by Martha J. Kanter, Under Secretary of Education

This is an exciting time for those of us who care deeply about the role of higher education in building a more sustainable world, and I would like to express my appreciation for the work of the organizations and institutions involved with the ACUPCC.  Before joining the U.S. Department of Education as Under Secretary I served as chancellor of the Foothill – De Anza Community College District in California and was a member of the ACUPCC Steering Committee.

I understand the important work that each of you perform for your institutions every day, and would like you to know that the Department of Education is a strong leader and partner in these efforts.  We are developing a ‘Green Team’ to help facilitate environmental literacy efforts, and President Obama has placed resources in the 2011 education budget specifically to support environmental literacy.

As the Department prepares for the first ‘Green Education’ Summit this summer here in Washington, we recognize our national responsibility to promote an interchange of sustainability ideas and coordination among key stakeholders.  Better linkages among K-12 education, higher education, and the non-profit sector, as well as better federal interagency cooperation, will be essential to meeting our mutual goals. This invite-only Summit is statutorily defined by the Higher Education Act of 2008 and charges the Department of Education to help coordinate resources at a national level to improve the environmental literacy of our students and citizens. We welcome this responsibility and look forward to the work ahead.

by Richard J. Cook, President Emeritus of Allegheny College and Second Nature Education for Sustainability Fellow

In slightly over two years the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) has grown from a compelling idea into a nationwide phenomenon. Almost 700 institutions of higher learning are now ACUPCC signatories. And many others are eager to learn more about the effort. Interest in the ACUPCC was widespread at the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) annual Presidents’ Institute in early January 2010 on Marco Island, Florida.

Presidents representing four ACUPCC signatory colleges participated in a panel discussion entitled “Presidential Leadership in Climate Change and Sustainability.” President Marvalene Hughes described an inspirational commitment made by Dillard University to rebuild its campus on the principle of carbon neutrality in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.  Rosalind Reichard, president of Emory & Henry College, described the challenges of pursuing climate neutrality on a campus situated amid a coal-based economy and culture. Paul Fonteyn, president of Green Mountain College, told of his small college’s rapid journey to carbon-neutrality, and the way in which such an audacious commitment has helped galvanize the entire campus community behind a unifying ideal. For my part, I discussed my efforts to generate institution-wide engagement with the climate commitment and described the financial and branding benefits of the effort.

ACUPCC Steering Committee Co-Chair and Arizona State University President Michael Crow took part in an Executive Roundtable at the 2009 Greenbuild International Conference.

Click here to watch the streaming video on the Greenbuild site.

by Alyssa Pandolfi, Second Nature Intern

Every year, Northeastern University puts on an annual Gingerbread House competition.  Out of the 100 or so students who enter the competition, only thirty get chosen to take part in the opportunity of a lifetime...

...to build the Gingerbread House of their dreams.

After the houses are built, students, faculty, and staff from Northeastern are allowed to vote to determine the crowd favorite.  The winner, besides winning a modest cash sum, will revel in eternal glory.

This year, Jess (a Second Nature co-op alum) and I were one of the lucky few who were chosen to build a Gingerbread House.  In our typical fashion, we decided to give our Gingerbread House a theme:  Sustainability.  Our house, which can be viewed in the image below, has an organic garden, vermicompost bin, wind turbine, fish pond, patio constructed with FSC certified wood, recycling bin, green roof, solar panels, and, oh did I mention the LEED certification button?