EFS Profiles New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability Purpose: Institutional Transformation Please note that the copyright for this profile is retained by the institution. HISTORY The New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability (NJHEPS) had its origins in the Global Studies interests of Dr. Donald Wheeler of Kean University (formerly of Ramapo College) and Dr. Clifford Peterson of Ramapo College. In 1995-1996, Don Wheeler and Cliff Peterson with support from the President of Ramapo, Dr Robert Scott, sought to develop and expand the Global Studies at Ramapo, Kean and nationally. They were convinced that natural systems, such as climate change, needed to be central in a "global perspective." They convened three national meetings and brought in Dr. David Orr, Oberlin College, Dr. Tony Cortese, Second Nature, and Dr. Thomas Gladwin, University of Michigan, to consider strategies to accomplish this. The result was an approach that targeted the higher education institutions in the State of New Jersey with a focus on education for sustainability. This focus emphasized both "practicing what we teach (greening the campus) and teaching what we practice (curriculum revision, programs to influence campus culture and information to the public)." In 1997, Don Wheeler brought together an informal planning group (a "community of practice") including Dr. Clifford Peterson and Dr. Michael Edelstein of Ramapo College, Dr. Peter Smouse of Cook College, Rutgers University. They decided to form a higher education consortium. Initially they focused on 1) seeking grant funding; and 2) developing a wide range of strategic relationships with other state and local bureaucracies and other not-for-profit groups. This included advice, support and credibility from the Office of Sustainability in the NJ Commission on Commerce and Economic Development, NJ Department of Environmental Protection, and the EPA regional office. This effort was facilitated by an executive order on environmental sustainability from then Governor, Christine Todd Whitman, which requires all state agencies to report annual progress. At this time, The NJ Department of Environmental Protection also launched the NJ Sustainability Greenhouse Gas Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions state-wide by three-and-a-half percent below 1990 levels by 2005 based on the 1999 Kyoto Protocol goals. Corporations and not-for-profit groups and others were invited to sign a voluntary "Covenant of Sustainability" to strive to reach this goal. In Summer 1998, Don Wheeler invited Dr. John Glyphis, Senior Program Director, Second Nature with experience in the formation of communities of practice, and Dr. Tony Cortese, President, to participate in the discussions that led to the formation of NJHEPS. Both Glyphis and Cortese, as well as other members of Second Nature staff, continue to actively consult with the consortium on aspects of leadership, content, and process, based on these early contributions. The Dodge Foundation provided the initial funding for NJHEPS and supported a close working relationship between NJHEPS and Second Nature based on this consultant relationship. Dodge has continued this support through two more funding cycles enabling the partnership to hire an Executive Director in March 1999, and to provide each partner school with a small grant for which, in turn, they were required to obtain an equivalent match from their respective schools. Many of the schools were able to take this and leverage even further funding. (NJHEPS is also considering levying a fee for membership to the Partnership, which would provide even more funding for initiatives). A Steering Committee (comprising a single representative from each member institution), elected officers and an Advisory Council were formed and developed a set of workable rules. In less than a year the Partnership more than doubled, growing from the original seven schools to a current membership of sixteen. The current members include: Bergen Community College Burlington County College Drew University Kean University Middlesex County College Montclair State University New Jersey Institute of Technology Princeton University Ramapo College of New Jersey Richard Stockton State College Rutgers University- New Brunswick Rutgers University- Camden Rutgers University- Newark Stevens Institute of Technology The College of New Jersey William Paterson University NJHEPS MISSION AND GOALS Mission: To make our campuses become the models for sustainability which we believe they must ultimately become. Goals: Create an ongoing intercollegiate consortium of higher education institutions in New Jersey, linked to a larger network of community groups for environmental sustainability in the greater Mid-Atlantic region. Create on each campus, the culture and practices that support environmental sustainability. Identify specific indicators and general measures which can be used at each campus for determining environmental impact and for informing alternative plans of action. Develop cooperative green purchasing contractual arrangements at each campus. Further the infusion of sustainability principles across the curriculum of each campus. Mount campus-based consciousness raising initiatives through workshops and lecture series, use of mass media, establishment of websites and internet-based communications systems. Formalize a campus leadership structure which involves students, faculty, administrators and staff that will be responsible for sustaining these activities. Serve as a catalyst for sustainability efforts by other groups in the surrounding community, including the K-12 system, state and municipal government, and groups representing the non-profit and business communities. THE SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS INITIATIVE NJHEPS has an unprecedented opportunity to influence the 56 New Jersey institutions of higher education toward sustainability, our major goal. In September 2000, we began our five-year Sustainable Campus Initiative, a strategy for institutional transformation that addresses human-caused global climate change through reduced greenhouse gas emissions, green building design, a new curriculum development initiative and an educational and media campaign. All these efforts will involve students. The leadership, organization, strategy, institutional support from colleges and universities and even economic incentives to bring about significant change are now in place. The components of the Sustainable Campus Initiative are briefly described below: Climate Change and the N.J. Sustainability Greenhouse Gas Action Plan In February 2001, NJHEPS succeeded in eliciting the unanimous, and historic, endorsement of all 56 New Jersey college presidents for the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey Sustainability Greenhouse Gas Action Plan. We are the only state in the nation whose colleges and universities are all formally committed to work together to practice and teach energy and materials conservation. Each president co-signed a Sustainability Covenant with NJDEP Commissioner, Robert C. Shinn, Jr. committing his/her institution to the Plan's goal of reducing campus greenhouse gas emissions to 3.5% below 1990 levels by 2005. As a result of the close collaboration between NJHEPS and the New Jersey Presidents' Council, each N.J. university and college president is appointing or has appointed a Sustainability Coordinator from "facilities" and a Faculty Liaison to gather baseline energy/emissions data, implement an emissions reduction plan, report the specific amounts of reduced emissions, and educate and engage the community on these concerns. The NJHEPS Energy Technical Team (campus facilities directors and other experts) developed a uniform measuring instrument called the Protocol for Measuring Greenhouse Gas Emissions at New Jersey's Colleges and Universities, 1990-2000 and are offering consulting services with support from NJDEP. The 56 presidents committed to the Sustainability Covenant with the expectation that NJHEPS would continue to be a valuable resource. We now have a specific responsibility beyond our present 16 members to all 56 institutions of higher education in New Jersey. This major expansion of our responsibilities, and opportunities, necessitates a major expansion of support for NJHEPS. Green Building Design The "green building design" component of the NJHEPS Sustainable Campus Initiative is timely with nearly every campus planning a new building in the next five years, construction/renovation bond funding for higher education ($550M) and new N.J. Energy Efficiency Funding ($119M for 2002). Kyu-jung Whang, Chief Architect, Rutgers, leads the NJHEPS Green Design Team. Sustainability in the Curriculum Sustainability teaching/learning will be advanced by a four-year curriculum/faculty development initiative from Fall 2001. The inaugural workshop will be led by Dr. Fred Curtis, Drew University, and the NJHEPS Curriculum Committee. Through workshops drawing on the successful experience of Northern Arizona University's Ponderosa Model and Ramapo College's Ecological Literacy Project, faculty members will have the opportunity to develop new courses and infuse sustainability content in existing courses in General Education and various disciplines. "Best practices" in pedagogy will be emphasized such as team-based, interdisciplinary problem-solving. To extend coverage throughout the region, we envision developing distance-learning and on-line courses on "Energy and Climate Change," "Sustainable Design and Construction" and "Creating a Sustainable Campus." The curricular message will be reinforced by campus sustainability projects and statewide reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through the New Jersey Sustainability Greenhouse Gas Action Plan. A student workshop at the Frost Valley Environmental Education Center is planned for SUSTAIN (Students Undertaking Sustainability Through Activism, Instruction and Networking) for March 2002. Education and Media Campaign An expanded website, the NJHEPS Bulletin, several list-servers, teleconferencing and press releases will inform our constituencies and the public. For additional information: NJHEPS Website
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