Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
Education and Research

"Established on the verge of the 21st century, Florida Gulf Coast University is located in Southwest Florida on 760 acres, almost half of which is jurisdictional wetland. FGCU continuously pursues academic excellence, practices and promotes environmental sustainability, embraces diversity, nurtures community partnerships, values public service, encourages civic responsibility, cultivates habits of lifelong learning, and keeps the advancement of knowledge and pursuit of truth as noble ideals at the heart of the University’s purpose.

Our university-wide learning outcomes include that all students will develop "an ecological perspective" and “community awareness and involvement.” FGCU’s Colloquium is an interdisciplinary environmental education course designed to explore the concept of sustainability as it relates to a variety of considerations and forces in Southwest Florida that all FGCU students must complete, and in which faculty from all five colleges are involved. Florida Gulf Coast University’s Students are not only introduced to FGCU values, they participate in them.

The Colloquium course goals are: to provide a sense of place and an understanding of the unique ecological features of the Southwest Florida environment; to assist in achieving the Florida Gulf Coast University learning goal of developing "an ecological perspective" and in teaching the related outcomes that the student will "..know the issues related to economic, social, and ecological sustainability, analyze and evaluate ecological issues locally and globally, participate in collaborative projects requiring awareness and/or analysis of ecological and environmental issues;" to provide experiences to assist in moving toward achieving the eight other FGCU learning goals and their related outcomes; to enable a working understanding of sustainability, of environmental education, and of ecological literacy.

The FGCU Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education works toward realizing the dream of a sustainable and peaceful future for Earth through scholarship, education, and action. The Center maintains an active scholarly agenda providing professional development for educators in environmental education and education for sustainability, including philosophical research and curriculum and program development. Much of the Center’s research and writing is in the field of Earth Charter scholarship.

FGCU’s Coastal Watershed Institute has attracted external funding for both research and education and has received national recognition for implementing innovative teaching strategies. These efforts have resulted in the awarding of over $8 million in support of coastal watershed research and education in Florida. Institute faculty currently conducts research on the use of oysters and oyster-reef communities as indicators of ecosystem health and on the influence of changes in freshwater inflow on estuaries downstream. FGCU has also taken a leadership role in restoration coordination in Southwest Florida through its involvement with the Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration.

FGCU and Bangor University (UK) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop collaborative opportunities for student, faculty, and staff exchanges with a goal of offering joint programs in Natural/Ocean Science between both the institutions. Given the location of both universities, the varied climate (sub-tropical vs. temperate) and coastal zones (e.g. sandy beach/mangrove coast vs. rocky coasts), the collaboration will enhance educational and research opportunities for students and faculty.
Campus Operations

Our thermal ice storage system makes ice during off-peak period. Ice is then melted and distributed to cool campus buildings via underground insulated water lines. This saves FGCU in excess of $200,000 per year in utility costs. Building mechanical equipment cycles off during off hours, weekends, and low use periods to save energy use and equipment wear and tear.

Energy Star appliances are purchased are when available. Computing Services specifies computers for purchase that are certified Gold in the EPA EPEAT program. All paper purchases must be 100% recycled paper. Campus copier fleet comprises multifunction machines which serve as copier, printer, and fax machines - reducing the energy inefficiency of individual machines or desktop printers.

The academic building now under construction is designed to meet LEEDS Silver certification standards. This is especially challenging since this is primarily a laboratory and research building and does not easily lend itself to green design features.

The architecture of campus buildings reflect the sub-tropical climate providing shade for occupants in or near buildings through covered walkways, broad roof overhangs, light colored exterior walls, tinted exterior building windows to reduce solar heat gain to the interior of buildings, and well-insulated roofs. Most occupied building spaces have direct line of sight vision to a window. Campus buildings allow for air movement by utilizing exterior courtyards; ducted fresh-air ventilation; and mechanical air-conditioning with individual or suite control to maximize user-managed energy efficiency. Building construction utilizes durable construction materials and contemporary technology, which have lead to economy, efficiency, and favorable life-cycle cost analysis in the use of buildings. The building designs incorporate standards for the buildings to withstand intensity of the sun, hurricane strength winds and excessive rainfall during some seasons.

There is zero exposure of building occupants to environmental tobacco smoke by prohibition of smoking in the buildings, and limited exposure outside of buildings due to restricted areas for smoking.

Exotic trees and shrubs are cleared by hand to retain part of the ecosystem rather than clearing and replanting. After cutting down the exotic trees, they are ground into mulch for use around campus. The campus has a tree nursery with native pine and cypress for use in reforestation after removal of exotic species. Minimal or no irrigation used for plant material /landscape consists mainly of indigenous plants and trees. During construction, the extent of site disturbance including earthwork is limited to preserve existing vegetation. After the construction, sites are restored to their natural setting to the extent possible.

The University wildlife policy protects the safety of students, faculty, staff, and visitors on the campus from hazardous wildlife, while minimizing the killing or relocation of naturally occurring wildlife.
A vegetarian meal option is available at every food service location for every meal, and cage free eggs are used in our campus dining facilities. Food products are sourced locally when possible. Use of solar powered trash compactors outside around campus compress student generated trash from food service operations reducing frequency of collection. These units are also wildlife proof.
Administration and Finance

Florida Gulf Coast University is currently building a 16-acre solar energy farm on campus. The 2 megawatt (MW) farm will turn solar energy into usable electrical energy for the campus. This 16-acre energy field will significantly reduce our dependence on non-renewable energy sources, save money, reduce our carbon footprint and serve as a model of environmental and ecological sustainability for our region, the state of Florida and the nation. This PV installation, together with the utilization of solar hot water systems on campus, will significantly advance FGCU's energy goals.

Paramount among its benefits is cost-savings. The solar energy field is projected to save the institution $22 million over a 30 year period. Its impact will be felt immediately as electrical cost will be reduced from 10.5 cents per kilo-watt hour to two cents per kilo-watt hour.

As a clean energy source, annually the solar energy field will prevent an estimated 9,000 pounds of nitrogen oxide, 14,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 5.1 million pounds of carbon dioxide from being introduced into our environment.

Given the rich resource of sunshine in Southwest Florida, the solar energy field is a pilot program designed to encourage and model the use of clean energy. On behalf of the state of Florida, FGCU will use this project to teach and conduct research into renewable energy sources to benefit K-12, the business community and the construction industry as well as the general public.

Other Administrative Services activities include the department of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) hiring a sustainability coordinator to assist with inventory of our greenhouse gas emissions and for promoting environmental stewardship and sustainability on campus. EH&S also successfully launched an internet based ride-sharing program known as Ride2FGCU to promote alternative transportation among the campus community, a lighting study to determine if offices and classrooms are over lit, and an electrical study on campus vending machines. In addition, EH&S held various activities for FGCU bike week during Florida Bike Month to encourage bicycling among our faculty, staff and students. EH&S provided student government funded shower timers to approximately 800 students during FGCU’s Water Conservation Awareness Week. EH&S also holds a campus wide sustainability orientation for employees and students in the fall. The Physical Plant department is installing bottle filling spigots on existing water fountains and is launching an Eagles Love Tap Water campaign to reduce plastic bottle waste. Employees from across campus organized a well attended supply swap.

The University was selected as a beta test site for the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS). STARS is a voluntary, self-reporting framework for gauging relative progress toward sustainability for colleges and universities. The University is an institutional member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. The University is also an organizational member of the US Green Building Coalition, the organization that sponsors the LEED building certification. FGCU is a signatory to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, and is a member of the Leadership Circle for this organization."

I found this website and was interested to read what exactly our University is doing and the ideals that our school was found upon. My group's project is about the consequences of global warming and the expenses that it would take to relocate the campus. In order for us to successfully find out this information, we must do some research on our University's stance, goals, and background.