“Our goal is a delightfully diverse, safe, healthy and just world, with clean air, water, soil and power – economically, equitably, ecologically and elegantly enjoyed.”
– William McDonough, architect and recipient of the Presidential
Award for Sustainable Development
Sustainability has four facets: wellbeing, the environment, society, and the economy. These facets highlight that sustainability impacts all people; sustainability is not solely an “environmental” topic. Sustainability restores, protects, and is in line according with the laws of nature; it creates a prosperous economy that is viable, fair, and inclusive; it creates societal connectedness, caring, equity, and engagement; and it values health, fulfillment, happiness, and wellbeing.
The report Sustainability at Rhodes College provides an overview of sustainability efforts at Rhodes College, followed by recommendations for immediate actions that could be taken to improve sustainability efforts and their visibility at Rhodes. The suggestions align with the Strategic Plan, the curriculum, and already established campus groups and programs. Furthermore, these suggestions align with sustainability initiatives underway in the City of Memphis and Shelby County. Although Rhodes College has ongoing programs and initiatives that focus on sustainability, much more can be done to highlight these priorities.
Sustainability News
AASHE
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
Rhodes College is a member of AASHE, an organization that empowers higher education faculty, administrators, staff, and students to be effective change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation. AASHE enables members to translate information into action by offering essential resources and professional development to a diverse, engaged community of sustainability leaders. (More information and member benefits)
The Princeton Review included Rhodes in its 13th annual Guide to Green Colleges, released fall 2022. The company publishes the annual resource for college applicants seeking schools with strong commitments to the environment in their campus policies, programs, and practices.
Rhodes gardening club Roots successfully launched the college’s first-ever compost project, adding to the sustainability efforts initiated by students at Rhodes. Read about the project
Contact Us
Ideas, questions, or concerns?
Contact the Rhodes Sustainability Committee
Sustainability@rhodes.edu
Get Involved
Want to reduce your personal carbon footprint on campus? Check out our campus map of filling stations for reusable water bottles, participate in campus recycling efforts, rent a bike from the campus bike co-op, and learn how our food provider, Bon Appetit, is creating a more sustainable campus dining experience. Below are some groups on campus already involved in sustainability efforts.
Rhodes Sustainability Coalition
Resources
Check out this information for sustainable modes of transportation and ways to reduce plastic and food waste.
Map of Refillable Water-Bottle Stations (Downloadable PDF) (Interactive)
Project Green Fork: certified restaurants
City of Memphis bike/pedestrian site, with maps
Google biking route map
Commute Options Memphis, a site to help folks transition to other commuting options (including students)
Incorporating Sustainability into the Academic Experience
Want to incorporate sustainability information and issues into your academic experience? Check out some of our courses and internships below.
Departments and Programs
Departments/Programs offering at least one course focusing on a sustainability topic. Included in parentheses are examples of courses offered; there are more courses offered than are listed.
- Anthropology & Sociology (Gender & the Environment; Ecological Anthropology; Indigenous People of North America)
- Biology (Environmental Science; Conservation Biology; Science of Climate Change; Environmental Issues in Southern Africa; Environmental Field Study in Namibia)
- Chemistry (Environmental Chemistry)
- English (First Year Writing Seminar: Energy & Waste)
- Environmental Studies and Sciences (Environment & Society; Geology; Rocky Mountain Ecology Field Research)
- History (Global Environmental History; Natural Disasters; Disease & Epidemics; Nature & War)
- Interdepartmental (Geographic Information Systems)
- International Studies (Global Ecopolitics; Politics of Migration)
- Latin American and Latinx Studies (Intro to Latin American and Latinx Studies; Memphis Cartonera Sustainable Publishing House)
- Philosophy (Environmental Ethics)
- Political Science (Urban Politics & Policy)
- Physics (Science of Climate Change)
- Religious Studies (The Bible and Environment; The Bible and Food; Socially Engaged Buddhism)
- Search (Humanities 201: sections taught by Profs. Bakewell, Jackson, or Loth)
- Urban Studies (Intro to Urban Studies; Asian Urbanization Through Cinema)
Internships and Community Partnerships
Faculty and staff supervise sustainability-focused research fellowships, Rhodes Student Associate positions, internships, and independent research (many of which count as academic credit, with the exception of RSA opportunities)
- Agricenter
- ARK Farms
- Bike Walk Tennessee
- BLDG Memphis
- Bridges
- CAESER
- Church Health
- Clean Memphis
- Cooper Young Farmers Market
- Crop Trust
- Ducks Unlimited
- FedEx
- Loeb Properties
- Memphis Botanical Garden
- Memphis Farmers Market
- Memphis Light Gas and Water
- Memphis River Parks
- Memphis Tilth
- Memphis Zoo
- Overton Park Conservancy
- Planned Parenthood
- Project Green Fork
- Shelby County Office of Sustainability
- Shelby Farms Park Conservancy
- Wolf River Conservancy