New advisory board to weigh in on sustainability

In the past — through avenues like deans’ advisory boards in different schools — students have been given opportunities to voice concerns about academics. Now College students can do the same with environmental concerns.

The newly created School of Arts and Sciences’ Sustainability Student Advisory Board will weigh in on sustainability initiatives, as well as give students an opportunity to propose projects that reduce energy consumption on the University’s campus.

The board will consist of three members from each class and will include students with diverse academic interests, innovative ideas and passions for environmental sustainability, according to SAS Sustainability Coordinator Sara King.

College junior Jenna Stahl, a member of Penn Environmental Group’s executive board, praised the new advisory board for two reasons.

“One, student perspectives are always important, and students often have innovative ideas that people in the administration may not think of,” she said. “Two, it functions as a way to get students thinking about sustainability and involved in a group that works toward this goal.”

The advisory board will give students a voice in Penn’s movement toward environmental sustainability, explained King, aiding the goals of the Climate Action Plan — the University’s long-term plan to reduce its carbon footprint — by helping to establish Environmental Stewards, who will consist of students in charge of environmental initiatives in the college houses.

“The School of Arts and Sciences is one of the largest Schools in the University, and as the College students make up a large portion of School of Arts and Sciences’ constituency, their participation in the effort to make the University sustainable is both natural and essential to success,” said King.

Initially the group was created because students on the College Dean’s Advisory Board suggested projects dealing with sustainability issues, she explained, which led to the creation of a group specifically devoted to the topic.

The advisory board also aims to allow students an opportunity outside the classroom to learn about sustainability and serve as leaders within their community, according to King.

She said the committee hopes to work with students to discuss ideas that can be implemented by college students that have a positive impact on Penn.

“Each of the schools and centers are taking the Penn Climate Action and rolling it out in their individual schools,” said Facilities and Real Estate Services Vice President Anne Papageorge. “The idea is to make sustainability a priority of both our faculty and our students.”

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