Swarthmore College
PAE-1: Sustainability Coordination

The purpose of the Sustainability Committee of Swarthmore College is to make recommendations to the President and to the College community regarding policies to promote environmental sustainability on campus. The focus of the Committee's work is to identify policies that promote the most efficient use of College resources, to coordinate and consolidate sustainability efforts on campus, and to focus attention on the Lang Center as the vehicle for sustainability education and communication. Wherever possible, the "SusCom" develops recommendations that can be implemented under current budget constraints by focusing on best practices and increased efficiency. Longer-term or more costly initiatives are evaluated by the committee in the context of long-range campus planning.

As part of the 2007-2008 long-range planning process at Swarthmore College, College environmental practices, especially those that contribute to global climate change, were identified by students, staff, faculty, and alumni as a concern. A sub-committee of the Leadership in Scholarship, Higher Education, and Society Planning Committee, chaired by Maurice Eldridge, was formed to make recommendations that would feed into the planning process. The Sustainability Planning Subcommittee, co-chaired by Ralph Thayer and Carr Everbach, included representation of faculty, students and staff, and met weekly to develop the set of recommendations that appeared in its May, 2008 report. Among these was the formation of a standing committee of the College, chaired by a staff Sustainability Director, which would oversee the attention to and accountability for the goal of increasing sustainable best-practices at Swarthmore and to participate in the discussion of all sustainability concerns in every aspect of the College. The Sustainability Committee was envisioned to serve as an advisory committee to propose new or revised ways to address such issues.

Committee Members of the Sustainability Committee of Swarthmore College of 2010-2011 are:

Amanda Bayer, Professor of Economics

HG Chissell '96, Alumni Council

Erin Curtis '13

Mark Davis, Information Technology Services

Maurice Eldridge '61, Vice President, College and Community Relations

Carr Everbach, Professor of Engineering (committee co-chair)

Celia Foster, 2013, Lang Center Environmental Sustainability Intern

Tom Gilbert '80, Alumni SusCom Representative

Deb Kardon-Brown, Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility Assistant Director for Student Programs

Nadine Kolowrat, Associate Director of Corporate, Foundation, and Government Relations

Nicole Lewis '02, Facilities and Services

Linda McDougall, Director of Dining Services

Rebecca Ringle '11, Lang Center Environmental Sustainability Intern

Camille Robertson '13, Lang Center Environmental Sustainability Intern

Lee Smithey, Assistant Professor of Sociology/Anthropology

Yvonne Socolar '13

Ralph Thayer, Ralph Thayer, Director of Maintenance (Committee Co-Chair)

Eric Wagner, Head Men's Soccer Coach