Ball State University
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

Our current President, Dr. Paul Ferguson is completing a term as vice chair of the steering committee of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and with the start of the next calendar year, Dr. Ferguson will assume the full chair ship. Dr. Ferguson's continuing leadership and advocacy has led to the creation of new initiatives by Second Nature wherein carbon reduction and campus resilience have been unified under a Climate Leadership Commitment which Dr. Ferguson has signed on behalf of Ball State University. This replaces the ACUPCC commitment, broadening efforts to face the realities of the growing climate crisis. Our previous president, Dr. Jo Ann Gora, served on the Steering Committee of the ACUPCC and chaired a subcommittee of the ACUPCC to develop financing options for campuses. This built on prior work with Jim Elder to develop a "chorus of voices" in support of some enhancements to the EISA Section 471 Program. Here's the gist of what our university continues to push for: EISA Section 471 Program: In 2007 Congress enacted the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA). Section 471 of that Act creates a new program called "Energy Sustainability and Efficiency Grants and Loans for Institutions." The Section 471 Program will provide an important source of grant funding to help implement energy efficiency projects at colleges, universities, school districts and municipalities. While the program has been created in law, Congress has not yet funded the program. Grant Cap: Unfortunately, EISA Section 471 includes a $1 million cap on any grant award made by the U.S. Department of Energy under the program. This cap is problematic for two reasons: 1) The purpose of the Section 471 program is to provide grants to large institutional entities (colleges, universities, school districts, municipalities) for energy efficiency projects. By their very nature, such entities are going to have larger projects with higher costs. The Department of Energy should have the flexibility to assist institutional entities with grants of a meaningful size. 2) At some point in time, we would all like to see the House and Senate Appropriations Committees fund this new program. However, to do so, they will need to see support from the intended beneficiaries. With the current $1 million cap on grant awards, there is just not enough interest in the program to generate support. The potential federal assistance is not enticing enough.

Signing of The White House Pledge in November 2015. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/19/fact-sheet-ahead-conference-climate-change-more-200-colleges-and