Climate and Sustainability Task Force
Modesto Junior College has earned a STARS Bronze rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education.
Learn about MJC's work behind STARS and how to utilize their website.
Click on seal to view full report.
Mission
The mission of MJC CSTF is to work with the MJC campus and local community entities to better align the practices and policies of our college with the principles of sustainable development. As such, we:
- Promote the understanding of sustainability and climate change within our community and on our campus.
- Develop, implement, and maintain sustainable practices and reduce the carbon footprint of our campus.
- Build partnerships between various campus departments, local K-12 schools, universities, and other local entities in order to achieve the above stated goals.
Structure
- The committee membership will consist of MJC faculty, students, staff, and administration, as well as representatives from community partnerships. (A “committee member”, with voting rights, shall be defined as someone who has attended a regular meeting of the CSTF within the past two months and/or is actively engaged in the work of the committee).
- The committee will be chaired by an MJC employee (faculty, staff, or administration). The committee chairperson will serve in that position for a term of 2 years. After this term, a new committee chairperson will be decided by consensus or, alternatively, a majority vote of all committee members who have voting rights (see #1). There is no limit to the number of terms that a chairperson can serve.
- The committee shall be divided into the following subcommittees. Subcommittees may be added with a majority vote.
- Green Campus Subcommittee
- Green Outreach Subcommittee
- Green Curriculum Subcommittee
Members
- Noah Hughes, Professor - Earth Science, CSTF Chair, MJC
- Richard Anderson, Professor Emeritus - Biology, MJC
- Bill Anelli, Professor - Philosophy, MJC
- Trevor Carter, Campus Facilities Manager I, YCCD
- Arnold Chavez, Great Valley Museum & Planetarium Director, MJC
- Teri Curtis, Professor Emeritus - Biology, MJC
- Debbie Gilbert, Professor - English, MJC
- Garry Hayes, Professor - Geology, MJC
- Cece Hudelson, Professor - Geography, MJC
- Judy Lanchester, Director of Facilities Planning & Operations, YCCD
- Dr. Laura Maki, Dean, Science, Mathematics & Engineering, MJC
- Jose Marquez, Project Coordinator, SCOE
- Liz McInnes, Professor - Biology, MJC
- Yolanda Perrigil, Senior Director of Facilities Planning, Operations & Transportation, YCCD
- Dr. Chad Redwing, Professor - Humanities, MJC
- Ron Rutschman, Community Representative
- Catherine Tripp, Professor - Biology, MJC
Footprints
NITROGEN
REPORTS
MJC Carbon & Nitrogen Annual Report 2021
Projects
The task force is currently working on or in the planning stages of the following items:
- Development of MJC climate courses and certifications/degrees.
- Addressing portions of the STARS program to move to Sliver Seal status. STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance.
Accomplishments
- MJC is currently a “Bronze” designation of The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS).
- Provided resources and learning labs
- Integration of climate and sustainability into MJC courses
- Established Carbon and nitrogen footprints and baselines
- Solar panel progress
- Assisted with safe pedestrian upgrades on MJC east campus
- Continually collecting data, establishing baselines and building roadmaps for institutional effectiveness
- Building a network for sustainable progress (among MJC and CSUS)
MJC Courses
The follow list are MJC classes/instructors that are sustainability-inclusive.
- AGGE 146 - Agriculture, Environment and Society | Tim Truax
- AGGE 150 - Sustainable Production Systems | Anna Genasci
- AGM 238 - Irrigation System Design | Sam Terpstra
- AGM 239 - Irrigation System Installation and Maintenance | Sam Terpstra
- AGM 235 - Irrigation and Drainage | Sam Terpstra
- AGM 236 - Advanced Irrigation and Drainage | Sam Terpstra
- AGM 237 - Irrigation Wells, Pumps and Drive Systems | Sam Terpstra
- ANAT 125 - Human Anatomy | David Martin
- ART 102 - Introduction to Computer Graphics | Haleh Niazmand
- ART 160 - Appreciation of Art | Terry Hartman
- BIO 111 - General Biology | Catherine Tripp,Elizabeth McInnes & Erin Thompson
- BIO 114 - Introduction to Ecology | Erin Thompson
- BIO 115 - Genetics, Evolution, and Society | Elizabeth McInnes
- BIO 116 - Biology: a Human Perspective | Jennifer McDonald
- BIO 140 - Marine Biology | Catherine Tripp
- BOT 101 - General Botany | Elizabeth McInnes
- BOT 111 - Plant Botany | Elizabeth McInnes
- BUSAD 218 - Business Law | Shelley Akiona
- CHEM 150 - Exploring Our Chemical Environment | Tara Bunag
- EASCI 161 - Earth Science | Noah Hughes
- ECON/HIST 115 - Economic History of the United States | Cece Hudelson
- ENGL 100 - Intensive Reading, Writing, and Reasoning | Deborah Gilbert
- ENSCI 108 - Environmental Conservation | Troy Gravatt
- GEOG 101 - Physical Geography | Cece Hudelson
- GEOG 102 - Cultural Geography | Cece Hudelson
- GEOG 104 - California Geography | Cece Hudelson
- GEOG 105 - Economic Geography | Cece Hudelson
- GEOG 106 - Geography of Health | Cece Hudelson
- GEOG 107 - Global Issues | Cece Hudelson
- GEOG 110 - World Regional Geography | Cece Hudelson
- GEOG 111 - Physical Geography Lab | Cece Hudelson
- GEOL 161 - Physical Geology | Garry Hayes
- GEOL 165 - Geology of California | Garry Hayes
- GEOL 166 - Historical Geology | Garry Hayes
- HUMAN 101 - Introduction to Humanities | Chad Redwing
- HE 110 - Healthful Living | Dave Shrock
- HE 110 - Healthful Living | Brian Beeman
- MICRO 101 - Microbiology | Jennifer McDonald
- NURSE 270 - Nursing Process: Pharmacology | Jenny Macias
- NURSE 271 - Nursing Process: Fundamentals | Jenny Macias
- PHIL 101 - Introduction to Philosophy | Bill Anelli
- PHIL 105 - Critical Thinking |Bill Anelli
- PHIL 107 - Philosphy of Science | Bill Anelli
- PHIL 130 - Political Philosophy | Bill Anelli
- PHIL 135 - Environmental Ethics | Bill Anelli
- POLSC 130 - Political Theory | Steven Miller
- POLSC 180 - Human Rights | Steven Miller
- POLSC 120 - California Politics | Amanda Paquet
- SOCIO 102 - Social Problems in the United States | Geri Sawicki
- SOCSC 105 - Introduction to Global Womens Studies | Eva Mo
- SOCSC 154 - Movies With a Message | Bill Anelli
- ZOOL 101 - General Zoology | David Martin
Resources
The following resources are available through MJC's Canvas Commons (account required)
Sustainability Related Lab Activities - This is a simple lab activity where student use the Climate Toolbox website to answer a questions about how climate change will affect average summertime maximum temperatures in the San Joaquin Valley under two different "emissions scenarios". Author(s):
Sustainability Related Discussion Activities - These are discussions activities that cover various sustainability issues/challenges
that are specific to our region (either our state, watershed, or the San Joaquin Valley
itself). Author(s):
Sustainability Related Resources (for curriculum development) - A list of sustainability-related resources to be used for curriculum development.
Author(s):
Unit: Climate and Climate Change (ZTC) - Topics covered include the definition of climate, how it differs from weather, the
controls on climate, and the causes of climate change across various scales of time
and space. Author(s):
Unit: The Current Climate Crisis (ZTC) - This is an entire ZTC unit on the current Climate Crisis, with special focus on potential climate impacts to our local region. Author(s):
Climate Change Related Lecture/Slides - These are slides and lectures related to Climate and Climate Change, with an emphasis on our local climate. Author(s):
Campus Sustainability Hub - The Campus Sustainability Hub is a one-stop shop for AASHE members to access toolkits and resource collections about all aspects of sustainability in higher education, from academics to operations to governance.