Our partners
We are focused on promoting sustainability in our community, but we can’t do it alone. Meet our community partners in building a sustainable campus and community.
Each year from 2010-2013, two AmeriCorps members coordinate Furman's Community Conservation Corps, a weatherization program for low-income homeowners in Greenville. The volunteers provide free consultations andhome upgrades for low-income homeowners to help them conserve energy and save money on their energy bills.The program also provides opportunities for our students and communitymembers to volunteer on projects.
Furman and the Shi Center are part of the environmental initiative of this consortium of 16 liberal arts colleges in the South. With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, ACS has granted Furman two post-doctoral teaching fellows focused on sustainability since 2009.
Amelie Davis, Ph.D., taught Sustainability Science through the Earth and Environmental Sciences department from 2009-2011, and Carmel Price, Ph.D., taught Environmental Sociology and Sustainability Science through the Sociology department from 2011-2013.
AASHE is the premiere organization that promotes sustainability in higher education, and the Shi Center has served on the Education Steering Committee and the STARS steering committee. Shi Center staff, as well as Furman faculty and students, often attend and present at AASHE's annual conference in October.
We’re also a charter member of AASHE's Sustainability and Tracking Assessmentand Rating System. STARS helps universities gauge their progresstowards sustainability in areas ranging from our energy use to our human resource practices to the course we teach.
See Furman's STARS report.
The Connections for Sustainability program brings sustainability into planning in Greenville's West Side neighborhood. A summer fellow through the Shi Center has worked with the program and the City's Livability Educator since 2011.
Chartered in 2011, the GRAC drafted a sustainability master plan for the City of Greenville. A number of students have worked with the GRAC during the summer and academic year since then. Angela Halfacre, the Shi Center's director, served on the committee for two years, and our associate director, Yancey Fouché, serves on the Mobility subcommittee.
Our students and faculty have worked with this public-private partnership to promote land conservation and sustainableeco-tourism. Students have worked with the organization in theirresearch, student fellowships and independent studies.
The Duke Endowment has created a Task Force on Environmental and Community Sustainability made up of representatives of the four schools perinneally supported by The Duke Endowment: Furman, Davidson College, Duke University, and Johnson C. Smith University. The Task Force holds an annual summit and builds collaborative opportunities related to renewable energy, curricular innovations, purchasing, research, climate action planning, food systems and farming, and carbon offset projects in local communities.options for the four schools.
A network and resource center for community gardens in Greenville County, Gardening for Good is creating a healthier, more sustainable and socially just local food system. The Shi Center has placed several student fellows with the organization, has co-hosted speakers, and our program coordinator,
Katherine Kransteuber, sits on the advisory board.
In 2005, Vision 2025 was created to be the plan that would move Greenville County into the next generation and make the county one of the most liveable in the country. Created to be the primary shepherd, facilitator, and catalyst for the Vision, Greenville Forward continually builds partnerships to make this vision a reality. The Shi Center's director, Angela Halfacre, sits on the board of directors, and we have collaborated with the organization on speakers and events.
Lake Conestee Nature Park provides 400 acres of natural habitat on the Reedy River 6 miles south of downtown Greenville. A sink for a myriad of chemicals that traveled downstream during Greenville's textile days, Lake Conestee is ripe for study. A student fellowship and Sustainability Science Senior Thesis project focused on the park in 2012.
Furman and the Shi Center are actively engaged in this partnership between public and privateorganizations dedicated to making Greenville a healthier place to live,work, and play. Alicia Powers, a health sciences professor at Furman and member of the Shi Center's Affiliate Faculty, serves as the evaluation coordinator for LiveWell and engages students through research and internships.
Our program coordinator, Katherine Kransteuber, sits on the leadership team and facilitates the Access to Healthy Foods (At Mealtime) workgroup.
Former President David E. Shi was a charter signatory of Second Nature’s
American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. Since then, we’ve worked with Second Nature on workshops focusing on climate action planning.
From 2010-2013, two members of United Way of Greenville County's AmeriCorps program focused on financial stability have coordinated Furman's Community Conservation Corps, a weatherization program for low-income homeowners. The CCC's office is located in the Shi Center.
A local non-profit dedicated to promoting sensible growth and protecting special places in the Upstate of South Carolina, Upstate Forever has been a partner of the Shi Center on a number of fronts. Upstate Forever supported the Community Conservation Corps through its Housing for Everyone program. Student fellows have be placed with the organization. And we've partnered to bring speakers to Greenville and to Furman, including
Eric Larsen in 2012 and
Nell Newman in 2013.
The Endowment works toward health and vitality for forests and forest-reliant communities. Based in Greenville, Furman interns have long benefited from working with the Endowment, and a Shi Center student fellowship was offered in 2012-13.