Sustainability Master Plan points to a greener tomorrow
By: Andy Stewart
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: News
"We want to make our campus's conservation efforts more visible to students, and to encourage more student involvement in those efforts."
Thomas Kazee, Furman's provost and executive vice president, said that the drafting of the SMP required the university to coordinate its hitherto disparate sustainability efforts into a cohesive, institutional framework. This spurred the creation of the Shi Center for Sustainability.
With the creation of the Shi Center, the existing Sustainability Planning Group was expanded into the Sustainability Planning Council (SPC), comprised of over 120 students, faculty, trustees and community leaders. The SPC - co-chaired by Kazee, Halfacre and Bill Ranson, professor and chair of the Earth and Environmental Science Department - was charged with drafting the final version of the SMP.
Although Sustainable Furman is certainly ambitious, the financial resources required for its employment will not come from students' pockets, Kazee said. Rather, the project will largely be funded through external support, savings from reductions in the amount of energy purchased by Furman and from investments from the university's endowment.
"Sustainability must be a part of the university's identity," Kazee said. "We want our students, tomorrow's leaders, to understand the need to create a more sustainable society."
Thomas Kazee, Furman's provost and executive vice president, said that the drafting of the SMP required the university to coordinate its hitherto disparate sustainability efforts into a cohesive, institutional framework. This spurred the creation of the Shi Center for Sustainability.
With the creation of the Shi Center, the existing Sustainability Planning Group was expanded into the Sustainability Planning Council (SPC), comprised of over 120 students, faculty, trustees and community leaders. The SPC - co-chaired by Kazee, Halfacre and Bill Ranson, professor and chair of the Earth and Environmental Science Department - was charged with drafting the final version of the SMP.
Although Sustainable Furman is certainly ambitious, the financial resources required for its employment will not come from students' pockets, Kazee said. Rather, the project will largely be funded through external support, savings from reductions in the amount of energy purchased by Furman and from investments from the university's endowment.
"Sustainability must be a part of the university's identity," Kazee said. "We want our students, tomorrow's leaders, to understand the need to create a more sustainable society."