MSU Office of Campus Sustainability — A History

In the spring of 1998, MSU Green, a group of MSU faculty, staff, and students, presented a proposal to Academic Council for implementing a campus environmental assessment. The assessment would be designed to determine the University's positive impacts on the environment and to highlight and market those endeavors, as well as to measure negative impacts and to develop cost-effective strategies for minimizing those effects. Over the summer, MSU Green has worked in cooperation with various campus operation units, faculty, and the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies to outline a preliminary environmental assessment of the MSU campus. The resulting proposal has three major components.

A Course-based Campus Environmental Assessment

As a land-grant institution committed to environmental excellence, MSU is in a unique position to design an environmental assessment that is not only a tool for conserving resources and money, but also a valuable educational activity. The assessment would provide the University with a benchmark from which to measure present progress and to base future decisions. Additionally, by involving students in the collection and analysis of data through regularly scheduled and independent study courses, the assessment would provide an opportunity for collaborative teaching and active learning. The scope of the assessment of MSU's impact on its local environment could be very broad over the long-term, including areas such as transportation, grounds maintenance, and purchasing. In the short-term, three areas of assessment--first energy, then water and solid waste--will be considered.

Seminar Series on Environmental Assessment

The assessment process would begin with a seminar series that brings together outside resource people and MSU personnel and students to collaboratively design assessments in the areas of energy, water and solid waste. The goal of these cross-disciplinary discussions will be to form cooperative working groups that can identify specific needs and strategies of an environmental assessment of the MSU campus. By tapping expertise across MSU's teaching, research, outreach, and operations, the environmental assessment produced by the seminar series could become a model for large universities across the country.

University Committee for a Sustainable Campus

A University Committee for a Sustainable Campus would be created to guide the assessment process. The committee's functions would also include serving as a clearinghouse of campus environmental research, teaching, learning and service activities. This committee would advise the university community on recommended policies and actions to conserve resources and create a sustainable future. Representation on the committee will be drawn from each of the colleges, operations, and relevant student programs. It will report through the Council of Environmental Deans to the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies.