This past weekend I attended the annual Higher Education Climate
Leadership Summit in Tempe, Arizona. The Summit is sponsored annually by
Boston-based Second Nature and attracts top scholars in the field.
On
Sunday, I was honored to be selected as chair of the The Climate
Leadership Network (formerly American College and University Presidents
Climate Commitment) Steering Committee. My two-year term will begin July
1, and as chair, I will also serve on the Board of Directors of Second
Nature.
I have been actively involved with Second Nature and its
programs for over a decade. In 2006, as President of Wesley College, I
was one of a small group of college presidents nationwide who met in
Washington, D.C., for the initial meeting of the then-named American
College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment (view photo).
In fall 2015, the ACUPCC underwent a significant rebranding by Second
Nature that created new standards for climate leadership in higher
education. The Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments are a
signature program of Second Nature and include a Carbon Commitment
(focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions), a Resilience Commitment
(focused on climate adaptation and building community capacity), and a
Climate Commitment that integrates both. The Climate Leadership Network
comprises more than 600 colleges and universities in every state and the
District of Columbia who have committed to take action on climate and
prepare students through research and education to solve the challenges
of the 21st century.
Virginia Wesleyan has benefited from our
relationship with Second Nature in a wide variety of ways. Second Nature
is reshaping institutions and communities while training the future
political, business, and scientific leaders who will help solve climate
change. As a signatory of the Climate Commitment and with the support of
Second Nature, Virginia Wesleyan is currently developing a
comprehensive Climate Action Plan. This initiative is supported by VWU
faculty, staff, and students appointed to my President's Environmental Issues Council.
In
addition to attending the CLNSC meeting and CLS, I was pleased to meet
with current Second Nature national leadership: Timothy Carter,
president of Second Nature, and Dianne Harrison, current chair of The
Climate Leadership Network Steering Committee and president of
California State University, Northridge (view photo). I also had the opportunity to catch up with longtime friend and colleague Tony Cortese (view photo),
co-founder of Second Nature and retired president of the ACUPCC. Tony
is now principal of Intentional Endowment Network, a partnership of
colleges and universities nationwide addressing environmental issues in
purchasing and investment. Overall, it was a productive meeting and I
was proud to represent the significant initiatives of Virginia Wesleyan
University in this national forum.
The Climate Leadership
Commitments are more than just a declaration or statement; they are a
catalyst for rigorous and robust action on our campus and in our
community. My appointment to chair is especially gratifying in an
academic year in which we opened the state-of-the-art Greer
Environmental Sciences Center and the Batten Honors College—with a focus
on environmental studies, leadership and globalization.
We
continue our enthusiasm in exploring and implementing sustainability
initiatives as part of this effort, and as always, we welcome ideas and
feedback as we progress with this very important work.
