Contact: Alex Lyda;
alyda@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — April 7, 2022
(DALLAS) — Dallas College has received a prestigious international rating recognizing its institutionwide effort to operate more sustainably amid increasing social and environmental challenges in the region and globally.
Among colleges and universities nationwide, the STARS “Silver” rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) puts Dallas College on the map for sustainability practices already undertaken, while charting the way for what is needed to attain “Platinum” status — an honor shared by only 10 colleges and universities to date.
With more than 900 participants in 40 countries, AASHE’s STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System) is the most widely recognized framework in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college’s or university’s sustainability performance. Participants report achievements in five overall areas: 1) academics, 2) engagement, 3) operations, 4) planning and administration, and 5) innovation and leadership.
“Sustainability at Dallas College is about much more than being good stewards of the environment,” said Dallas College Chancellor Justin Lonon. “This latest achievement emphasizes that sustainability transcends climate and recycling, and many other areas people often quickly associate with it. Sustainability touches on equity, the economy and social justice issues and includes everyone across the college who worked so hard to contribute the information that was critical to our submitting a successful application.”
Starting last year, Dallas College undertook the arduous process of conducting a collegewide sustainability inventory as the institution was undergoing its transformative consolidation process. While there is more work to be done, AASHE ranked Dallas College as performing well in key academic areas where the concepts of sustainability are increasingly being embedded in students’ studies.
“Receiving a comprehensive review by AASHE and earning a Silver rating is similar in sustainability circles to a college or university getting the seal of approval from an accrediting body in academics,” said Brandon Morton, assistant director of sustainability operations and the project manager for Dallas College’s application. “Dallas College is now on a level with its sustainability practices that it is recognized by one of the field’s top monitoring organizations.”
Scoring highly in categories related to air and climate, diversity and affordability, and innovation and leadership, the AASHE rating report also revealed areas where Dallas College has room for improvement.
“Without a doubt there is a need to ramp up areas of our sustainability effort to meet the needs of our community,” said Senior Director of Sustainability Georgeann Moss. “But the progress made since Dallas College seriously embraced sustainability as a guiding principle is awe-inspiring. Dallas College is demonstrating every day that sustainability is becoming a way of life for us.”
“Dallas College is in a unique position to transform lives and communities through higher education. We believe that includes our responsibility to the community to ensure a healthy and sustainable future for Dallas County and its citizens,” said Chief Officer for Social Responsibility and Inclusion Marisol Romany. “Dallas College has demonstrated a substantial commitment to sustainability by achieving a STARS Silver rating, and we are very proud to receive this recognition.”
For more information on Dallas College’s successful STARS application, and to better understand the self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance, members of the public are invited to attend the
virtual webinar “Dallas College Just Earned a Silver STARS Rating: What Does That Mean, and How Will It Help Us on Our Journey to Sustainability?” on April 19.
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