Campus and Community Engagement
As a Jesuit university, we have long been an exemplar for our focus on justice and equity; let us use our strengths and history of community-engagement to amplify that impact.
By living out integral ecology in our daily decisions, we foster a just, sustainable, and transparent culture where every Bronco feels they belong and community voices are elevated. Leveraging our positionality alongside the global Jesuit network of 200+ institutions, we will expand our capacity for advocacy and scale climate resilience. Ultimately, these investments strengthen our student and employee experiences, national reputation, bolster the recruitment and retention of a diverse campus community, and prepare our graduates to step into positions of power ready to champion environmental justice and equitable practices in their civic, personal, and professional lives.
“The effects of climate change are borne by the most vulnerable people, whether at home or around the world.”
– Laudate Deum paragraph 3
Goal
Santa Clara University will advance environmental justice by cultivating a culture of just sustainability. We will engage our students and employees in scaling climate resilience and regenerative practices across multiple levels: individual, local, national, and global. We will leverage our platform to build partnerships and advocate for a shared commitment to our common home and the common good.
Strategies
CCE 1: Sustainability in All Roles
By 2030, sustainability and justice will be integrated into all employee position descriptions and annual review processes.
Sub-strategies include crafting a standard sustainability statement for SCU’s position descriptions, offering annual sustainability trainings, as well as integrating sustainability into all roles, and annual goals.
CCE 2: Support & Affordability
By 2028, SCU will scale-up sustainable student and employee support and affordability programs
Sub-strategies include piloting and expanding programs that expand support and affordability, including access to free professional attire, and free residence hall organization and decor.
CCE 3: Culture of Sustainability
By 2030, at least 50% of students and employees at SCU, representative of the diverse make-up of our community, are practicing change agents to cultivate a culture of just sustainability.
Sub-strategies include tracking campus sustainability engagement, launching the Sustainability Playbooks program, increasing the number of campus organizations offering sustainability activities, and exploring a lower-division extracurricular sustainability experience.
CCE 4: Mission-driven Student Engagement & Advocacy for Sustainability & Social Justice
By 2026, develop and strengthen community-engagement to amplify student civic engagement and sustainability advocacy that addresses environmental injustices and vulnerability.
Sub-strategies include understanding shared priorities and key issues and developing a system to support advocacy (including growth in key areas). Additional sub-strategies include creating advocacy leadership development training for students.
CCE 5: Relationships
By 2030, engage with, invest in, and reconcile with local and regional indigenous tribes and other marginalized communities that are disproportionately burdened by environmental injustices.
Sub-strategies expanding programs for local and regional Indigenous tribes and other marginalized communities.