A grade was given for each area of concern and how they deal with it on the environmental level on Administration, Climate Change & Energy, Food & Recycling, Green Building, Student Involvement, Transportation, Endowment Transparency, Investment Priorities, and Shareholder Engagement.
For example, for 2011:
Grade: D
A committee of faculty, staff, and students has been formed to assess the feasibility of Gallaudet joining the Presidents' Climate Commitment. The university has shifted to electronic distribution for one of its major publications.
===========
===========
Grade: F
The university participates in an energy conservation program run by a utility and went carbon neutral for the duration of Earth Day in 2010. The administration is working to develop a greenhouse gas emissions inventory. Energy efficiency improvements are expected to save the university $500,000 in fiscal year 2010. A recent energy audit by Johnson Controls, which revealed $2 million worth of potential annual savings in energy efficiency improvements, is now under review by the administration.
============
============
Grade: C
Dining services spends 7 percent of its food budget on local products, including produce, meat, and seafood. The majority of eggs served on campus are cage free, and most chicken and milk is hormone and antibiotic free. In order to reduce waste, used cooking oil is recycled for biodiesel production; discounts are offered to students who use reusable bags; and almost all meals are trayless. Fair trade coffee is available at all campus locations. Dining services has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent over the next three years and has set aside a Low Carbon Diet Day in support of Earth Day, pledging to use all low carbon impact foods.
Grade: F
Gallaudet maintains one building that meets LEED criteria. The university only uses 100 percent organic fertilizers, and 20,000 used tires were used to create the turf of a new football field. Most cleaning products used in campus buildings are Green Seal approved.
============
============
Grade: D
An environmental intern works with the administration to address sustainability issues on campus. The environmental student organization Green Gallaudet has worked on a number of initiatives, including hosting Earth Day activities and a climate change awareness event, as well as raising awareness on sustainability improvements in the dining hall. The student government committed to using exclusively biodegradable dishware for all sponsored events on campus, and the student newsletter hosts a green column to spotlight environmental issues.
Grade: D
The university partners with a car-sharing program, and a free shuttle service provides transportation to local, off-campus destinations.
============
============
Grade:F
The university has no known policy of disclosure of endowment holdings or its shareholder voting record.
============
============
Grade: C
The university aims to optimize investment returns and has not made any public statements about exploring or investing the endowment in on-campus sustainability projects, renewable energy funds, or community development loan funds.
============
============
Grade: F
The university has not made any public statements about active ownership or a proxy voting policy.
Let's compare Gallaudet University's grades to that of nearby universities like George Washington University (nice school, I went there) where it received an overall grade of a "B" for 2011.
American University in D.C. gets a B+ for 2011.
Georgetown University in D.C. gets a B for 2011.
Nearby University of Maryland gets an A- for 2011.
George Mason University in D.C. gets a B- for 2011.
Howard University in D.C. gets a C- for 2011.
And Catholic University in D.C. gets a D+ for 2011 although in 2010 they got a "D" and in 2009 they had a bad grade of "D-." You can see that Catholic University when you read the reports have slowly improved their standing. But for Gallaudet University they actually gotten slightly worse going from a "D" in 2009 to a "D-" in 2011. Of all the major universities in the District of Columbia, Gallaudet University turns out to be the worse one when it comes to grading on their sustainability for the environment.
What are they thinking? What's going on over there? Lack of enthusiasm? I wonder what their excuses would be?
ADDENDUM - An angry white blogger writes this:
ADDENDUM - An angry white blogger writes this:
No, this hearing impaired blogger sadistically enjoys writing about Gallaudet University with a negative perspective without any solution.
I dare this impaired blogger write the same about Howard University to a Black blogsphere.
Enough is Enough!….he needs to get a life and spend more time with his family.John Egbert need to learn to be less angry instead of always talking about me and my family who has a history of making personal attacks against me by using a DBC site, for example. Very professional of him. If Gallaudet University had gotten good environmental grades then it'd be a different story here. Unfortunately, for the third year in a row, Gallaudet University failed to improve their environmental stewardship.
