Goals and Description:

The primary goal of the “Campus Sustainability Champion” is to recognize faculty innovation and encourage ongoing research and teaching in sustainability. Faculty submit competitive proposals that promise to engage undergraduate and graduate students in sustainability issues and provide campus-wide leadership and visibility in sustainability in education and research. Awardees are selected by a committee, based on the merit of their proposals; recipients receive funding to support activities including but not limited to graduate and undergraduate research assistants; and all awardees will be required to lead an annual Freshman Seminar in Sustainability.

Status:

This proposal was completed in spring 2008 and received final approval in spring 2009. The first call for applications went out in May of 2009, and the first and second Sustainability Champions were selected in July of that year. Professor David Cleveland served as the inaugural Sustainability Champion in 2009-2010; Professor Eric Matthys will serve as Champion in 2010-2011. The inaugural year was half-funded through an application to The Green Initiative Fund in the spring of 2009; Executive Vice Chancellor Gene Lucas then supported the other half of the proposal for the inaugural year and the second year. The Office of Development is actively working to develop ongoing support through private donors.