Help make Hunter College greener. Build civic skills. Earn money.
Calling all Hunter College students: Here’s your chance to create sustainable waste systems for your campus — and be paid for your participation.
The CUNY Climate Assembly Project on Waste at Hunter College will gather 30 to 45 Hunter students to learn, deliberate, and develop waste-management strategies for vertical urban campuses such as Hunter.
No need to be an expert on waste or climate issues — students from all majors and walks of life may apply!
From April through June 2026, student assembly delegates will meet in-person for five full days (April 1 and 2; June 2, 3, and 4) and four two-hour workshops (April 24 and May 1, 8, and 15).
Participants will be provided with a $750 stipend. A lottery will select a group representative of the Hunter community. The application deadline is February 13.
The Mellon Foundation-funded initiative, a partnership of Hunter and the Center for Humanities at the CUNY Graduate Center, will run from spring 2026 through spring 2027.
“I urge students to sign up for the lottery for this important project,” said Hunter Provost Manoj Pardasani. “Not only will their participation help the Hunter community reach its climate goals, but they will gain valuable civic and green experience for their resumes and get an honorarium for their efforts. Hunter is the largest CUNY college, with four campuses in Manhattan. It is imperative that Hunter take the lead on climate.”
Climate assemblies are an innovative method of civic problem-solving, with more than 700 examples worldwide.
Hunter College, however, will lead the nation as the first university-convened climate assembly in the United States. Hunter will serve as a model, expanding universities as true schools for democracy by equipping the next generation of civic leaders with skills in facilitation, constructive dialogue, and democratic problem-solving.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Hunter College to launch the CUNY Climate Assembly Project on Waste,” said Kendra Sullivan, director of the Center for the Humanities at the CUNY Graduate Center and a co-director of the CUNY Climate Assembly Project. “The project is designed to expand how New Yorkers practice democracy beyond elections and amplify CUNY students’ perspectives on climate, sustainability, and regenerative economies. After more than a year of planning, we are grateful for Hunter’s vision and Mellon’s support as we join a global movement often called the deliberative wave to launch the first climate assembly at a public university in the United States.”
During spring 2026, student delegates will convene to learn from experts, weigh the benefits and challenges of waste-management solutions, and generate evidence-based recommendations for the campus.
Students and faculty not in the assembly will engage through classroom curriculum, public forums, and other events and programs. In fall 2026 and spring 2027, nine to 12 post-assembly fellows will work with campus leaders to review the recommendations and decide which will be adopted.
The issue is urgent: Waste reduction is the law. New York State Executive Order 22 requires all public entities, including CUNY, to develop waste-diversion plans that lessen waste disposal 10 percent every five years from a baseline of Fiscal Year 2018–19, until reaching a 75 percent reduction.
Hunter employs several waste-diversion strategies, including composting, recycling, source reduction, education, and waste audits. Waste management can be challenging, however, because it requires everyone’s involvement to be successful. Meeting our waste reduction goals means an all-hands-on-deck effort: individual behavior change, updating organizational practices, and shifting campus culture.
By uplifting collective wisdom of the campus community, the CUNY Climate Assembly Project at Hunter College will further Hunter’s progress toward sustainable waste-management solutions.
