The state Board of Higher Education formed a committee to better manage cooperation among the seven public colleges in the Oregon University System over forthcoming sustainability initiatives Friday at a meeting in Portland.
The Sustainability Initiatives Committee was created to develop a state initiative to drive sustainability issues that they see as critical and to further the reputation of Oregon’s public universities as a leader in sustainability.
David Yaden, former director of the Oregon Department of Education and new state board appointee, is heading the committee, which has not yet set a date for its first meeting.
What OUS wants:– The committee was asked to identify obstacles that OUS faculty members face in various sustainability areas, as well as ways to eliminate those obstacles. The committee will also explore ways to improve coordination and better communicate with other key organizations and businesses outside of OUS. Afterward, a plan of action will be submitted to the board of directors.
Committee objectives:– The proposed plan has to include instructional and research elements, facilities involved, community outreach and a communications or “product branding” strategy.
– The committee will be seeking support from faculty and staff of the OUS universities, including PSU, and is currently exploring incentives to guarantee ongoing participation. Universities will compete with other better-funded universities for student enrollment, and attempt to gain additional funding from federal and international sources.
Where the committee will start:– “We begin with significant strengths on which to build,” said Susan Weeks, OUS vice chancellor. “In our clean building environments in the Portland area, agriculture and food delivery systems exemplified by farmers markets, our transportation system, such as Light Rail, and in renewable energy, such as geothermal. This is our chance to come together.”
Other ideas to help with sustainable projects:– Weeks said there is a need for an environmental educational program from kindergarten to the 12th grade to make students more aware of conservation and sustainable practices, as well as issues of climate change.
“With a coordinated plan we can begin to push for action,” Weeks said. “Sustainability has been a focus for decades but needs a plan of action. Economic opportunity is tied to sustainability. We want to connect them [business and industry] with the university so that their strengths and research become a part of how we teach.”
How PSU fits in:Portland State University’s role is to be a “living laboratory of sustainability” concentrated into the coupling of human and natural systems, and sustainability in urban and organized communities. PSU has strengths in two areas: metrics and evaluation, and mechanisms that effect change and foster engagement of people, organizations, society at large and ecosystem levels.
Interested students can find out more about PSU sustainable projects at www.pdx.edu/sustainability.
What ASPSU thinks:“The formation of the committee signifies the importance of sustainability to the system as a whole,” said Hannah Fisher, president of ASPSU. “This committee will foster collaboration between all parties who are imperative to the success of OUS going green. Students, business leaders and university administration will come together to remove barriers to achieving excellence.”