West Chester University of Pennsylvania
PA-2: Sustainability Planning

From the WCU Climate Action Plan:

1. Curriculum
Objective 1.1 – Incorporate Sustainability into General Education
Objective 1.2 – Create Sustainability Majors, Minors, and Certificate Programs
Objective 1.3 – Adopt Sustainability and Climate Change Learning Outcomes
Objective 1.4 – Develop Opportunities for Experiential Sustainability Learning

From the WCU Climate Action Plan:

2. Co-Curricular Education and Training
Objective 2.1 – Establish a Student Sustainability Educators Program (Eco-Reps)
Objective 2.2 – Establish an Earth Ally Program
Objective 2.3 – Incorporate Sustainability into New Student Orientation
Objective 2.4 – Produce Campus-Wide Sustainability Events
Objective 2.5 – Develop Campus Sustainability Tours
Objective 2.6 – Create a Model Sustainable Room in a Residence Hall
Objective 2.7 – Create Sustainability Themed Housing
Objective 2.8 – Establish a ‘Sustainability’ House

From the WCU Climate Action Plan:

2. Reduce Consumption & Improve Energy Efficiency
Objective 2.1 – Transition to Lower Emission Fuel Sources for Heating & Cooling
Objective 2.2 – Install Web-Based Utility Dashboards in Campus Buildings
Objective 2.3 – Implement an Energy Use Fee/Rebate for Student Housing
Objective 2.4 – Implement Energy Savings Retrofits for Residence Halls
Objective 2.5 – Install Solar Hot Water Heating for Appropriate Buildings
Objective 2.6 – Install LED lighting in Parking Lots and Selected Indoor Spaces
Objective 2.7 – Continue to Implement Green Information Technology Initiatives

3. Produce Renewable Energy
Objective 3.1 – Install Small-Scale Photovoltaics on Campus
Objective 3.2 – Install Large-Scale Photovoltaic Array(s) on Campus

4. Buy Green Power
Objective 4.1 – Buy Green Power/Purchase Renewable Energy Credits (RECs)

5. Purchase & Develop Carbon Offsets
Objective 5.1 – Buy Carbon Offsets for Unavoidable Emissions
Objective 5.2 – Develop Carbon Offset Projects with Research and Educational Val

A selection of relevant objectives from WCU's current strategic plan, Pathways to Student Success:
Initiative S2-1-2: Increased number of participants from Year 1 baseline by 10% in Years 2 and 3 in relevant programs, events, educational services, e.g.: “Well Week” activities; free nutritional counseling and physical activity assessment; sexual harassment/assault prevention training; the value of diversity and inclusion workshops; alumni mentoring programs; and initiatives to support students with financial need. Objective 2.6 – Install LED lighting in Parking Lots and Selected Indoor Spaces
Initiative S2-1-3: Each year, increase the number of low-income, under-resourced, and “unaccompanied” students served by WCU’s Promise Program and state-level PA Promise that are aimed at giving social, financial and technological (i.e., sustainable) support to underrepresented groups.

Values and Vision
A Statement of Mission and Goals

West Chester University is a community of educators that develops graduates to succeed personally and professionally and contribute to the common good.
WCU GRADUATES WILL:
Apply scientific reasoning and demonstrate quantitative and qualitative literacy
Collaborate with others to solve problems and address societal needs
Communicate effectively and participate in civic discourse
Engage inclusively in a diverse society
Understand the ethical implications of decisions and the world in which they live

INSTITUTIONAL GOALS:
To fulfill its mission as a public institution serving the Commonwealth, West Chester University will focus on student success and institutional improvement as measured by the degree to which WCU demonstrates:
Access to learning
Community and cultural engagement
Continuous improvement
Critical thinking
Inclusion
Scholarly and creative activities
Sustainability

Values Statement
West Chester University is committed to attracting, enrolling, and graduating quality students from a wide variety of educational, cultural, and economic backgrounds. This endeavor requires the University to attract and retain highly qualified faculty and staff and to provide each member of the University community with learning and leadership development opportunities. To this end, the University supports and encourages programs which benefit all people and which seek to eradicate discrimination and injustice. We treasure what we believe to be the highest principles of American society: the worth and uniqueness of each individual, the belief that success is to be earned by individual effort put forth in an environment founded on equality of opportunity, and the appreciation of the ideal of an inclusive society.

We believe that it is incumbent upon all members of our community - staff, students, faculty and administrators - to conduct themselves with civility toward one another at all times. We value the special talents and contributions of each member of our community. We further affirm the worth and dignity of each member and the shared responsibility of all to treat each other as individuals, with respect and courtesy.

As a university owned by the citizens of Pennsylvania, we value our mission to provide the best educational opportunities possible which will enable the University community to successfully address the concerns of a global society. To this end, West Chester University seeks to provide diligent advising for students and to focus on teaching students to think clearly and critically, to make logical and ethical judgments, and to communicate effectively with others.

West Chester University's community strongly supports the principles of academic integrity and academic responsibility, viewing both as the province of every member of the campus community. We hold the highest esteem for teaching directed toward student learning and affirm that mastery of content as well as mastery of teaching skills necessary to communicate such content are paramount.

This values statement is intended to be a living document which will serve West Chester University as it changes and evolves in the coming years.
Vision Statement

West Chester University will be a national model for excellence for public regional comprehensive universities and especially noted for:

Undergraduate programs that actively engage students in connecting the life of the mind to the world in which they live and work.
The responsiveness of its graduate and post-baccalaureate programs to regional needs.
Its focus on providing lifelong-learning, technical, and applied skills essential to graduates' success now and in the future.
A commitment by faculty, staff, and administrators to provide access and to serve effectively the educational needs of a diverse student body.
Its role as a leading educational and cultural resource and partner in fostering the economic, social, and cultural vitality of southeastern Pennsylvania.
(See https://www.wcupa.edu/hr/orientation/missionValueVision.aspx)

Sustainability Council Vision Statement: Our vision is to cultivate a campus community that thrives on the principles of sustainability. We practice, promote, and advocate for a campus culture and institutional structure that embody a deep respect for the natural world, social equity, and economic justice for all.
(See https://www.wcupa.edu/Sustainability/getinvolved.aspx)

West Chester University President Greg Weisenstein signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in October 2010, pledging the University to a series of actions that will ultimately reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero. In doing so we joined more than 600 institutions in expressing our deep concern about global warming. More importantly, we accepted the challenge to provide leadership in our own community by “modeling ways to minimize global warming emissions, and by providing the knowledge and the educated graduates to achieve climate neutrality.”

NOTE: In the 2022 Fiscal Year, the Office of Sustainability and the Sustainability Council are in the process of updating and expanding the 2013 Climate Action Plan, which will be renamed West Chester University's Climate and Sustainability Action Plan.

All data gathered from West Chester University's published Strategic Plan and Climate Action Plan and from the WCU Office of Sustainability's website at https://wcupa.edu/sustainability.