USM Going Green: Chancellor Launches System-wide Sustainability Initiative
ADELPHI, Md. (February 15, 2008) - University System of Maryland (USM) Chancellor
William E. Kirwan has launched a new initiative to promote environmental
stewardship and sustainable practices across the system's universities,
research institutions, and regional higher education centers. The chancellor's
Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Initiative will focus on
developing policies, practices, and programs that will make the university
system a national leader in institutional responses to the challenges of global
climate change.
"Our universities have long
been on the forefront of environmental education, research, and policymaking,"
said Chancellor Kirwan. "The initiative will utilize USM's strengths in these areas
to establish sustainable and energy efficient practices across all of our
campuses. We will also work to strengthen curricular offerings and opportunities
for research and collaboration in environmental science, policy, and
sustainable technologies."
"The University System of
Maryland recognizes that we need to foster a sustainable environment to
retain Maryland's quality of life and leading role in the nation's
knowledge economy," said Donald Boesch, president of the University of
Maryland
Center for Environmental Science, whom Chancellor Kirwan has appointed
the
system's vice chancellor of environmental sustainability. "The best way
to ensure
that future generations of Marylanders inherit a healthy, sustainable
environment
is to lead by example and see to it that today's decisions contribute
to a
better tomorrow."
Goals of the USM sustainability
initiative include:
- Reducing energy consumption system-wide by 15
percent and greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020 per
Governor Martin O'Malley's EmPOWER Maryland initiative and Climate Change
Commission recommendations as a way to save taxpayers money, reduce stress
on Maryland's energy markets, and improve the environment;
- Crafting and enacting new policies for capital
projects, human resources, and procurement to achieve these objectives;
- Conducting audits of greenhouse gas emission for
all USM institutions and using best practices to reduce these emissions;
- Developing a system-wide strategy for campus
sustainability and energy efficiency, including "green" building guidelines
and sustainability benchmarks for all new construction and major facility
renovations;
- Refocusing and strengthening instructional and
research programs dealing with environmental sustainability and climate
change;
- Bringing the expertise of USM's institutions to
bear in addressing Maryland's three-part challenge of Chesapeake Bay restoration, growth, and climate change.
"Across the university
system, I have met and spoken with many students who want sustainability to
become a guiding principle for our universities and our society," said USM Student
Regent Richard Scott, a senior at Frostburg State University and a member of the Maryland Student Climate
Coalition (MSCC). The MSCC is a grassroots organization of USM students
advocating for the adoption of sustainable practices and a policy of carbon
neutrality across the university system. "I am very encouraged by the system's
proactive stance and commitment to become a leader in responding to the
challenges of global climate change."
The sustainability initiative
is one of three new initiatives established by Chancellor Kirwan to address
major challenges to Maryland's economic leadership, educational preparedness, and
environmental quality. In addition to fostering system-wide sustainability, the
chancellor has set two other priorities for his tenure: closing the college
retention and graduation achievement gap for minority and underserved students
and fostering the state's global economic competitiveness by increasing the
number of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) teachers and
graduates from USM institutions.
For more information on the USM
sustainability initiative, visit: http://www.usmd.edu/usm/sustainability.
RELATED
NEWS: Don Boesch Appointed USM Vice
Chancellor of Environmental Sustainability
Contact: John Buettner
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: jbuettner@usmd.edu
