ACUPCC Implementer

by Ben Lowe, Co-Coordinator, Renewal: Students Caring for Creation

Renewal, a grassroots Christian environmental network active on campuses across the United States and Canada, is proud to present the first-ever report on our growing movement: Green Awakenings: Stories of Stewardship and Sustainability from the Next Generation.

Now is a momentous time for our generation; the planet is in crisis and environmental stewardship is a biblical priority for Christians.  The purpose of Green Awakenings is to show what it looks like when Christian students and campuses come together to care for all of God’s creation.   We want to demonstrate the breadth, depth, and diversity of the growing student movement.

As I write this, I am on the way back from speaking at The Kings University College in Alberta, Canada.  Kings is one of over fifty campuses featured in the report, most of which are members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, but only a handful of which are currently signatories to the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.  Signatories are identified in the report by the torch logo next to their names.

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.