On September 18, 2024, AGB and AGB Search co-produced and presented a webinar providing an overview on the issues of sustainability on college and university campuses as part of a series of presentations and thought leadership pieces that will be offered during the 2024-2025 academic year. Presentation highlights are provided below. View the full webinar.
The presentation featured Marvin Krislov, President of Pace University, member of the Board of Directors of the New York Climate Exchange, and former President of Oberlin College; and Mary Papazian, Executive Vice President at AGB, and former President of San José State University and Southern Connecticut State University. Dr. Kim Bobby, Principal at AGB Search, moderated the discussion.
The discussion opened with an overview of current sustainability efforts at San José State and at Pace University. San José State established sustainability learning outcomes for all undergraduate courses in 2017, as well as offering eight different master’s level programs in the fields of engineering, urban planning, and others. San José State established an Office of Sustainability in 2018 and enjoys a long-term membership in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Pace, as part of its commitment to a 50% reduction in greenhouse gasses by 2030, and to carbon net zero by 2040, has made a variety of building enhancements and offers the nation’s top-ranked environmental law program (according to U.S. News & World Report), undergraduate and graduate programs in environmental studies, and the Center for Sustainable Business at the Lubin School of Business.
Each institution has taken on various energy reduction and alternative energy projects to slow the increase of energy costs in near-term budgets, fully recognizing that the short-term investments will have long-term payoffs. At San José State, each of the strategic planning goals also have sustainability goals, and the multi-year budget aligns with that plan. The importance of working within local, state, and federal laws and guidelines was mentioned, as well as taking advantage of funding sources that are sometimes available from those sources.
Dr. Papazian and Mr. Krislov were clear about the importance of having a campus leadership team member who has primary responsibility for monitoring the campus’ sustainability performance indicators and accountability measures, holding the institution and its leaders accountable for making progress. Over time, the position could evolve into a Chief Sustainability Officer, depending on the size of the institution and the leadership team; whether that is the official title or not, such an individual must be identified. At both institutions, these positions require effective partnerships across the campus, since the implementation of the program - and the planning for future programs - will cut across all parts of the institution. And in many cases, there are important reporting requirements to be fulfilled with entities beyond the campus.
Both institutions have diverse communities on campus (or in Pace’s case, multiple campuses) and are located within diverse communities, as well. The UN Sustainable Development goals are particularly valuable to bear in mind in this regard, since the engagement of diverse community voices is a priority. For both institutions, there is representation from community-based groups in ensuring that the institutional planning keeps those voices prominently in mind, as well as engagement with initiatives such as K-12 educational programs and middle school student engagement with climate change issues. This work can itself become a model for how to engage communities beyond the boundaries of campuses in important work going on at any college or university.
The importance of leadership engagement and support is critical to institutional success for these campus-wide topics. With climate-related issues, it is likely that the campus community, particularly current and future students, will be very aware of the issues and opportunities. Transparency with all campus community members, dashboards to show progress, and frequent communication are all valuable tools in keeping this engagement at a high level.
Learning resources are available for advancing this engagement. Dr. Papazian and Mr. Krislov mentioned the Department of Energy’s Better Building Programs, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, materials provided by the New York Climate Exchange, Second Nature, AASHE, the STARS rating system, and materials from AGB are all tools that can be used to advance the discussions across campus and beyond.
For San José State, many partnerships are based in the research centers that the campus supports, such as the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center, the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, or the Mineta Transportation Institute. Pace University is a Core Partner of the New York Climate Exchange, which is itself a partnership between several higher education institutions in New York, across the U.S., and globally. Likewise partnerships are driven through academic initiatives such as the Elisabeth Haub School of Law’s Environmental Law Program and the business school’s Center for Sustainable Business.
Both speakers mentioned the importance of seeing how seriously students take these issues, and how much they are invested in ensuring that institutions and communities make progress. For San José State, whose alumnus Gaylord Nelson was the creator of Earth Day, student activism and investment has always been a critical part of its progress and sense of optimism. Working together across institutions to tackle the large issues will be critical for progress and will amplify all voices.
Panelists
Dr. Mary Papazian
Executive Vice President, AGB
Former President, San José State University
Mr. Marvin Krislov
President, Pace University
Board of Directors, New York Climate Exchange
Moderators
Dr. Kim Bobby
Principal, AGB Search
Ms. Monica Burton
Principal, AGB Search
Dr. Margaret (Peggy) Plympton
Principal, AGB Search
