Georgia State University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

In October of 2013, the University Senate Sustainability Committee and Staff Council Sustainability Committee were able to justify funding for a formal Office of Sustainability at Georgia State University. In 2013, GSU was awarded a substantial grant from the Ray C Anderson foundation to host our first faculty workshop for 40 faculty members to discuss integrating sustainability into the curriculum. In 2014, GSU and the GA Board of Regents approved of a $3 mandatory green fee for all students, each, semester to help promote sustainability programs and initiatives. Every student and employee of the university is eligible to submit a proposal for a project that is reviewed by a committee of students, staff, and faculty. In 2014, the Office of Sustainability was awarded a technical assistance grant by the Atlanta Regional Commission to create a campus bicycle plan and was subsequently given the annual "Blinkie" award by the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition for their work. In 2015, GSU was awarded it's first grants to green assessment grant by the Community Foundation to asses lighting, water, and EV charging capacity in one of our largest and oldest parking decks on campus.

GSU has multiple 'sustainability committees'. They are listed with their respective descriptions below: Sustainability Office: The Office of Sustainability works collaboratively with students, faculty and staff to create a culture of conservation in the classroom, throughout campus, through research and in various outreach activities for the greater Atlanta community. Sustainability Senate Committee: The purpose of the committee shall be to advise and make recommendations to the University Senate and appropriate administrators regarding issues of sustainability policies. Staff Sustainability Committee: The committee will work to enhance the quality of life on campus for Georgia State employees and students by focusing on the university’s impact on the local and global environment. The committee will promote sustainable business practices such as water and energy conservation, recycling, energy-efficient transportation, green building and landscape design, and related areas of university operations as appropriate. The committee will contribute to the development and maintenance of campus-wide networks of staff, faculty, and students focused on resource conservation, sustainable business practices, sustainable procurement policies, and related issues. Sustainability Fee Committee: Responsible for collecting and reviewing university sustainability proposals and allocating funding from the student sustainability fee.

Sustainability Office Members: Patti Stilson- Part-time Interim Sustainability Director Jennifer Asman- Sustainability Coordinator Laurene Hamilton- Recycling Coordinator Michael Black- Part-time Faculty Associate Sustainability Senate Committee Members: Senior VP for Academic Affairs and Provost- Risa Palm Senior VP for Finance and Administration- Jerry Rackliffe Arts and Sciences Faculty- Bethany Turner Business Faculty- Debra Cannon Education Faculty- Chara Bohan Nursing and Health Professions- Ralph Zimmerman (non-senator) Law Faculty- Ellen Taylor Policy Studies Faculty- Vjollca Sadiraj Library- LaLoria Konata Staff Senator Kevin Chappell Staff Senator Stephen Rosner Associate VP for Facilities Management Services- Patti Stilson (non-voting) Associate VP for Student Affairs- Doug Covey (non-voting) Arts and Sciences Faculty- Dabney Dixon Arts and Sciences- Sheri Joseph Arts and Sciences- Zehava Eichenbaum Arts and Sciences- Eddie Christie School of Policy Studies- Janelle Kerlin (Bassett) Arts and Sciences- Heidi Denzel Arts and Sciences- Katherine Hankins School of Public Health- Ike Okosun School of Policy Studies Robert Moore Staff Sustainability Committee: Steven Whitfield- Building Services Michael Wyatt- Student Development Specialist Leslie Currah- Middle and Secondary Education Colleen Blanchard- Public Health Stephen Rosner- College of Education Jennifer Asman -Office of Sustainability Laurene Hamilton- Office of Sustainability Sustainability Fee Committee Members: Katherine Hankins- Geosciences Jennifer Asman- Office of Sustainability Justin Brightharp- Student Government Association Lanier Henson- Student Government Association President

The Office of Sustainability works collaboratively with students, faculty and staff to create a culture of conservation in the classroom, throughout campus, through research and in various outreach activities for the greater Atlanta community.

Jennifer Asman: -Gather information and highlight initiatives involving sustainability at GSU -Initial point of contact re: sustainability programs -Implementation of new programs -Facilitates relationships with campus community -Coordinates academic, research, operations, student and community sustainability activities -Provides input to GSU sustainability vision and strategy -Keeps abreast of issues, trends, solutions, best practices -Grant proposal writing -Development of all communication avenues - Represents OOS on Staff Sustainability Committee, Sustainability Fee Committee, Environmental Programs and Advisory Committee, Parking and Transportation Committee, Wellness Champions Committee, Southeastern Sustainability Coordinators Network, and GSU Senate Sustainability Committee Laurene Hamilton: - Conduct campus waste audits - Establish Recycling guidelines - Assist in development and implementation of GSU recycling strategy - Stay current on and establish best practices - Meet with campus stakeholders and Recycling Foreman - Maintain data records - Engage students and campus on recycling - Engage outside organizations on recycling - Represents OOS on Staff Council Sustainability Committee and Georgia Recycling Coalition