Customer Service Initiative - P.R.I.D.E.

What we do

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Members

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Get Involved

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Diversity Initiative

The Premise

Since 1) UHDS houses approximately 80% of the first year freshmen attending OSU, and 2) since the first year is the most vulnerable year for students transitioning to college, and 3) since historically underrepresented students have additional transitional obstacles when attending a institution with an overwhelming percentage of the dominant culture...What potential impact could UHDS make if we could focus our existing efforts to make UHDS environments increasingly safe and nurturing for students from historically underrepresented communities? The UHDS Diversity Initiative is intended to increase the level of comfort, satisfaction, and academic success for students from historically underrepresented communities and thereby increase the student recruitment and retention.

An Inclusive Environment

University Housing and Dining Services staff members foster, support, and advocate for an increasingly inclusive environment and community through understanding, enhancing, promoting, and celebrating the uniqueness of our student residents and department staff.

We will create an inclusive environment and community through a commitment to equity issues regarding the free and safe expression of sex, gender identity, gender expression, race, color, ethnicity, religious affiliation or lack thereof, disability status, socio-economic status, poverty status, sexual and affectional orientation, international students and cultures, language fluency, veteran status, non-traditional-aged students, and student parents.  

• Equity issues: All students, staff, and faculty should enjoy rights to the same opportunities inclusive of their cultural/ethnic background.
• Accessibility issues: Students, staff, and faculty many times face barriers to access the institution and its services.  These barriers have historically impacted those from underrepresented groups at disproportionate rates.
• Retention issues: Students, staff, and faculty from historically underrepresented groups have had a lower retention rate than those from the dominant culture.
• Educational development and environment issues: As the university is responsible to help create an educated citizenry, students who understand themselves and others, and have the ability to work and thrive in a diverse environment will be better equipped to face the opportunities and challenges of the next generation.
• Enlightened self-interest:  The demographics and needs of society and our campus are changing and will continue to change.  The customers and clients of tomorrow will not look like, think like, or be like the customers of yesterday and today.  If we hope to be relevant to the new population, we need to be in tune with both unique and common needs.
• The ITRTTD Factor: It’s The Right Thing To Do!

Greater diversity is a strategic goal for UHDS due to:

Diversity Action Plan 1.2

The UHDS Diversity Action Plan 1.2 is intended to be a dynamic document that represents the initial thinking and effort around creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment. We have intentionally begun with a focus on African-American Students, Latino(a) Students, and International Students, with Native American Students being added in the Fall of 2008. This allows for us to 1) address issues with students whose population is growing in the community and at OSU, 2) gain some traction by not spreading our thinking/research/effort too thin too quickly.

Feedback on the UHDS Diversity Action Plan 1.2 and/or process are welcome.

Implementation Priorities

For 2011-12, Four (4) Implementation Priorities were identified to provide additional prioritization and focus to the UHDS Diversity Action Plan 1.2.

From a list of 87 possibilities, the UHDS Diversity Initiative Members narrowed their focus to address four (4) implementation priorities and associated subgroups for the 2011-12 academic year. These are the areas for which we believe we should hold ourselves accountable as a department.

Sustainability Initiative

In alignment with the UHDS Sustainability Initiative, the students and staff of University Housing & Dining Services have developed and are implementing a number of sustainable practices. Below are examples of the efforts from our various units that are in alignment with these values:

University Housing & Dining Services Awards

• Department Recycler of the Year – Oregon State University, Fall 1998
• Recycler of the Year - Team Division, State of Oregon, October 1997

Residents of University Housing & Dining Services

• Residence hall students donated nearly 18,000 lbs during the Move-Out Donation Drive in Spring of 2011 helping the community and keeping material out of our landfill.

Residential Education

• Produce the UHDS Student Policy with a PDF online instead of hardcopy
• Support the campus Building Energy Challenge program where buildings compete to reduce their energy consumption
• Support the campus participation in the national Recyclemania program where universities compete to reduce the number and percentage of recycable waste thrown into dumpsters.
• Support RHA and Cafe Earth program
• Online surveys
• Online duty logs
• Online student conduct system - minimal paper
• Primarily online student info system
• Duty rounds include checking for open windows and unnecessary lights
• In 2009 began using a paperless system to deliver our notetaking accommodations.

Dining Services

• Phasing out polystyrene for use of compostable plastics
• Use local manufacturer (Ecotech) for consumables
• Fuel OSU Catering trucks with 20% biodiesel
• Utilize an all electric delivery van for OSU Catering
• Develop vehicle scheduling to save fuel
• Tap water initiative – encourages people to use tap vs. bottled water
• Partner with Student Sustainability Initiative (SSI)/ Student Sustainability Center (SSC) for events
• Waste cooking oil is reused for biodiesel
• Increasing partnerships with local vendors
• Partner with“Fresh from the Faucet”, a Be Well @ OSU campaign to make tap water the#1 beverage choice for environmental and personal health reasons.  Have self-service ice water stations at the majority of UHDS restaurants to encourage patrons to choose water and to refill water bottles.
• Partner with campus and community wide sustainability efforts
• Sustainability “RecycleMania” event partner
• Harvest of the month local foods tabling: UHDS partners with the OSU Sustainability Initiative and the Corvallis Environmental Center's Edible Corvallis Initiative to provide local produce sampling/tabling events in UHDS dining centers.
•  Sourcing more locally raised, pastured meats (i.e. Calabaloo’s only uses NW Natural Beef)
• Putting more focus on plant based proteins (tofu, beans, legumes) as a two pronged approach to 1) increase the amount of vegetarian options as well as 2)as a sustainability strategy.  Data presented in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Vol. 78, No. 3, 664S-668S, September 2003) suggest that, on average, plant based proteins have an environmental advantage.
• Leftover, usable food is donated to the Linn-Benton Food Share.
• Member of the Food Alliance, an organization which promotes environmental and social responsibility for the food system.
• Compost all pre-consumer vegetable waste and post consumer waste (at some locations)
• Recycle cooking oil
• Recycling of food container waste (i.e., soft plastic, wine corks, beer bottle caps, glass, appropriate hard plastics, cardboard, paper)
• Reusable chafer fuel cans
• Use as much recycled paper as possible

Fiscal & Information Technology

• Invoices are being scanned into Nolij to reduce need for physical duplicates for accounting and archiving
• Working with vendors to produce electronic invoices to decrease need for physical invoice
• The power scheme set on computers is more efficient with the deployment Windows 7
• The number of physical servers has been drastically reduced by using many more virtual servers, thereby reducing power significantly
• All CRT monitors in the department have been replaced with more efficient LCD monitors reducing the power demands

Operations & Facilities

• Use green construction & renovation standards
  • Targeting LEED Gold Equivalency
  • Installation of dual-flush toilets
  • Replacement of windows as priority
• Use of high efficiency fluorescent lighting / ballasts
• High / 100% recycled content carpet tiles
• Encourage all staff to participate in the Campus Carbon Challenge
• Partner with MACD and Facilities Services to promote sustainability in show room
• Recycling scrap metal using revenue to purchase tools
• Use of low flow shower heads in residence halls

Marketing, Assessment, Communications, & Diversity (MACD)

• Produce bi-weekly Campus Living eNewsletter to 4000 residents instead of paper version
• Send an online version via email instead of sending a hardcopy of the Life On Campus to every admitted student (approximately 9000 students). We have made hard copies for the on campus visits only. This reduces paper and ink use in addition of reducing the carbon footprint of mailing the pieces around the world. Print Life On Campus brochure on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) recycled content.
• UHDS Tour Showroom features a sustainability model with organic, cotton bedding, a power strip and occupancy sensor, and floor covering (floor tiles used as carpet) made from recycled content.
• Produce the UHDS Student Policy with a PDF online instead of hardcopy
• Created online Multicultural Resource Guide instead of paper version
• Where possible, use recycled/recyclable paper and non-toxic inks on publications
• Use one-to-one marketing/printing to reduce waste in the Living Learning newsletter
• For most assessment, utilize online surveys instead of pencil/paper surveys saving reams of paper and ink.
• Utilize recycling bins for paper, cardboard, plastics, glass
• Reduce use of incandescent light bulbs in offices
• Turn off one bank of overhead lights in offices
• Create electronic copies of meeting agendas
• Use recycled and recycle toner cartridges

Wellness

In alignment with the Healthy Campus Initiative / BeWell@OSU, UHDS is committed to creating environments that promote healthy behaviors for students and staff. The UHDS Wellness Committee has been established with the role of fostering a culture of wellness by:

• Assessing student and employee needs, interests and engagement regarding wellness
• Assessing the physical environment and any barriers to wellness
• Recommending the adoption of policies and practices that create and support wellness practices
• Communicating, implementing and providing on-going support for wellness programming

Below are examples of UHDS efforts to promote wellness in the workplace and to the residents and customers we serve:

Student and UHDS Staff-Focused Efforts

• Beaver Strides Competition: Teams of employees and students compete for the most strides
• UHDS Wellness Newsletter: UHDS distributes a monthly wellness newsletter to promote campus and community wellness events/resources.

Student-Focused Efforts

• Fresh From the Faucet: UHDS is an active partner in Healthy Campus/BeWell@OSU Fresh From the Faucet campaign to promote tap water as the #1 beverage choice on campus; installed new water fountains with water bottle refill spouts in residence halls and all UHDS restaurants have ice water available.
• Nutrition Blog/Campus Living Article: UHDS produces a blog to all residents offering nutrition and wellness tips.
• Lunch and Learn: UHDS is a partner in the Healthy Campus / BeWell@OSU lunch and learn series, providing nutrition education events at UHDS dining centers.
• Nutrition information posting: UHDS posts nutrition information on line for all UHDS restaurants. Nutrition information is also posted on Calabaloo's menu boards per menu labeling guidelines.
• Nutrition consultations services to residents: UHDS offers free nutrition consultations to residents with special diet needs.  In 2010, UHDS, SHS and DAS developed guidelines to help students navigate/find resources needed to manage their special diet needs.
• Stealth Health: UHDS engineers dining environments in a way that makes the healthy choice the easy choice. Some stealth examples include: Sandwiches come with a free side veggies, side salads are only 1.25 and vegetables, beans and grains are only .95 and fresh fruit is conveniently placed near cash registers and only .75 each.
• Harvest of the month local foods tabling: UHDS partners with the OSU Sustainability Initiative and the Corvallis Environmental Center's Edible Corvallis Initiative to provide local produce sampling/tabling events in UHDS dining centers.
• Vegetarian options: with the increasing popularity of vegan and vegetarian diets, UHDS  offers vegan and vegetarian options at all restaurants.
• OSU Oak Creek Farm:  UHDS partners with Oak Creek's Campus Farm and other local vendors to provide locally grown produce. 

UHDS Staff-Focused Efforts

• Student Affairs Try-Athalon: In Spring of 2011, UHDS employees partnered with the Student Affairs team to participate in a campus wide Faculty Staff and Fitness Try-Athalon.
• Treadmill Workstation: The UHDS central office break room has a treadmill work station equipped with a laptop and phone available to all staff to encourage getting physical activity during the workday.
• Work schedule flexibility/alternative schedules: When operationally possible, UHDS offers alternative schedules for staff during the summer months.
• UHDS Wellness Survey: In Fall 2010, distributed a survey to all UHDS employees to assess the overall organizational culture regarding wellness and needs and interests for wellness programming.