This dissertation explored the current perceptions and preferences for residence hall construction lifespan standards among campus master planners and housing administrators in higher education. Historically, universities have built residence halls with the intention of spanning many decades (Guckert & King, 2004). However, there has been a…

Purpose: Some universities have a commitment to both academic education and sustainable development, and the sustainable development goals can support several sustainable actions that universities may take as principles and attitudes. From this perspective, the purpose of this study is to present environmentally sustainable practices at a federal…

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method of assessing the environmental impacts of the manufacture and use of a product or provision of a service such as waste management. LCAs are based on quantitative science, but softer skills are also required in interpreting the results. Therefore, LCA provides an ideal opportunity for students to develop and…

Purpose: Sustainability within tertiary curriculum is hard to measure and often perceived to be illusive in nature. Existing higher education sustainability assessment tools rarely focus on the curriculum. This paper aims to establish and implement a tool that can measure sustainability integration within curriculum. The Faculty of Engineering and…

This essay proposes that librarians practice ethical consumption when purchasing electronic devices. Though librarians have long been engaged with environmentalism and social justice, few have suggested that such issues as e-waste and sweatshop labor should impact our decisions to acquire e-readers, tablets, and other electronics. This article…

This article presents a classroom exercise, centered on a simulation that has been used for 4 years in an MBA program to help students develop an understanding of the trade-offs involved in managing capital assets in the public sector. Though often ignored in business schools, "mission" is a key criterion that must be considered when…

Purpose: We describe the natural auditory environment of people with cochlear implants (CIs), how it changes across the life span, and how it varies between individuals. Method: We performed a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of Cochlear Nucleus 6 CI sound-processor data logs. The logs were obtained from 1,501 people with CIs (ages 0-96…

Linking evaluation methods to the several phases of a program's life cycle can provide evaluation planners and funders with guidance about what types of evaluation are most appropriate over the trajectory of social and educational programs and other interventions. If methods are matched to the needs of program phases, evaluation can and should…

The EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research Data Management Working Group (ECAR-DM) has created a framework for research data storage as an aid for higher education institutions establishing and evaluating their institution's research data storage efforts. This paper describes areas for consideration and suggests graduated criteria to assist in…

By now the slogan of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that "the greenest building is the one already built" is widely known. In an era of increased environmental awareness and rising fuel prices, however, the question is how can historic building stock be made more energy efficient in a manner respectful of its historic…

Across the nation, large urban school districts are experiencing premature and rapidly accelerating deterioration of school buildings. The conditions of buildings and equipment, most importantly in classrooms and school support spaces, are deteriorating to the point of hindering the core mission of schools: educating children. This report is the…

Challenges that face the academic research enterprise are numerous. These concerns include, but are not limited to: declines in extramural funding for investigatorinitiated research, an aging faculty workforce (the average age of securing a faculty's first R01 is over 42), insufficient funds to support faculty laboratories, and limited access to…

The United States is full of schools built in the 1950s and 60s that supported the boomer school-age enrollment increase. These schools, once beacons of the neighborhood, are 50 to 60 years old and susceptible to becoming the community "eyesore." Budgeting for maintenance was fairly systematic for school districts for the first 10 to 20…

A life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool used by engineers to make measurements of net energy, greenhouse gas production, water consumption, and other items of concern. This article describes an activity designed to walk students through the qualitative part of an LCA. It asks them to consider the life-cycle costs of ethanol production, in terms of…

The benefits of sustainability go way beyond improving the environment. School districts that choose to build facilities using sustainable principles reap the benefits of environmentally friendly, healthy establishments; attractive work spaces (which improve recruiting and retention); and significant operational cost savings. Districts realize…