On April 8th, the Office of Sustainability hosted its inaugural Sustainable Campus Forum, a series of panel discussions and exhibitions spotlighting the impacts of the newly revamped Campus As Lab Program. The program paired undergraduate student Research Associates with staff mentors to work on specific sustainability projects on campus across the 2024-2025 academic year. Staff mentors represented a wide range of academic and administrative departments, including several from Facilities, and the projects covered a variety of topics, from construction communications to developing healthy habitats on campus to studying the efficacy of Princeton's stormwater management systems. These areas of focus emphasize the University's commitment to Princeton's Sustainability Action Plan, which, among other goals, seeks to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2046.

Dr. Ijeoma Nwagwu, Assistant Director of Academic Engagement and CAL Initiatives gave an overview of the program and facilitated panel discussions featuring Research Associates and their mentors. Following the conversations, guests were invited to meet with the researchers and explore posters they created describing their project outcomes.

“Since 2008, we’ve been running the CAL program as a resourceful platform for faculty, students, and staff. We like to say that if they can dream it, we can help them do it,” Nwagwu shared. In other words, the CAL program makes the “how” of positive campus-wide change tangible, offering students support with relevant data, funding, and connections to key University staff.

“This year we have been in a reimagining phase, piloting a more structured program,” Nwagwu said. “Our mission is to facilitate collaborations driven by staff, including top-priority studies or projects that address key challenges for the operational teams.” The goal is for CAL to pursue work core to Princeton’s mission on the Facilities and Operations front, while also plugging into the University’s research and academic resources.

What inspires Nwagwu is how engaged all segments of the campus community are around the CAL climate-focused initiatives. “People really are invested,” she shared. “We take a solutions-oriented approach, and our Facilities and Operations departments are how we can execute these projects in the first place.”

Research Associate Aiden Vilo SPIA ’28 focused his project on how students viewed sustainability on campus, with the goal of compiling those results into a study that could shape future engagement strategies for how we communicate about sustainability. “I spent the fall semester primarily in the ideation phase, assessing key stakeholders,” he said. “I did a lot of research looking at scholarly sources, measuring people’s opinions about sustainability and clean energy practices.” 

Vilo worked with Karen Fanning, Director of Facilities Communications, on his project, which involved developing sustainability-themed survey questions for students. 

His goal was to determine not only how they viewed sustainability on campus, but more broadly, the issue of climate change. “I wanted to find an angle that was fun to work with. I think a lot of people want to be involved on campus, and don’t necessarily want to join EcoReps or work for the Office of Sustainability, but want to practice sustainability in their lives.”

Vilo’s three-part survey gathered data on three key questions:

1. The attitudes students have towards the environment
2. Student perception of Princeton’s commitment to sustainability
3. How students would like to see communications related to sustainability on campus improve

Vilo decided to approach students in the Frist Campus Center, which, thanks to its environmentally friendly signage, primes students to be more engaged with campus sustainability efforts. “It felt a bit more like I’d be trusted and respected as I approached people there,” he said.  

Ultimately, he garnered nearly 200 survey responses. A key takeaway was that 60 percent of students “said that there is a lot of room for growth in the student body to work with the sustainability department,” he shared. “Many students were hesitant to say that Princeton has a personal stake in solving or addressing climate change.” 

Vilo emphasized that in communicating with students, “bite-sized information is the key – short bullet points are the way to get messages across. Simplify.” He also recommended that there be a targeted approach to engaging with underclassmen. “It really starts with first year students. If you get them to notice or care about sustainability practices and internalize key points at an early time in their university experience, that can lead to ripple effects,” he explained. 

Vilo’s findings are shaping Facilities’ approach to crafting student-facing communication going forward, and the range of other CAL projects – from native plant soil studies to composting signage in the dining halls – reflect the intellectual vibrancy and passion for social change that characterizes Princeton’s community. “A lot of the students are continuing their projects into the next semester,” Nwagwu said. “The opportunity for students and staff to build these cross-campus connections and work towards the common good is why we do what we do.” 

Keep tuned for highlights of more facilities staff mentored Campus as Lab projects throughout the summer!