Augustana is in the first year of a three-year $375,000 grant from the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, a nonprofit dedicated to helping society, the arts, and the environment.
Helping guide the effort are two students: Incoming senior Hatem Khalfaoui, a native of Tunisia studying business and computer information systems, and pre-law student Anna Steinwand, who grew up learning from her father, who is co-chair of the environmental studies program at Concordia College.
Augustana surveyed students about their sustainability literacy earlier this year and plans to resurvey to measure the grant’s effectiveness.
“[Having] a high response rate to our survey was very rewarding,” Khalfaoui said. “It showed us the level of students’ engagement and interest in sustainability. A significant number of people who took the survey also took the time to share their ideas and recommendations for sustainability efforts on campus.”
Some of Augustana’s areas of focus for this grant are on green transportation, sustainable dining and drinking, conservation competitions for students, and academic programming around campus.