Environmental Education Directory

Sustainable Universities

Beyond the Books ...

Eugene Pearson, one of the 2004 Brower Youth Award winners, thinks that doing things in an environmentally conscious way just makes sense. “In the big picture,” he said, “you’re really making a difference by the little actions you take.” And Pearson, a senior majoring in molecular biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, has certainly been making a difference. He, along with other members of CU’s student government, caused the university’s building standards to become the greenest in the country.

Last year, Pearson and his cohorts found themselves in a rare situation. Due to a budget crisis, the university was in desperate need of additional funding; CU administrators approached the student government with a request to increase student fees. The student government acquiesced, but it had a few conditions. First, all new buildings constructed on campus, including three that had already been designed, would have to meet “green building” standards. Second, a portion of the energy used to operate those buildings would have to come from renewable sources.

Pearson admits that he was a bit stubborn when it came to hashing out the details. In what he describes as occasionally “heated” meetings between the students and university officials, each aspect of the new green deal was examined and re-examined.

Initially, the student government was demanding that all new buildings meet LEED gold certification. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the foremost green building certification authority, recognizing “building projects that have demonstrated a commitment to sustainability by meeting the highest performance standards.” LEED’s gold rating is the organization’s highest, a perfect 10 out of 10 for all aspects of environmental sustainability, from the building materials to the energy efficiency of the building once it’s complete. CU’s student government was hoping for all newly constructed buildings to have receive the prestigious gold rating.

Instead, negotiations resulted in a CU-Boulder commitment to settle for second best, LEED silver certification, for all newly constructed buildings. As a compromise, however, 100 percent of the new buildings’ energy would now be green, a significant win for the students.

Ultimately, Pearson was pleased with the outcome. “We were able to demonstrate that careful planning, thoughtful design, and investment in sustainable practices is good for the pocketbook and the environment.” Pearson successfully proved to university officials that being environmentally conscious, even at a large university, is a logical decision. Currently, the CU-Boulder has the greenest building standards of any public university in the country. Two of the buildings originally negotiated are due for completion during the 2006/2007 school year, with the other two following in four to seven years.

According to Pearson, there are other happy repercussions, too. “The thing that I think is most beneficial is that the university is now really looking at its policies because of student involvement,” he said. “Environmental policies aren’t just for looking good and greenwashing the university; they actually make sense for many reasons. The new building standards have started a cultural change in the CU system.”

And to what does Pearson owe his environmental successes so far? First of all, he was able to be persuasive during important negotiations by remembering that the people in power – the chancellor, senator and university dean – are just people, too. “They’re just doing their jobs and they’re everyday people like me,” he explained. “Students shouldn’t be intimidated by people in high up positions. Their title doesn’t make them more important or valuable than anyone else.”

According to Will Toor, director of CU-Boulder’s Environmental Center, Pearson’s refusal to be intimidated paid off. “It was a real education for the senior administration to find themselves having to negotiate the future of the university with one undergraduate student.”

Pearson also attributes his success to the research and hard facts he wielded. “Knowing that private industry has successfully done buildings this way [following LEED certification guidelines], and having the facts to back it up, was hugely beneficial.” It didn’t hurt, either, that Pearson’s analyses showed the new green building standards would be cost effective, returning ten times the university’s investment in saved utility costs over the life of the building. “Administrators and officials want to be environmental,” said Eugene. “But they’re also responsible for balanced budgets. We showed them that both are possible.”

Pearson admits that his situation was a bit unique. Given the university’s budget crisis and the need for a student government-approved hike in fees, the UCSU had some clout. Under the circumstances, however, not all students would have done the same thing. Pearson and his peers were successfully able to maneuver the situation to the greatest benefit for the environment.

Pearson’s future plans include studying environmental sciences in grad school after finishing up his molecular biology degree at CU-Boulder next year. “I know in my heart that I really want to make an impact, that I can help people and the environment,” he said. And to other students who are similarly minded, Pearson’s advice is: “Figure out how to work with people who are also committed to the environment, but who don’t necessarily seem to share your core values.” Joining forces, Pearson believes, is the key to environmental change.

University of Texas' Campus Environmental Center

One of the most frustrating things about being a student environmentalist is the lack of resources and infrastructure. After facing those challenges at the University of Texas, I started the Campus Environmental Center (CEC). CEC leaders build partnerships with students, faculty, staff, and administrators to improve the campus environment. We have put a lot of energy into strengthening and institutionalizing the CEC; within our first year, we obtained a grant from the National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology Program, became part of Student Government, and were provided a one-year seed grant for a paid student director. We are now working to obtain permanent funding, and next year we will push for a student fee for campus environmental projects. Working collaboratively and for the long-term enables success; for an outstanding model, look at the University of Colorado’s Environmental Center (www.colorado.edu/ecenter). The CEC has also published a guide on how to start an Environmental Center at your school at www.UTenvironment.org.

Get Involved

Through national networks, I was able to find out about activities at other schools and connect with opportunities that took me around the globe, from a UN conference in Kenya to a youth sustainability meeting in Denmark and the Kyoto Protocol negotiations in the Netherlands. I chose to get involved with SustainUS, the national youth network for sustainable development. SustainUS is entirely youth-led, with no staff or consistent funding, and it’s incredible what we have done – sent youth delegates to major United Nations conferences, worked on starting a National Youth Council for Sustainability, and educated youth on the science behind sustainability, among other projects. We also initiated the Campus Greening Network (campusgreening.org), which links students around the nation who are working on campus projects. There are also many other wonderful national networks besides SustainUS, including SEAC, the Sierra Student Coalition, www.energyaction.net,and www.campusactivism.org.

Do Something Unique

After my first few years at UT, it became clear that I needed to do something that had not been done before, so I started the Campus Environmental Center. Since then my work has been entirely self-created; I identify problems and opportunities and just go for it. Even better, I now get paid for my campus sustainability work; the expertise and contacts I developed as CEC Director enabled me to create my own job after graduation. In addition, creating new projects helped me win several scholarships (see www.udall.gov and www.truman.gov).

My job as Sustainability Coordinator is to research and publicize what UT is already doing (you would be surprised how scattered the information is), to research what other schools are doing, to identify sustainability-related opportunities for the UT campus, and to coordinate a Sustainability Committee of faculty, staff, and students.

Universities move slowly, but I have seen UT make amazing strides toward sustainability in my time here. Still, there is much more to be done. I am laying the groundwork for UT’s sustainability initiatives; my hope is that we can establish a permanent Office of Sustainability, as many universities have done. However, I do not have the experience or credentials to fully enact the changes I would like to see, which is a strong motivator for me to continue my education.

Interestingly, hiring former students to serve as Campus Sustainability Coordinators seems to be a nationwide trend; at a recent conference, I met a half-dozen young coordinators. We are all in the same position; we must clearly demonstrate the value of having a Sustainability Coordinator so that our positions will be continued into the future. Luckily, campus sustainability makes sense from economic, public relations, and social responsibility perspectives. And great support networks exist, like the Education for Sustainability Western Network, University Leaders for a Sustainable Future, National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology Program, Green Schools email list, and the Campus Greening Network.

Campus sustainability is a rapidly growing field; universities are establishing sustainability committees and coordinator positions left and right. The opportunities for current students are also numerous; by working with administrators while you are a student, you can potentially have a job ready upon graduation. Most importantly, being active in the campus environment is where young people can make a difference. As the students participating in the Campus Greening Network can tell you, administrators do listen, but student advocacy is necessary to catch their ear.

University of Nevada Launches Academy for the Environment

Last November officials at the University of Nevada, Reno, announced the creation of a new Academy for the Environment. Mike Collopy, professor and chair of the department of natural resources and environmental science in the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources, will serve as interim executive director of the new academy.

“This Academy for the Environment will make Nevada unique among western colleges of our size, because of its holistic emphasis on environmental studies,” said John Frederick, executive vice president and provost. “It will bring together more than 100 faculty, dozens of research programs and hundreds of students pursuing a wide variety of environmental programs across the University.”

Faculty from Desert Research Institute, a nonprofit, statewide division of the University and Community College System of Nevada, also will be integral participants in the new Academy, through teaching in the atmospheric sciences, ecology, evolution and conservation biology, environmental sciences and health, and hydrologic sciences graduate programs.

"Our University has a long and distinguished history in the teaching and research of a wide variety of environmental programs—from hydrology, ecology and atmospheric sciences to other health and basic sciences, as well as world-class programs in environmental literature and humanities, agriculture, mining and engineering," said Frederick.

The breadth of the University’s environmental programs—accounting for more than $10 million annually and spread throughout nearly every college and school—has prompted faculty and administrators to create a new umbrella organization to simplify student access to environmental programs while stimulating interdisciplinary research and expanding environmental outreach programs across the state.

Frederick added: "Our prime focus is to better coordinate and raise the collective visibility of our campus’ environmental programs. We hope to do this by taking advantage of our considerable historic expertise and our prime location in Nevada, with Lake Tahoe in our backyard."

As one of the top-tier research universities in the country, Nevada also has a growing presence in environmental research. Over the past three years, the University has received $3 million to support the newly formed Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy. Researchers are identifying geothermal resource locations in Nevada and working to determine why the resources are where they are and how they can be detected. University researchers also are working to develop a Geographic Information System database that incorporates these findings across Nevada - "the Saudi Arabia of geothermal energy," said Frederick.

Other major environmental research initiatives include management and protection of the state’s arid rangelands, solar-powered production of hydrogen as a source of renewable energy and a broad set of research programs at Lake Tahoe.

In the ‘90s, the University created two organizations—the Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering and the Center for Environmental Arts and Humanities—to coordinate interdisciplinary environmental research, events and programs. Both now will gain the focus of the Academy for the Environment, which will supplement their initiatives with interdisciplinary linkages across the entire University.

Other centers—including the Mining Life-Cycle Center at the Mackay School of Earth Science and Engineering—also will gain greater visibility and opportunities for linkage with existing programs. The mining center, for example, already focuses on key environmental and life-cycle issues facing the industry in the United States and around the world—an agenda that emphasizes multidisciplinary approaches.

As interim director, Collopy will bring both important leadership and scientific expertise to the new University-wide Academy, Frederick said.

"Mike is an internationally regarded professor and researcher in the ecology and conservation of birds of prey," he added. "He chaired the Wildlife and Range Sciences department at the University of Florida and, after five years, moved to Oregon where he led the creation of an interdisciplinary federal research lab located at Oregon State University that he directed for 10 years."

Frederick added that Collopy also has distinguished himself since joining Nevada in 2001. Collopy has served on the Faculty Senate executive board as well as the University Planning Council that is charged with developing strategic plans and recommending budgetary initiatives associated with those plans.

Collopy holds a doctorate in natural resources from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in wildlife management from Humboldt State University and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California in Santa Barbara.

The administrative offices of the new Academy for the Environment are in the Mackay Science Building on the historic quadrangle of the University’s Reno campus, conveniently situated near faculty in the environmental literature, and environmental earth and life science programs. A national search is under way to fill the executive director position.