Colorado College
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

The mission of the Campus Sustainability Council is to make Colorado College a model for campus and community sustainability. The CSC works to design, promote, and implement initiatives that are ecologically viable, economically sound, and socially just, now and for future generations.The CSC plays a key role in raising campus awareness and keeping sustainability issues at the forefront, reminding us all to live up to Colorado College’s core value of nurturing a sense of place and an ethic of environmental sustainability.

Co-Chairs Karen To, Communications Hannah Ryder, Office of Sustainability Intern Mark Smith, Professor of Economics Howard Drossman, Education Office of Sustainability Ian Johnson, Sustainability Director Katy Dupree, Office of Sustainability Paraprofessional Kelsey Maxwell, Communications Intern Bryna Coyle, State of Sustainability Intern Annabelle O’Neill, Buildings and Grounds Intern Sarah Kang, Community Engagement Intern Robbie Gardner, Greenhouse Gas Inventory Intern Hannah Ryder, Curriculum Development Intern Danny Rodriguez, Residence Life Intern Niyanta Khatri, Website Maintenance and Development Intern Zoe Holland, Waste Diversion Intern Wayan Buschman, Swap Space Manager Faculty Mark Wilson, Biology Staff Lyrae Williams, President’s Office George Eckhardt, Campus Planner Tom Allen, Sodexo Leah Fugere, Assistant Director, Admissions Sara Gallagher, Project Management Analyst, Advancement Laura Rosendo, Major Gift Officer, Development Darren Ceckanowicz, Technical Director, Environmental Program Mark Ferguson, Campus Operations and Plant Manager Cecelia Gonzalez, Horticulturist Ryan Hammes, Outdoor Education Derek Hanson, Bon Appetit Randy Kruse, Bon Appetit John Lauer, Associate Vice President for Student Life Mark Lee, Associate Director of Web Communications and New Media Leslie Weddell, Director of News and Media Relations Leonard Ortman, Controls Specialist Tess Powers, Director of Faculty Research Support/Research Compliance Officer Mike Siddoway, Associate Dean of the Faculty Michael Brubaker, Mechanical Services Engineer Dave Harker, Director, Collaborative for Community Engagement Justin Weis, Associate Director, Residential Life and Housing Dez Stone Menendez, Executive Director, Innovation at CC Denise Sheridan, Environmental Health & Safety Coordinator Liz Scherkenbach, Systems Programmer/Analyst Enid Ruiz-Mattei, Senior Budget Analyst Laura Snyder, Career Coach Scott Palguta, Men’s Soccer Coach Jonah Seifer, State of the Rockies Program Coordinator Local Community Members Frank Kinder, Colorado Springs Utilities (fkinder@csu.org) Alicia Archibald, Bestway (Alicia@bestwaydisposal.com) Jane Ard-Smith, Colorado Springs Sierra Club (janeardsmith@comcast.net) Ryan Trujillo, Colorado Springs Contract Compliance and Sustainability Manager (rtrujillo@springsgov.com) Students Sabrina Heitmann, EnAct Co-chair Beau Burns, CCSGA

The Office of Sustainability fosters communication, collaboration and coordination between sustainability stakeholders in the CC community. The Office serves to develop and support campus initiatives, working closely with the Campus Sustainability Council and the student environmental action group, EnAct, to make the Colorado College a model for campus and community sustainability.

During the last several years, the Campus Sustainability Council (CSC) has been instrumental in driving sustainability initiatives on campus. By increasing its membership to include a diverse group of faculty, staff and students, the Council has been able to successfully influence the wider campus community. The Council was responsible for adding the various sustainability components to the College's Strategic Plan. Last year, the Council pushed the administration to prioritize sustainability in its professional staffing, leading to the creation of the sustainability paraprofessional position. Furthermore, in the last few years, the Council has lobbied for and successfully increased the College's dedicated budget for sustainability projects. The money has helped support the construction of a campus greenhouse, an online energy monitoring system, and campus signage for sustainability features. The council has also lobbied for increased support for the Office of Sustainability staff and funding for carbon offsets. The Council presented a plan and strategy for reaching the College's carbon neutrality goal by 2020. The previous Sustainability Coordinator operated as a subset of Facilities and was instrumental in implementing the dashboard system, implementing composting programs for both dining services and off-campus housing, supporting the expansion of non-potable irrigation across campus, developing the student garden, and implementing a green-cleaning policy (amongst many others). The new Office of Sustainabiliy continues to focus on those items, but is placed in the Office of the Dean of the College, giving the Sustainability Manager access and influence on a higher level of administration and curriculum development as it relates to sustainability principles. In 2015, the Campus Sustainability Council has been integral in advocating for a carbon neutral library drafting a petition and unanimously voting to support a carbon neutral library. The CSC has created a Sustainability Action Plan to be signed by the President of the college. This plan outlines specific sustainability projects with clear goals, responsible parties, and deadlines. The CSC has reconfigured its subcommittees to include: Investments, Conservation Campaigns, Green Sciences, Academics, Operations, and Communications/Community Outreach. These subcommittees have created individual action plans for the year of 2015.

Sustainability Director collaborates with faculty, students, staff, and community to develop and direct programs and projects that support the sustainability goals outlined in the college's strategic plan through a liberal arts learning approach. Responsibilities include: directing the Office of Sustainability, promoting education and research focused on campus sustainability, and fostering a collaborative and innovative sustainability community at Colorado College. Required qualifications include: master's degree in a related field plus a minimum of three years of related experience (working in a sustainability and resource conservation management position); proficient with computer software programs such as word processing, spreadsheets, data visualization, presentation and web site development tools; excellent oral and written communication skills; ability to think critically and solve problems; good judgement and ability to handle confidential/sensitive information with discretion; excellent organizational and analytical skills; self-motivated; ability to multi-task in a fast paced environment (establishing and meeting deadlines, often in the midst of changing priorities); tact and sensitivity to work with divergent views on sustainability; ability to operate standard office equipment. Travel and/or attendance at meetings or other functions outside normal business hours may be required. Preferred qualifications include: PhD in a related field; familiarity with Colorado College or another private liberal arts residential college; experience with greenhouse gas inventories, carbon emissions, and offsets.

The OoS Paraprofessional manages the OoS Intern teams (currently consisting of nine paid interns, fifteen dedicated volunteers, seven Eco RA's and a Swap Space Manager), provides mentorship to sustainability-based student groups (EnACT and the Sense of Place Living/Learning Community) and supports the Campus Sustainability Council and the Sustainability Director in achieving the sustainability goals outlined in the college's strategic plan through a liberal arts learning approach. Responsibilities include: serve as the primary contact for the OoS student teams, serve as primary point of contact to the campus community and to the public regarding matters related to sustainability and to the overall office operations, attend a broad variety of meetings and events on and off campus to represent the OoS as appropriate, assist with overall logistical support for the OoS, plan and oversee Sense of Place trips, serve as an advisor to EnACT and the Sense of Place LLC, coordinate the assembly and submission of reports and/or data to meet reporting deadlines, manage the Eco Fund, oversee marketing and advertisement for the Office of Sustainability, assist with programmatic development and delivery for campus events, serve as office receptionist, perform word processing, filing, proofreading, photocopying, and scanning, support and contribute to the goal of achieving greater diversity at Colorado College, promote a culture of safety and environmental protection by working in a safe manner, and act in a socially responsible manner and model environmental sustainability by exercising financial prudence, using college resources wisely, and supporting ecological initiatives and innovation. Required qualifications include: bachelor's degree from Colorado College; significant experience with campus sustainability efforts, projects, and data collection; ability to take initiative (self-starter, able to make decisions independently within the limits of designated authority); ability to coordinate a large and diverse staff of student interns, volunteers, Eco RAs, Living Learning Communities, and others involved in the sustainability effort at CC; ability to represent the OoS in a professional manner at meetings and events on and off campus with a variety of stakeholders including community partners, faculty and staff, students, and parents; ability to perform research and analysis, and write compelling reports; basic computer skills. Preferred qualifications include: expert knowledge of OoS organization and operations; valid driver's license and van certification; personal interest and commitment to sustainability.