The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has announced Western Dakota Technical College (WDTC) as the recipient of a national 2022 AASHE Sustainability Award for Outstanding Achievements and Progress in Higher Education Sustainability. AASHE bestows its prestigious awards on the institutions and individuals that help lead higher education to a sustainable future.
The award announcement was made during an AASHE virtual awards ceremony this morning, Thursday, Dec. 8, to recognize and celebrate the 12 award recipients.
The Campus Sustainability Achievement Award WDTC received is for its project “EchoWorks: An Electronics Recycling College-Community Partnership”. Kelsey Murray, Ph.D., was influential in the development of the EchoWorks project partnership between WDTC and Black Hills Works and submitted the award application. Dr. Murray is WDTC’s Environmental Engineering Program Director and Co-Director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Program.
WDTC partnered with Black Hills Works, a non-profit that supports over 600 people with disabilities, to establish an electronic-recycling facility called EchoWorks in December 2019. Located on the campus of WDTC, EchoWorks has been successful in a variety of ways, including providing an integrated work environment for people with disabilities, utilizing students and faculty from key programs on the WDTC campus, including Environmental Engineering, Electrical Trades, and Truck Driving, and collecting and processing hundreds of thousands of pounds of electronic waste.
Chandra Calvert, WDTC Director of Industry Relations and Grant Management who collaborated with Black Hills Works in its successful Black Hills Community Foundation and South Dakota Community Foundation grant proposals to fund the EchoWorks project, said the college is extremely proud of its partnership with EchoWorks.
“This award is certainly a joint effort. The difference EchoWorks makes in our community by recycling e-waste that would otherwise end up in our landfill is amazing to see first-hand. They also add so much to our campus. The hard work of the employees of EchoWorks is what makes this award possible!” Calvert said.
Tamie Hopp, Black Hills Works Foundation Director of Philanthropy who has helped with grant reporting, marketing, and additional support for EchoWorks, expanded on the relationship between EchoWorks and the college in the successful recycling effort.
“Western Dakota Technical College’s award is so deserved. They have been a fantastic partner to Black Hills Works. With WDTC’s support, EchoWorks has removed tons of electronic waste from our landfill, offering an e-recycling solution to citizens in Rapid City, while also providing employment opportunities to people with disabilities. Black Hills Works values greatly our partnership with WDTC and is so pleased that WDTC has earned the 2022 AASHE Campus Sustainability Achievement Award,” Hopp said.
This year, AASHE received 430+ entries that resulted in 12 winners announced across five categories. Entries were judged on overall impact, innovation, stakeholder involvement, clarity, and other criteria specific to each category.
“The 2022 AASHE Sustainability Award winners demonstrate an inspiring passion for progressing sustainability at their campus. They are raising the bar and evolving what sustainability in higher education looks like,” said AASHE Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser.
AASHE Award recipients receive recognition in a variety of formats. To date, 135 campuses and people have been recognized through this prestigious award program since its inception in 2006.
To read more about AASHE’s awards programs, please visit http://www.aashe.org/get-involved/awards/.
About the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
AASHE empowers higher education administrators, faculty, staff, and students to be effective change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation. AASHE enables members to translate information into action by offering essential resources and professional development to a diverse, engaged community of sustainability leaders. We work with and for higher education to ensure that our world's future leaders are motivated and equipped to solve sustainability challenges. For more information, visit www.aashe.org. Follow AASHE on Facebook and Twitter.
About Western Dakota Technical College
Western Dakota Technical College (WDTC) was established in 1968 and is the only technical college serving the western South Dakota region.
WDTC offers more than 40 programs in a variety of fields, including Business and Computers, Construction and Manufacturing, Energy and Environmental Technologies, Health Sciences, Legal and Public Services, and Transportation Technologies.
Ninety-nine percent of Western Dakota Tech's most recent graduates are working, continuing their education, or are enlisted in the military, per the WDTC 2021 Placement Report. There were 326 respondents out of 380 graduates surveyed. [*Placement information is derived from graduate surveys, faculty-collected data, placement surveys started six months after graduation, and the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation. Overall placement rate is figured by: (responding graduates employed, continuing education, or in military service)/(responding graduates who are seeking employment). The number of program graduates are unduplicated by CIP code.]
Western Dakota Technical College faculty, staff, and administration focus their efforts on helping students gain the skills and experiences they need to succeed. Through hands-on learning, internships, and industry partnerships, Western Dakota Tech students graduate ready to make a real and immediate contribution to their employers and to their communities.
For information about WDTC, call (800) 544-8765 or (605) 718-2565 or send an email to mail to: Admissions@wdt.edu. Visit us on the web at wdt.edu.
About Black Hills Works & EchoWorks
Black Hills Works provides quality services and self-directed supports to people with disabilities so they can reach their potential and live the lives they choose. We are a person-centered agency, which involves putting the people we support at the center of the decisions and planning that impact their lives. To help people self-direct their lives, we provide education, exposure, and experiences so that they can determine their own goals. Then we provide the supports they need to achieve their goals and to live their dreams.
EchoWorks is a member of the Black Hills Works family that employs people with disabilities and provides electronic recycling services to Rapid City and the greater Black Hills region. EchoWorks is located on the campus of Western Dakota Technical College
PHOTO CUTLINE:
Chandra Calvert, WDTC Director of Industry Relations and Grant Management, back row, celebrates the AASHE Sustainability Award announcement with EchoWorks employees Blaze Johnson, left, and Tyler Brink, center, and EchoWorks Supervisor Randy Sheppard, right.
