Explicitly linking pedagogy and facilities to campus sustainability: lessons from Carleton College and the University of Minnesota

Abstract

Campus sustainability projects provide an opportunity to explicitly link campus operations and academics. College and university buildings and grounds offer the potential for numerous hands‐on sustainability projects. Few schools explicitly link sustainability projects with academics as often the academic side of an institution is separate from the operational side. This paper analyzes projects at Carleton College and the University of Minnesota that successfully combined facilities projects with academics. We analyze the academic and facilities management benefits of these projects and offer recommendations for linking academic and sustainable campus projects. The article advocates for intensified collaborations between academics and facilities managers, to provide win‐win outcomes for both sectors of the campus community.

Keywords:

• campus sustainability
• student research
• facilities management