Delaware State University has been awarded a 2010 Kresge Foundation Fellowship Award that will provide it with significant opportunities to build upon its current Go Green initiative for sustainability.

 

The environmental non-profit organization Second Nature, with funding from The Kresge Foundation, has presented fellowship awards to DSU and 24 other higher education institutions that were selected from 60 applicants. The selections were based on a diverse selection committee’s assessment of these institutions’ level of need, statement of interest, and campus sustainability capacity.

           

The fellowship provides a senior member of the college/university community with education on green building and sustainability in higher education and peer-to-peer networking opportunities. DSU has selected Vita Pickrum, associate vice president of Development and chair of the University’s Go Green Committee, to represent the school in this fellowship opportunity.

 

This is the latest development in the University’s Go Green initiative that was launched last September when then-acting DSU President Claibourne Smith signed the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment to lead DSU to climate neutrality. With that pact, DSU joined 650 other universities in committing to reduce the campus’ carbon footprint.

 

This commitment led to the formation of the DSU Go Green Steering Committee which attracted more than 80 members. Seven subcommittees each play a role in focusing on green environmentally friendly and climate neutral measures that relate to the University’s procurement, curriculum and fundraising activities, buildings and facilities, as well as in disseminating information about its efforts to the campus community and the surrounding communities.

 

“We are elated to receive the Kresge Fellowship Award, as it will assist DSU in furthering its efforts toward sustainability,” said DSU President Harry L. Williams. “The award confirms that DSU is on the right path with its environmental priorities.”

 

“The Kresge fellows are becoming key players in the education for sustainability movement.  We’re thrilled to welcome the selected 2010 fellows to this effort, and we are excited to support them as they champion green building on their own campuses and beyond,” says Dr. Anthony Cortese, President of Second Nature.

 

A goal of the fellowship program is to offer university executives the information and networks requisite to become successful green building leaders at their own under-resourced campuses. These representatives will attend one of two noteworthy green building-related conferences for the year 2010, where they will have the opportunity for training, networking, and inspiration for campus green building.

 

The Kresge Fellowship Program is one of the key educational and outreach programs within the Advancing Green Building in Higher Education Initiative. This capacity-building initiative, launched by Second Nature and funded by The Kresge Foundation, focuses on addressing some of the crucial challenges faced by under-resourced colleges and universities to ‘build green’ on their campuses. Through this initiative, Second Nature is helping under-resourced higher education institutions build champions for green building and learn about the resources and networks available to construct and renovate campus buildings in ways that save money, reduce environmental and health impacts, serve as educational tools, and increase student enrollment.

 

For more information on Second Nature's Advancing Green Building in Higher Education Initiative, please contact Ashka Naik, Program Manager, at anaik@secondnature.org.

----

 

The Kresge Foundation is a $2.8 billion private, national foundation that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations through its support of nonprofit organizations in six fields: health, the environment, arts and culture, education, human services, and community development. In 2008, it awarded 342 grants totaling $181 million.

Second Nature is a Boston-based nonprofit organization that works to accelerate movement towards a sustainable future by helping senior college and university leaders in making healthy, just, and sustainable living the foundation of all learning and practice in higher education. Second Nature is the lead support organization of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment, which has been signed by more than 665 school presidents who are committed to eliminating carbon emissions on campus and training students to help society address climate change.