UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. --The University Sustainability Council is drafting Penn State’s first Strategic Plan for Sustainability and is seeking public input during the drafting process. Several town hall meetings have been scheduled across the University this semester.
Erik Foley, director of the Penn State Campus Sustainability Office, and Susannah Barsom, associate director of the Penn State Center for Sustainability, will visit each campus to share the plan in its current form and to listen to input from the campus and the public.
In Penn State's 2009-14 University-wide strategic plan, Priorities for Excellence, University leaders noted that one key to Penn State’s continuing success will be "creating a sustainable university, not just in conventional environmental terms, but in a wide array of resource dimensions, including fiscal sustainability. … [I]ncreasing pressures on global resources and environmental conditions make it imperative that Penn State embrace sustainability in its many dimensions in ways that would position the University as a leader nationally and internationally."
Following are the town hall dates scheduled as of Wednesday, Oct. 12. Individuals with additional questions should refer to their campus business services office for more information.
Sept. 15
Worthington Scranton: 9:30 a.m.-noon, Dawson, Room 10
Wilkes-Barre: 1:30-4 p.m., Science Center, Room 101
Sept. 23
York: 9:30 a.m.-noon, Ruhl Student Center, Community Room
Mont Alto: 2-4:30 p.m., Sci Tech, Room 204
Oct. 7
Schuylkill: 9:30 a.m.-noon, Classroom Building Conference Center C 101
Hazleton: 2-4:30 p.m., Chestnut Cottage #C102
Oct. 12
Greater Allegheny: noon-2:30 p.m., Frable 121
Oct. 25
DuBois: 9-11:30 a.m., Room 209 Workforce Tech Center
Altoona: 1:30-4 p.m., 102 Eve Chapel Sanctuary
Nov. 3
Harrisburg: 9-11:30 a.m., Gallery Lounge, W107
Nov. 8
Abington: 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., room TBD
Brandywine: 2:30-5 p.m., room 108 Vairo Library
Nov. 9
Great Valley: 9-11:30 a.m., 103 Main Building
Berks: 1:30-4 p.m., 121 Gaige Building (tentative location)
Nov. 16
Erie: 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 114 Reed Building
Shenango: 2:30-5 p.m., room TBD
Nov. 17
Beaver: 9-11:30 a.m., room 16, Student Union Building
New Kensington: 2-4:30 p.m., 140 Science Building
Future campus events -- including the Dickinson School of Law, Fayette, Hershey, Lehigh Valley, Penn College and University Park campuses -- are being scheduled and will be announced when they have been confirmed.
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Individuals also may share ideas by email at sustainablestate@psu.edu or at http://green.psu.edu/SustPlan/form.asp/ online. Ideas submitted by the Nov. 23 deadline will be shared in a timely manner with the University Sustainability Council for their thoughtful consideration during the planning process. The final draft of the Strategic Plan for Sustainability is scheduled for completion by Dec. 31.
For answers to frequently asked questions about the Strategic Plan for Sustainability, visit http://live.psu.edu/story/54759 online. For more information about the plan and its five goals, visit http://live.psu.edu/story/54760 online.
For a list of sustainability initiatives Penn State is already doing, visit http://green.psu.edu/psuDoing/default.asp, and to learn more about Penn State sustainability teaching and research, visit http://green.psu.edu/research/default.asp online.