FGCU receives Climate Leadership Award

President Bradshaw will be accepting the Climate Leadership Award on behalf of FGCU at the third annual Climate Leadership Summit of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) on June 21-22 in Washington D.C.

“Winning this award brings our commitment to sustainability back to the forefront of people’s minds and motivates us all to continue the great work that is being done here on our campus and in the community,” the Coordinator of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability, Kathleen Crawford said. 

Sustainability is embedded here at FGCU. It is a major part of the mission as well as the university’s strategic plan. 

“We have it in our learning outcomes, our service-learning activities, our operations, our research, our student activities and in the examples that FGCU sets and the leadership FGCU provides both locally and globally,” Crawford said. “We are charting a path, learning along the way and sharing what we have discovered.”

FGCU and 10 other institutions beat out nearly 700 institutions of higher education to win this award.

“FGCU has been striving not just to educate students in issues related to sustainability, but also to weave sustainability across our operations such as reducing energy costs, cutting transportation and conducting solutions-based research,” Crawford said.

Also, the Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education has provided leadership and active participation to United Nations programs in sustainability, including education and implementation of the Earth Charter, Crawford said. The Environmental Health and Safety department participates on committees and boards for the Campus Safety Health and Environmental Management Association, the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment and the Academy for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Various faculty and staff also assist in both local and regional efforts towards energy efficiency, reduced transportation emissions, water management and community development.

The Center also hosts two key lecture series to address environmental concerns and promote awareness.

One lecture series is the Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture.

The RCD is a signature event of the Center, which works to bring public intellectuals to Southwest Florida to discuss issues close to the university, according to the Center’s website. These issues include: sustainability, ethics, democracy and literature. 

This year, the Center is excited to be hosting the acclaimed American Poet, Mary Oliver.

The second lecture series is the Terry Tempest Williams Student Dialogue. Past events have included Ocean Conservation and Sustainability, E-waste and Ethics: Where do Blackberries Decompose? and Young People, Communication and Sustainability, also according to the Center’s website.

The Center is also affiliated with the Earth Charter, Orion Grassroots Network and National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology Program.

In addition, every student at FGCU is required to take University Colloquium and must participate in 80 hours of service-based learning prior to graduation.

In 2010,students completed 132,451 total hours of service-learning. This year, FGCU went over the 1,000,000 mark in total service-learning hours since its inception in 1997, according to an article by Crawford on www.planetforward.com.

“This award is recognition of FGCU’s leadership not only on campus and in our local community, but in regional, national and worldwide efforts towards sustainability,” Crawford said.