Sustainability and Community Colleges: It’s More Than Just Recycling

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine sustainability policies and practices at community colleges. A social-constructivist worldview guided my exploratory qualitative study that tar geted nine sustainability professionals at eight community colleges with enrollment under 10,000 in the midwestern region of the United States. I relied on the principles of narrative and phenomenological research to use open-ended interview questions. I used the three pillars of sustainability: environment, economy, and equity as context for inquiry. I found the following four themes that aligned with my conceptual model: • Sustainability/Administration & Operations; • Sustainability/Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; • Administration & Operations/Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; and • The intersection of all three themes. Structure, funding, overlapping mission of equity position and policies were revealed in my analyses, with additional emphases on barriers and opportunities. I identified the most frequent barrier as apathy with both students and administration. Lack of time students are on campus or enrolled in college was another commonly noted barrier. Among opportunities, I found optimism for student engagement and increased support for sustainability initiatives. The study was limited by the sample size. I made recommendations for future studies across the United States, to increase participation by including targeted instructors and DEI officers, and researching overlapping mission of equity in DEI and sustainability programs