News: Annual sustainability celebration showcases banner year

Nearly 100 students, faculty, and staff members gathered on Friday, May 29, 2009, to celebrate a year of unprecedented successes and accomplishments in sustainability at Portland State.

The afternoon event, held at PSU’s Native American Student and Community Center, opened with a reception and poster session featuring more than two dozen student and faculty projects, many of which were recipients of funding from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation.

During the second hour, the program recognized notable individuals and activities during the 2008-09 academic year with Mark Gregory, associate vice president for finance and administration, serving as the master of ceremonies.

PSU President Wim Wiewel delivered opening remarks, during which he thanked the students who had showed up on a recent Saturday to replace lawn with a 400 square-foot permaculture garden at his house. He also acknowledged members of the Sustainability Action Council and the Green Teams.

The event covered a broad range of activities, from operations and transportation to student engagement and research projects. Some of the highlights included:
•    Thirty-five students from Portland State traveled to Washington, D.C., in February for Power Shift, a national youth summit to solve the climate crisis;
•    Replacement of faulty steam traps in the Smith Memorial Student Union led to increased energy efficiency and tens of thousands of dollars saved annually;
•    The graduate certificate in sustainability was approved; a number of students completed the program this spring;
•    The Green Teams program launched and quickly spread across campus, growing to some 25 teams tackling sustainability challenges at the ground level;
•    The PSU community continues to embrace alternate forms of transportation; in particular, bicycle commuters increased by 50 percent on peak travel days, accommodated by a number of new bike racks across campus;
•    ASPSU successfully passed “The Green Initiative Fund,” a student fee that will provide additional support for sustainability activities across campus.

Several presenters touched on the catalyzing impact of the Miller Foundation’s ten year, $25 million matching grant made to PSU. The donation, in September 2008, provides support to activities related to sustainability including academics, research and community partnership.

Faculty projects, selected through a competitive RFP process, were also represented, with remarks from Elise Granek, co-principal investigator on “Services and Sustainability: Analyzing Changes from the Marmot Dam Removal”; and Leerom Medovoi, who led “The Humanities Sustainability Research Project.”

The event honored graduating student employees and also offered a sneak peak at plans for 2009-10, including:
•    A new sustainability leadership coordinator in Student Affairs;
•    A “green space” common area for sustainability groups, to be located in the basement of Smith Memorial Student Union adjacent to Food for Thought Café;
•    Approval of “sustainability” as an official learning objective for undergraduate students;
•    A new position in PSU’s Career Center to help identify internship and career pathways for students engaged in sustainability across various disciplines and academic programs;
•    Further refinement of a proposal that would transform the University District area into an “eco-district” through more integrated and sustainable approaches to conservation, development, natural resource management, and more;
•    A climate action plan, establishing metrics and goals for sustainability performance;
•    A Web-based sustainability pledge for the entire PSU community.