WSU Sustainability Manager Honored with Lindquist Award

OGDEN, Utah – For her commitment to sustainability practices at Weber State University and in northern Utah, Jennifer Bodine has been honored with the John A. Lindquist Award for 2021 given through the Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL).

This year CCEL will also present the first Ivory Prize to students committed to leadership and community engagement. The honorees, as well as community partners, faculty, staff and students involved in community engagement, will be recognized during a drive-through celebration at the Dee Events Center on April 15 from 2-4 p.m.

Jennifer Bodine

For more than a decade as Weber State’s Facilities Management sustainability manager, Jennifer Bodine has helped the campus community catch her vision of affordable, sustainable environmental practices.

By the numbers, the accomplishments are impressive. With Bodine’s help and collaborative leadership, WSU has cut its carbon footprint by more than 30%, while simultaneously saving more than $15 million in avoided utility costs. The university is on track to meet its commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2040,10 years ahead of its original goal.

However, numbers don’t fully reflect the impact Bodine has had on students, the campus and community. Bodine advises the Environmental Ambassadors club and has supported students in their campus-wide work to install bottle refill stations, bike racks and solar-covered picnic table pavilions. The student ambassadors have also partnered with groups on and off campus to host events such as the “Clear the Air Challenge” and Earth Day tree plantings with the help of local elementary students. In 2015, she and the ambassadors initiated the Green Department Certification Program, which now has 84 campus Green Teams committed to sustainability practices in everyday activities, such as reducing waste and limiting power consumption. Environmental Ambassadors also help support Weber State’s Intermountain Sustainability Summit, which just concluded its 12th year.

In the last few years, the ambassadors extended their reach to food sustainability and now run the Weber State chapter of the Food Recovery Network, which collects fresh, unused food from WSU events and delivers it to the Weber Cares Food & Resources Pantry and to Ogden’s Lantern House.

Bodine and her team have collaborated to host four community sustainability programs: Susie Hulet Community Solar, Drive Electric Northern Utah, Cut Pollution – Mow Electric, and the Empower Northern Utah Light Bulb Exchange. This year they are working with the HEAT program to provide LED bulbs and smart thermostats to low-income households and the community.

As a member of the Ogden Civic Action Network subcommittee, Bodine supported a significant collaboration with Ogden City and Weber State’s Department of Construction & Building Sciences. WSU students designed and constructed a net-zero home in central Ogden. The home is currently one of nine international finalists in the Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. 

“As the Weber State sustainability manager, I have learned that everyone at the university, including those in Facilities Management, can be educators,” Bodine wrote in her award acceptance letter. “I have also learned that mentoring students, while simultaneously solving wicked community problems, is the most rewarding work I will ever do, and that the best way to produce leaders, who are emotionally and intellectually capable of solving those wicked problems, is to immerse them in community-engaged experiences.”

Lindquist Award

John A. Lindquist was a strong advocate of education and the community and spent a lifetime supporting Ogden, Weber County and Weber State. Lindquist’s ties to WSU date back to the late 1930s, when he attended Weber College and was a student body officer. Throughout his lifetime, he generously supported cultural, academic, athletic, and student activities and programs.

“The Center for Community Engaged Learning is honored to house the John A. Lindquist award and is grateful to Kathryn Lindquist for establishing the award to recognize her father's legacy,” said Becky Jo Gesteland, CCEL executive director. “This year we're pleased to present the Lindquist Award to someone who has made a significant difference to the community in which she works and lives. Jennifer Bodine reflects this award’s intent in every way.”

Ivory Prize

In 2020, The Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation initiated the Ivory Prize for Excellence in Student Leadership and Community Engagement. Ivory Prize awardees receive a cash prize and a donation toward their cause, initiative and/or team. A large group of outstanding candidates was nominated, and the two recipients were selected by a committee with representation from CCEL, Student Involvement & Leadership, Access & Diversity, and the Dean of Students Office.

Lori Cummings

Lori Cummings, who graduated in 2020, served as intern for the Children’s Adaptive Physical Education Society (CAPES!), a skill-development program for children with developmental disabilities such as Autism, Down syndrome, spina bifida, visual impairments and cerebral palsy. She helped WSU students complete over 1,000 community-engagement hours, developed the Parent Meet & Greet and positively impacted the lives of numerous children and their parents. Cummings now works as an adaptive physical educator in the Davis School District, where she continues to serve students and the school community.

Finau Tauteoli

Finau Tauteoli is president of The Ohana Association, a WSU student organization that strives “to extend, develop and enhance support systems contributing to the success of all students, with a focused emphasis on the Pacific Islander students.” 

She and association members actively supported activities as volunteers and/or collaborative partners in planning community events such as the Mana 5K, the Pacific Islander High School Conference, the Northern Utah Health Coalition, and the OCA Asian Pacific Islander American Advocates: Utah Chapter. Due to her dedication and leadership, Finau successfully launched the ongoing Pasifika Youth Talk Series for seventh- through 12th-grade Pacific Islander students.

Center for Community Engaged Learning

In 2019-20, 4,667 Weber State students contributed 122,449 hours to the community. During the pandemic, CCEL reorganized the Weber Cares Food & Resources Pantry to safely distribute needed food supplies.

“This year has been difficult for our students, staff, faculty and community. We closed the Weber Cares Food & Resources Pantry during the summer, while we created an online ordering system,” said Becky Jo Gesteland, CCEL director. “Between Sept 11, 2020, and March 3, 2021, CCEL distributed 3,300 pounds of food. Thanks to all of our generous donors, we have been able to fulfill at least some of our campus community's basic needs. We look forward to providing expanded services when we move the pantry to Stewart Library in July.”

Through CCEL partnerships and programs, students develop into socially responsible, civically engaged community members.

For more information about the Center for Community Engaged Learning, visit weber.edu/ccel.

For photos, visit the following links.

wsuucomm.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2021-Photos/April-2021/i-JQNZMkg/A
wsuucomm.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2021-Photos/April-2021/i-rqgqrPs/A
wsuucomm.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2021-Photos/April-2021/i-wbMLsdB/A

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.

Author:

Allison Barlow Hess, Public Relations director
801-626-7948 • ahess@weber.edu

Contact:

Becky Jo Gesteland, CCEL executive director
801-626-6570 • bgesteland@weber.edu