At
a workshop hosted by Michigan State University on March 13, 2003,
colleges and universities across Michigan discussed how they could
make their campus communities more sustainable in operations,
academics, research, and outreach. The workshop brought together
faculty, staff, students and administrators from liberal arts
colleges, community colleges and universities to share ideas,
concerns and potential solutions for achieving sustainable development
within Michigan's higher education community. Donald Brown, director
of the Pennsylvania Consortium for Interdisciplinary Environmental
Policy (www.paconsortium.state.pa.us/),
delivered an outstanding keynote address on his experience leading
a consortium of Pennsylvania colleges, universities and state
government agencies whose goal is to implement statewide sustainable
development practices. Don addressed how he has tied the Pennsylvania
universities together with the state over major issues and how
successful that has been with very little infrastructural support.
The higher education institutions have been able to assist directly
in state attempts to create viable sustainability policies. In
addition, through the consortium network, over 18 higher education
institutions have joined together to get a portion of their energy
from wind farms.
Debbie
Rowe of Oakland Community College and Harold Glasser of Western
Michigan University facilitated the workshop. They asked participants
to list the ways in which sustainability would manifest itself
if a successful sustainability network was created throughout
the state. Participants discussed the following goals for the
future of Michigan:
- A
connected web site between government, higher education and
business;
- Increased
emphasis on watershed protection;
- Sustainability
indicators working at the state and local levels to guide decisions;
- Easily
accessible information to help people make good sustainability
choices;
- Sustainability
as a household word with a shared meaning;
- Every
college and university employing a sustainability coordinator
- Every
graduating student literate in environmental, social and economic
justice issues;
- The
implementation of sustainability practices that are profitable
and considered mainstream.
Possible
projects for Michigan's blossoming network include hosting an
annual/biannual conference on sustainability in higher education,
which includes the business and government sectors using the Pennsylvania
experience as a model; developing a "Sustainability Extension
Service" akin to what Temple University has developed, including
an information database on "centers of excellence";
helping institutions define roles and methods for creating better
national and global citizens; and developing curriculum materials
to create a sustainable-learning paradigm for K-12. Since the
meeting, a working group has met and is looking for opportunities
to collaborate on research, outreach, service, operations and
teaching.
Some
of the additional outcomes of the meeting include discussions
between Michigan higher education staff, Don Brown and state government
officials about how to move the state towards sustainable development,
a plan for a new listserv among institutions of higher education
in the state for sustainability, the formation of a working group
to draft bylaws and organizational design, borrowing heavily from
Don Brown's work in Pennsylvania, and a beginning compilation
of best practice examples.
Spotlight 2: Green Teams
In
colleges and universities across Pennsylvania, students are working
hard to alter the state in a positive way through their pursuit
of environmental stewardship and sound environmental policy. Many
schools across the state have adopted environmental mission statements
to guide them in their actions. Slippery Rock University's
Sustainable Campus Initiative plan enables students and faculty
to be part of the decision-making process regarding important
environmental issues like waste production, land management, and
water usage.
Many
schools are branching out beyond their campuses, partnering with
community organizations on issues such as watershed protection,
recycling, and green technology. Bryn Mawr College is working
with community residents to clean up local streams and revitalize
polluted ponds. Chatham College, in its commitment to raise
environmental awareness, has designed a program called 'Chatham
eCollegie.' Through this program the college announced its goal
of phasing out its use of toxic cleaning chemicals, paint thinners,
and solvents which contain volatile organic compounds. In 2001,
Allegheny College became the first college or university
in Pennsylvania to install an on-campus composting facility. Their
composting unit is one of only a handful of such units in the
northeastern region of the U.S.
Pennsylvania
is a leader in preparing students for environmental careers.
Ten percent of the Environmental Studies programs in the United
States are located on Pennsylvania campuses. The state also leads
the country in colleges and universities which buy wind power,
which is the world's fastest growing form of electricity generation.
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