Dickinson College
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

The President’s Commission on Environmental Sustainability (PCES) has taken the following actions during the three-year period FY 2013 through FY 2015: Established the Climate Action Task Force in fall 2013 to review Dickinson’s Climate Action Plan, developed recommendations for greenhouse gas reduction projects, and forwarded recommendations to the President and other senior officers of Dickinson College. The first set of 24 recommended projects were implemented in FY 2015. Additional projects will be implemented in coming years to meet our 2020 commitment. A Green Revolving Fund was established at the recommendation of PCES in summer 2014. The fund is being used to finance Climate Action Plan projects. Initiated work on Dickinson’s first annual, college-wide sustainability report in Spring 2015. Established the Sustainable Investment Group in fall 2015, a committee of administrators, faculty, students, and trustees that serves as a forum for discussion of environmental, social, and governance concerns regarding Dickinson’s investments, as well as act as a liaison between the campus community and the Board of Trustee’s Committee on Investments. Initiated work on a Sustainability Dashboard in fall 2014, an online system for sharing sustainability performance metrics with our campus community and external stakeholders. A pilot version of the dashboard is scheduled to be completed by June 2015.

The President’s Commission on Environmental Sustainability (PCES) coordinates at a strategic level all aspects of Dickinson’s efforts in the area of environmental sustainability. Members of PCES are appointed by the Dickinson College President and include senior officers of the college, faculty, staff, students, and alumni. The commission guides the development of a strategic vision for sustainability at Dickinson, identifies priority actions needed to advance the vision, promotes engagement of the major divisions of the college in the initiative, provides a forum to share information among the major divisions, coordinates cross-divisional efforts, monitors and evaluates progress, and provides advice to the President.

Members of PCES in 2014-2015: • Joyce Bylander, Vice President, Student Development • Catherine Davenport, Director, Admissions • Jann Ernst, Academic Department Coordinator, Chemistry & Biology Departments • Jeffrey Forrester, Assistant Professor, Mathematics • Brady Hummel '17, student • Bronte Jones, Vice President, Finance & Campus Operations • William Kochtitzky '16, student • Howard Lalli '90, alumnus • Neil Leary, Director, Center for Sustainability Education • Andy MacDonald, Assistant Professor, French and Italian • Connie McNamara, Executive Director, Marketing & Communications • Ashley Perzyna, Assistant Chief of Staff & Assistant Secretary • Robert Renaud, Vice President, Library and Information Services • Caryn Sennett '15, student • Ken Shultes, Associate VP, Sustainability & Facilities Planning • Nicky Tynan, Associate Professor, Economics • Neil Weissman, Provost and Dean of the College • Sean Witte, Associate VP, Financial Operations & Controller

Dickinson College has two sustainability offices with broad responsibilities that cover the entire institution. The Center for Sustainability Education (CSE) focuses on academic and co-curricular programs, while the office of Sustainability & Facilities Planning focuses on operations. The two offices collaborate extensively and are co-located. CSE creates, enhances, and connects opportunities for learning about sustainability in and out of the classroom and helps promote sustainability in all facets of the College's work. Working with a variety of partners, CSE supports activities that use the campus as a living laboratory for sustainability, helps faculty members incorporate sustainability in their teaching and research, funds student-faculty research, organizes speakers and events, serves as an information hub for all facets of Dickinson’s sustainability efforts, facilitates student initiated campus greening projects, and coordinates preparation of Dickinson’s greenhouse gas inventory and reports to external organizations such as AASHE. CSE is guided by a Steering Committee composed of faculty, staff, and students. CSE has a staff of 4 FTE, which includes a Director, Assistant Director, Projects Coordinator, and Administrative Assistant. CSE employs 10 or more students each semester to work on a variety of sustainability initiatives that include managing the Handlebar Bike Cooperative, Biodiesel Shop, and Eco Reps program, assisting with our GHG inventory, nitrogen-footprint, sustainability dashboard, Energy Challenge, newsletter, outreach, and event planning, and supporting the Greater Carlisle Project. The Office of Sustainability & Facilities Planning coordinates, promotes, and monitors sustainability performance in all facets of campus operations and facilities planning and has lead responsibility for implementation of Dickinson's Climate Action Plan. The office has two FTE employees, an Associate Vice President and Administrative Assistant. In addition, the Dickinson Organic Farm and the Alliance for Aquatic Resources Monitoring (ALLARM) have sustainability focused missions in the areas of food and water, respectively. The Dickinson Organic Farm uses sustainable, organic practices to grow food for the campus, CSA members, and for sale at the local farmers' market. The farm has three full-time year-round staff, a Farm Manager, Assistant Farm Manager, and Packing House Coordinator, four full-time farm apprentices from May through October, four full-time student farmers during the summer, and 12-15 part-time student farmers during the spring and fall semesters. ALLARM works with diverse community partners to empower communities to use scientific tools to monitor, protect, and restore their watersheds. ALLARM has three full-time staff, a Director, Assistant Director for Technical Assistance, and an Assistant Director for Outreach. ALLARM also employs 12 to 14 part-time student staff members.

The Director of the Center for Sustainability Education (CSE) oversees a staff that works with a variety of partners to create, enhance, and connect opportunities for learning about sustainability in and out of the classroom. The CSE Director chairs the President's Commission on Environmental Sustainability, acts as a sustainability liaison with all divisions of the College, collaborates with the Associate Vice President for Sustainability & Facilities Planning to help promote and support sustainable practices at Dickinson, leads faculty development workshops, is an ambassador for sustainability in the community and in higher education, and teaches courses on sustainability and climate change. The CSE Director reports to the Provost of the College. The Associate Vice President (AVP) for College Sustainability and Facilities Planning works with all campus constituents to develop innovative programs and projects that ensure the College is a mindful environmental steward. The AVP works to integrate sustainable values and practices into the Colleges strategic planning, management of resources and operations, and facilities planning and design activities. The AVP collaborates with the Director for Sustainable Education on curricular and co-curricular activities. This position also has responsibility for the College Farm. The AVP reports to the Vice President for Finance and Administration.