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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:

"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

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