FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2012
Contact: Rima Mulla, 617-722-0036, rmulla@secondnature.org
The Kresge Foundation and Second Nature Continue to Build Capacity of Minority-Serving Institutions to Champion Sustainability
BOSTON, MA – With a generous 2-year grant of $546,000, The Kresge Foundation continues its support of Second Nature's work to build sustainability capacity and leadership among financially strained and minority-serving higher education institutions.
With this funding, Second Nature will strengthen and build on the success of its previous Kresge-funded initiatives, Advancing Green Building in Higher Education and Education for Sustainability Innovation, both of which assisted Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and the U.S. Department of Education's Title III and V institutions to "build green" and commit to sustainability practices on their campuses.
“As the human stories begin to emerge from Sandy’s advent, the story we can tell about a different future is ever more salient; we have a new, perhaps less transitory, window to explain why we need to make choices differently if we want to avoid locking a new normal into place, a new normal that has huge ethical and moral consequences" says David Hales, President of Second Nature. "The Kresge Foundation’s support for this effort will have direct and sometimes prosaic impact on specific individuals and schools as it increases the capacity to accomplish very challenging tasks."
Through these initiatives, Second Nature has developed a robust understanding of the unique challenges facing these institutions that have now made a deep commitment to sustainability and climate action. The organization’s focused efforts, constructive work with partner organizations, and dedicated staff and resources have been essential in growing the institutional capacity, awareness, and leadership at this group of institutions.
The Kresge Foundation grant also enables Second Nature to provide focused, programmatic support to bolster the success of minority-serving institutions participating in the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC)– a national network of more than660 colleges and universities promoting education and research on climate and sustainability solutions, and working to eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions from their campus operations.Second Nature will engage two full-time staff members for a 2-year period to provide capacity building opportunities and implementation guidance to minority-serving institutions of the ACUPCC and to expand the network by engaging more institutions in the climate action movement.
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About The Kresge Foundation
The Kresge Foundation is a $3 billion private, national foundation that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations by creating access and opportunity in underserved communities, improving the health of low-income people, supporting artistic expression, increasing college achievement, assisting in the revitalization of Detroit, and advancing methods for dealing with global climate change. The foundation works in seven program areas: arts and culture, community development, Detroit (economic and community redevelopment), education, the environment, health, and human services. In 2011, the Board of Trustees approved 346 awards totaling $170 million; $140 million was paid out to grantees over the course of the year.
For more information, visit www.kresge.org.
About Second Nature
Second Nature works to create a healthy, just, and sustainable society beginning with the transformation of higher education. Second Nature is the lead supporting organization of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), a growing network of 664 signatory higher education institutions in all 50 states that have made a public commitment to transform the educational experience for all students so they are prepared to solve the climate crisis.
Learn more at: www.secondnature.org and www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org
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