{"id":201115,"date":"2026-03-02T21:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/201115\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T21:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:36:09","slug":"fullerton-college-earns-bronze-award-in-stars-achievement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/201115\/","title":{"rendered":"Fullerton College\u00a0Earns\u00a0Bronze Award in\u00a0STARS Achievement\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPosted on March 2, 2026 \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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Fullerton College\u00a0recently earned the\u00a0Bronze Award for its 2025 Sustainability Tracking and Rating System (STARS) submission.\u00a0The fourth community college in California to secure this\u00a0accolade, the\u00a0Bronze Award\u00a0speaks to the\u00a0sustainability\u00a0efforts\u00a0Fullerton College\u00a0has pioneered\u00a0for the North Orange\u00a0County\u00a0Community College District (NOCCCD).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

STARS\u00a0is a self-reporting framework for higher education institutions to share data and progress on their sustainability efforts.\u00a0Additionally,\u00a0it\u00a0also\u00a0serves as a network for sharing best practices across college systems and has been integral to NOCCCD\u2019s strategic implementation of sustainable initiatives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fullerton College\u2019s key achievements met\u00a0STARS\u2019\u00a0highest categories of coordination and planning,\u00a0equity and energy\u00a0and climate. Since 2022,\u00a0the college\u00a0has launched\u00a0a comprehensive sustainability plan,\u00a0impactful\u00a0Earth Week\u00a0programming\u00a0and\u00a0a\u00a0robust shared governance\u00a0system\u00a0that\u00a0invites\u00a0student participation and input, as well as a\u00a0Sustainability\u00a0Committee\u00a0led by faculty and staff peers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral equity initiatives on campus helped achieve the Bronze STARS rating,\u201d said Professor of Earth Sciences, Dr. Roman\u00a0de Jesus.\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0geography department\u2019s environmental justice study\u00a0identified\u00a0needs for access to fresh food,\u00a0transportation\u00a0and more.\u00a0Another example is the Environmental Justice Career Fellowship program. Open to all majors,\u00a0the program\u00a0aims to build power among young people and marginalized communities by connecting students interested in environmental justice with community-based organizations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Environmental Justice Career Fellowship\u00a0amplifies representation and access, inviting students to grow career ready while giving back to the community.\u00a0An\u00a0example of equity work, the fellowship has allowed students to get involved and\u00a0elevate sustainability initiatives\u00a0that inspire other colleges.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just last year,\u00a0Fullerton College\u00a0was also the first NOCCCD campus to\u00a0establish\u00a0solar panels. The implementation of solar panels\u00a0aims to improve and\u00a0disclose\u00a0greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption per meter, paving the way for an innovative future\u00a0that aligns with the\u00a0California\u00a0Community College Chancellor\u2019s Vision 2030.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cVision\u00a02030\u2019s\u00a0goals aim to help colleges\u00a0establish\u00a0benchmarks and set goals to create environmental,\u00a0social\u00a0and educational benefits for the communities we serve,\u201d said Director of Sustainability at NOCCCD, Tyler Deacy. \u201cThe goals focus on a variety of different metrics to be benchmarked and reduced, including greenhouse\u00a0gases, energy, water,\u00a0purchasing\u00a0and waste. Fullerton\u00a0College\u00a0has thus far achieved STARS Bronze, which is around halfway there. We have an excellent head start!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>President Cynthia Olivo, NOCCCD Board President Barbara\u00a0Dunsheath\u00a0and Deacy\u00a0pose with\u00a0\u00a0ForeFront\u00a0Power\u00a0in collaboration during the\u00a0installation\u00a0of\u00a0a solar parking canopy that will generate 1.8 million Kilowatt-hours, which is enough to off-set nearly one-fifth of the campus\u2019 energy needs and save $6 million in energy costs over the next 20 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0sustainability team at NOCCCD is excited to keep the momentum going. With plans to resubmit\u00a0to\u00a0STARS\u00a0in 2028, Fullerton College\u00a0is currently ahead of the curb as a model campus for other colleges to emulate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Learn more about\u00a0our\u00a0STARS\u00a0ranking by viewing\u00a0our\u00a0full AASHE report<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Posted on March 2, 2026 Fullerton College\u00a0recently earned the\u00a0Bronze Award for its 2025 Sustainability…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":{"0":"post-201115","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-anaheim","8":"tag-anaheim","9":"tag-anaheim-headlines","10":"tag-anaheim-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}