Green Mountain College
PAE-2: Strategic Plan

In the strategic plan, Initiative 3 calls on GMC to "become a national leader among small colleges in the higher education sustainability movement." The following activities aimed to achieve specific goals under this initiative: 1. Secured $400,000 in grants to develop the Farm and Food project research/academic programs into an "institute that focuses on sustainability," 2. Implemented "at least one innovative on-site sustainability initiative per year." Examples of such initiatives include the following: the course-based development of college's first greenhouse gas emission inventory (2007), increased dining hall use of food produced on the College farm (2008), installation of solar thermal hot water system for the farm's dairy operation (2009), the renovation of an existing building to achieve LEED Gold certification 2009), and the construction of an onsite biomass plant to replace an oil burning facility (2010). 3. Revised the Environmental Liberal Arts (ELA) curriculum to incorporate 18 sustainability learning outcomes and revised the required capstone course "A Delicate Balance" to include a personal sustainability statement and a sustainability project. 4. Achieved climate neutrality (2011) 4. Developed the Chelsea Green Speakers Series to bring authors of books focused on sustainability to campus.

Initiative 4 addresses the social dimensions of sustainability. Here, GMC resolves to "enrich the culture of student engagement in the classroom, in student life, on the playing fields, and in our local and global communities." To accomplish this, GMC has undertaken various projects, including: 1. Establishment of a formal fall convocation ceremony, with a speaker chosen for her/his prominence in sustainability and/or social justice-related subjects or activities. 2. Implemented a "student engagement model of education emphasizing the relationships between curricular and co-curricular programs." 3. Provost and President established a "Whole Community Conversation" held each semester 4. Faculty revised the ELA curriculum to include more emphasis on character education 5. Student Life has strengthened reinforcement of behavior standards in the residence halls. Special interest floors such as Honors Floor, Sustainable Living Floor, Outdoor Recreation Floor, and so on have provided opportunities for students to build communities around their interests. 6. The Green Job Corps was developed to strengthen connections between different areas of the institution and focus the development of social sustainability through the inclusion of key departments (ie admissions, farm crew, residents assistants). 7. The campus theme for 2010-11 was social justice.

Initiative 5 is focused on the financial sustainability of the College itself, as an institution. As a small, rural, liberal arts college with a highly specialized environmental mission, this initiative is also critically important to the economic sustainability of the local community. Successes in this area include: 1. Annual budget surpluses. 2. The establishment of a contingency fund. 3. Diversification of revenue through a contract with the Middlebury/Monterey Language Academy for summer use of the campus. 4. Expanded major gifts program and grant writing. 5. Integration of students into the College budget building process.