energy,” she said. “One of them is to replace all of the broken steam traps on campus.” The steam loops, like those surrounding Cramer Hall, transport steam from different boilers around campus in order to heat the buildings. “It’s been years since they were maintained,” Studer-Spevak said. Another maintenance project currently underway is cleaning the coils used to transmit heat. Dirt and dust tend to build up around the coils, significantly decreasing their efficiency.

While she wasn’t sure of the precise amount of money saved by the maintenance work, she said it was substantial. Though she would like to see that money go toward other energy-saving projects, “the money will be swept into other areas that need money.” “Our hope is that someday we can get to what Harvard does, and have a revolving fund. If we have energy savings one year, a portion of those savings will be funneled back into other energy-saving projects,” she said.

Student Senator Pro-Tempore Heather Spalding - recipient of a 2009 Oregon Campus Compact Faith Gabelnick Student Leadership Award - works with Studer-Spevak. “It’s like getting an oil change in your car,” Spalding said. “Spending the money for maintenance … it’s like a royalty. Once you put these things in place, the benefits just last and last.”

Studer-Spevak estimated that the salary for a CEM would run from $80,000-$100,000 per year. But she stressed that “that person would pay back their salary at least three times over. It’s an investment.” Studer-Spevak and Spalding are in the midst of holding meetings with the Student Fee Committee, looking at the possibility of having student fees cover the cost of an energy manager’s salary, or at least help fund smaller projects often overlooked by funding committees.

“Students are interested in creating a fund that could fund energy retrofits, for example,” Studer-Spevak said. “It’s really cool, because students are saying, ‘What do we have the power to do?'"

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World Environmental Awards Recognize Portland Nonprofit, Efforts Staffed by PSU Students and Faculty

By Abby Haight, OregonLive

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Green Empowerment is a Portland-based nonprofit which has been recognized at the Energy Globe Awards in Prague for installing solar-powered water systems in remote communities in Nicaragua. The projects were staffed by specially trained students and faculty members from Portland State University.

The environmental awards, founded in 1999, reward projects that create economic use of resources and employ alternative energy sources. More than 800 projects from 111 nations vie for awards in five categories -- Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Youth. The awards opened a meeting of European Union environment ministers in Prague. Border Green Energy Team, a Thai partner of Green Empowerment, won first prize in the Fire category and the audience-elected overall Grand Prize for solar powered clinics in Eastern Myanmar.

Green Empowerment helped design and put in place the 35 remote clinics and two large hospitals, which serve 175,000 people and are designed to be disassembled if the Myanmar junta's military approaches. The clinics are scattered over 600 miles of jungle. Green Empowerment also was a finalist in the Water category for its work with partner Asofenix in Nicaraguan villages, installing solar-based water delivery systems. With access to clean water, communities improved their overall health, while adding latrines, showers, biogas digesters and home gardens. The Portland nonprofit also is involved in a project that brought electricity to remote Peruvian villages through wind turbines, micro-hydro and solar installations, providing power to four rural clinics, nine schools, four community centers and 40 family homes.

Green Empowerment was founded in 1997 with a focus on social justice, environmentalism and internationalism. One of its first projects was continuing the micro-hydro efforts in Nicaragua started by Ben Linder, a young Portland engineer who was killed by Contras. The organization has also projects in Borneo, Philippines, Ecuador, Guatemala and on the border of Myanmar/Thailand.

University of Oregon, Lane Community College Projects Receive Seed Grants

Ashland Daily Tidings Online

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Six projects from the University of Oregon and Lane Community College have won grants for 2009 from the Meyer Fund for a Sustainable Environment. Meyer funds provide seed funding to UO and LCC faculty for research and teaching initiatives that are innovative, interdisciplinary and promote a sustainable society.

The UO received a $1 million grant in 2007 from the London-based T & J Meyer Family Foundation to establish the Meyer Fund for a Sustainable Environment. The UO fund is a five year program managed by a steering committee of UO and LCC faculty. Approximately $200,000 is distributed annually to projects led by faculty of the two institutions. The newly announced grants, totaling $200,119, are for the second year of the fund.

The largest 2009 grant, for $58,051, went to a solar energy project (Energizing the Next Generation with Photovoltaics) led by UO physics professor Frank Vignola. The project — a curriculum building approach designed to capture students' enthusiasm for science and to teach them about the basic principles of solar technology — includes faculty from UO physics department and LCC's Science Division. The project also supports the Electric Vehicle/Solar Challenge curricula sponsored by the Eugene Water and Electric Board in more than 60 area middle-school classrooms.

"It is one thing to develop a lab kit and curriculum," Vignola said. "It is another to test the curriculum and lab kit in the classroom. The Meyer Fund award enables us to do this and to improve the prototype and refine the curriculum. The improved curriculum and PV lab kit can then be used worldwide to help educate students about science with photovoltaics, an exciting renewable technology."

Vignola heads the UO's Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory, which promotes a sound solar energy future.

A $35,700 grant will support a curriculum-building project (Engaging Labor Efforts to Address Climate Change: An Educational Approach to Building Involvement) for union leaders and core activists, led by Barbara Byrd of the UO's Labor Education Research Center (LERC) in partnership with faculty from two UO departments: geography and planning, public policy & management. LERC's faculty and partners will develop a climate-change curriculum designed to help prepare union members to fill green collar jobs.

"The climate emergency caused by global warming, and the policy responses to this crisis, will fundamentally remake Oregon's economy," Byrd said. "In addition, the National Economic Recovery Act promises to generate millions of new green jobs. But while environmental advocates and representatives from business and regulated utilities engage in the debates, a critical partner is often missing: workers and the organizations that represent them."

Labor's participation in the design and implementation of the "green economy" is critical, she said.

"The single greatest barrier to labor involvement in climate-change discussion is the disconnect between labor's traditional focus on wages and working conditions and the seemingly abstract issue of global warming," she said. "This project aims at bridging that gap, relying on LERC's longstanding commitment to helping unions, their leaders and members to build their capacity to engage in policy-making. We will train our constituents in the science and technical aspects of global warming and climate change policy, and the implications of those issues for work, workers and unions. Our goal is to increase not only labor's ability but also its motivation to contribute to the state dialogue and assure that the 'triple bottom line' of environmental, economic and social sustainability is reached."

The four other grants are:

$35,694 for "Zero-Sum Gained: Moving Our Existing Building Stock Toward Net Energy Equilibrium," a project led by the UO's Donald Corner, department of architecture. The project will establish a case reference base that will guide the rehabilitation of existing buildings toward a balance of energy demand and production -- or net-zero-energy. An evaluative framework will be developed to guide reinvestment decisions.

$34,566 for "Spreading Sustainability: How Science-Based Solutions Move to Broad Practice" led by the Andrew Nelson of the UO's Lundquist College of Business in partnership with his colleague Jennifer Howard-Grenville and Julie Haack of the UO department of chemistry. They will develop a model for understanding the processes through which university-based sustainability research and education influences industry and policy. They also will create a replicable set of tools for visualizing and communicating the dissemination and impact of such research and education.

$22,000 for "Workforce Water Efficiency Training Teams," a project led by LCC's Tammie Stark, a water and sustainability instructor, and Roger Ebbage, energy management program manager. This project addresses the economic, social and environmental challenges of water scarcity and climate change through the creation and distribution of water auditing tools. Teachers and students would use the tools to increase water efficiency in residential and K-12 settings. Partners include the Lane Community College Water Conservation Technician degree program, the UO's Climate Master Program and Kennedy High School.

$14,108 for a "Junior Climate Initiative" led by Rob Ribe, UO department of landscape architecture, and Bob Doppelt of the UO's Institute for a Sustainable Environment. A youth program Junior Climate Stewards will be piloted in Lane County, building on the successes of the Climate Leadership Initiative’s Climate Master Program and the Oregon State University Extension’s Wildlife Stewards program. The partnership supports youth and adult community members in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy efficiency.

While based in the United Kingdom, the T & J Meyer Family Foundation has ties to the UO by way of family members' earning their college degrees from the institution. The foundation is managed by Tim and Jane Meyer and their four children. In addition to foundation work, the Meyer family has sustainable projects, research and education centers in Oregon, Argentina and London.

Student Leadership Opportunity: Hesselbein Global Academy for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement

The University of Pittsburgh has launched a new initiative called the Hesselbein Global Academy for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement. While the academy is housed at the University of Pittsburgh, it is open to students throughout the world.

The academy aims to inspire, develop, and reward accomplished student leaders to meet the challenges of tomorrow. A core program of the academy is the Hesselbein Student Leadership Summit. Fifty students are selected to receive advanced leadership training from professional mentors who have expertise in various fields. Another noteworthy feature of this program is that there is little expense to the student and/or the university. The academy covers the cost of room, board, registration, and provides $200 in travel assistance.

Students are encouraged to apply online now at hesselbein.pitt.edu for the 2009 student leadership summit: July 11-14th. Contact Angela Miller McGraw at angelamm@pitt.edu or 412-624-5203 if you have any other questions.

Scholarship Opportunity: Platinum Torch National Service Honorary

Platinum Torch National Service Honorary, a national non-profit organization that recognizes high school and college students' community service involvement, announces the availability of at least three $500 scholarships for the 2009-2010 academic year.

Platinum Torch is the only national non-profit organization that honors students solely based on outstanding community service involvement. Platinum Torch awards scholarships to students who perform the most verified community service hours each academic year. High school seniors and college students applying for the scholarships must first register as a member with Platinum Torch by logging on to the Web site at www.platinumtorch.org.  New high school chapters require a minimum of five members and college chapters must have at least 10 members. All chapters require a designated faculty or staff advisor.

For more information about Platinum Torch please visit platinumtorch.org or call our Executive Director, Susan Puder, at (866) 841-9134, ext. 1016. 

Camp for Stroke Survivors, Caregivers Receives Campus-Community Partnership Award

First lady Rosalynn Carter awarded first place to PSU’s Stroke Camp Northwest at the annual Simon Benson Awards Dinner on April 7, 2009.

The Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences camp for stroke survivors and their caregivers won the first-ever Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award for Campus-Community Partnerships.

Portland State campus-community partnerships competed exclusively for the awards. The Carter Foundation selected three projects out of 26 applications to receive top awards. Stroke Camp won $10,000 for its program. Second-place winners—receiving $5,000 each—were the Portland Public Schools Migrant Education Program and the Community English as a Second Language Project.

Marylhurst University Honors Distinguished Alumni

Marylhurst Online.

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The Alumni Association of Marylhurst University announces three Portland-area residents as recipients of the 2008 Distinguished Alumni Awards.

Sister Rita Rose Vistica, class of 1956, was recognized with the award for Outstanding Service to Society for her distinguished career as a liberal arts professor. Career honors include the French government's Academic Palms, the Ambassador Award from the Portland French School and recognition from the State of Oregon Foreign Language Honor Roll for outstanding contributions to the teaching and study of foreign language.

Diana Hughes Stegner, class of 1960, received the award for Outstanding Service to Marylhurst for her strong support of the university since the early 1970s. She held leadership positions with the alumni association, most notably as past president of the board. She is an active volunteer with the university's annual phonathon, golf tournament and alumni mentor program.

The Distinguished Professional Award was presented to Judith Barrington, class of 1968, for her significant contributions to the world of literature as an internationally recognized writer and poet. She is the co-founder of The Flight of Mind Writing Workshops, the Director of the Soapstone Writing Retreat in Oregon and a faculty member in the University of Alaska Master's in Fine Arts program. She has led writing workshops and conferences throughout the United States and England.

Carter-Kellogg Scholarship Announced

The Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Partnership Foundation, in coordination with Stetson University, have announced the Carter-Kellogg Scholarship, open to full-time college students who have completed or implemented service-learning projects. To apply and compete for $500 scholarships, students should describe their project activities and results, and a critical reflection on what they learned. Students must be able to articulate clearly the role that academics played in their project and the effects the project has had on the community.

Download specific guidelines and the online application here. The deadline for this competition is rolling, with winners being selected monthly. To be included in the February competition, submissions must be completed by February 20.