Oregon State University
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

Currently, the OSU Sustainability Officer serves as vice chair of the City of Corvallis Climate Action Advisory Board to help implement a climate action plan for the community. Appointments to the Board are made by the Corvallis Mayor and the university president and senior leadership are aware of the appointment (as noted in a Dec.6, 2019 email from the Provost and Executive Vice President to campus leadership). This complements and helps inform OSU's carbon reduction planning efforts and also involves planning and action at the county government level. Numerous OSU faculty, staff and students serve on other city and county boards and commissions, many related to sustainability.

A specific example of local policy advocacy is the role the Sustainability Office plays in advocating the City of Corvallis adopt aggressive greenhouse gas reduction targets. The Sustainability Office has also recommended to Corvallis City Council specific greenhouse gas measurement protocols and frequency. This effort became successful in 2020, with the City agreeing to measure community wide carbon emissions every two years.

More recently, in June 2022 OSU has shared with City leadership OSU's new climate action plan, known as the Path to Carbon Neutrality. In outreach to the Mayor and City Council, OSU shared the plan and some details about the plan's importance in stimulating bold climate action. OSU invited the City to create a similar plan and offered to answer questions, share details or provide other support requested by the City to help advance community climate action.

The university periodically engages in advocacy work focused on moving municipal development code in a more sustainable direction. A recent specific example is the Development Agreement between the City of Corvallis and university, which required adding vehicle parking when the university experiences development, regardless of current vehicle parking utilization rates. The previous code required an amount of parking that did not align with university or community sustainability goals or OSU's efforts to reduce reliance on single occupancy vehicles. Through extensive conversation between City and university leaders, these standards were updated to be more supportive of OSU's recently released Sustainable Transportation Strategy (https://transportation.oregonstate.edu/sts).

In other examples, experts from the OSU Extension Service have provided feedback on the Corvallis Climate Action Plan that will accelerate actions in the community to adopt more local food supply chains. Also, OSU sustainability team members serve on the City's Budget Commission as well as a City department advisory committee focused on advancing the land development code toward more mixed use development (https://www.corvallisoregon.gov/bc-mudac).

OSU is an integral part of the Corvallis community and is a large driving force for sustainability locally. OSU is the largest partner of the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, an organization that works toward a more sustainable community. The work of the Coalition includes a Community Sustainability Action Framework that was submitted to and approved by the Corvallis City Council. OSU students, through service learning, volunteering, public advocacy and other means play a vocal and prominent role that influences community sustainability.

Because of its role as a land grant university, OSU advocates for policies and funded programs that improve the lives of the people of Oregon. Programs include OSU Extension, Forest Research Laboratories, Agricultural Experiment Stations, Master Recyclers, Master Gardeners, 4H programs, and others. These programs have elements that focus on sustainability throughout the state, and help build resilience capacity of Oregon's people. Experts in Extension and other programs are called upon by elected officials to provide science-based information to elected officials to strengthen statewide policies and programs.

OSU provides policy advice and recommendations for climate protection and adaptation through the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, OSU Extension, Sea Grant and other research, outreach and engagement units. Local decision making bodies like watershed councils, city councils, county commissions and numerous other entities receive frequent policy input and direction from OSU researchers, Extension and its affiliates. This type of activity occurs across Oregon and beyond.

A recent specific example of engagement at the state level is the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute's 2021 Fifth Oregon Climate Assessment, a report to the legislature and other state leaders on climate change mitigation and adaptation issues, including policy recommendations to reduce the impacts of climate change. The report includes clear recommendations, including numerous instances of advocacy for the implementation of the Oregon Climate Change Adaptation Framework. https://www.oregon.gov/highered/about/Documents/Commission/COMMISSION/2021/Feb%2011/4.2%20Public%20Comment-Erica%20Fleishman%20OCAR5.pdf

Additional examples:
More wolves, beavers needed as part of improving western United States habitats, scientists say: https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/more-wolves-beavers-needed-part-improving-western-united-states-habitats-scientists-say

OSU guides its participation in policy issues with two full time professional faculty members dedicated to state policy issues.

OSU is a We Are Still In/America Is All In signatory and remains committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. OSU's participation in the We Are Still In campaign has sparked productive internal and external dialogues about how the university can accelerate it's contributions to addressing global climate change.

For a partial listing of individuals involved with national sustainability policy issues, please check this link: http://humanitarian.engineering.oregonstate.edu/faculty-0

Of note is OSU professor Jane Lubchenco, who was the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 2009-2013. Nominated by President Obama in December 2008 as part of his “Science Dream Team,” she is a marine ecologist and environmental scientist by training, with expertise in oceans, climate change, and interactions between the environment and human well-being. Jane's work and advocacy has lead to better protection of oceans in particular, with marine reserves and other measures implemented at the national and international level.

Additionally, Rick Spinrad, an OSU professor and former OSU vice president for research, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce and administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Spinrad is the third person from Oregon State University to lead NOAA. https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/osu%E2%80%99s-spinrad-confirmed-noaa-administrator and https://www.noaa.gov/our-people/leadership/richard-w-spinrad-phd

Additional examples:
Energy secretary, senators, governor tour Oregon State wave lab, learn about green energy: https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/energy-secretary-senators-governor-tour-oregon-state-wave-lab-learn-about-green-energy

OSU participates in policy issues with one full time professional faculty member dedicated to federal policy issues.

In December 2019, OSU Provost and Executive Vice President issued a campus wide email calling for further action to address climate change and recognize the advocacy of OSU faculty on this topic. From that email: "Meanwhile, OSU professors are among leading worldwide voices calling for change in the impacts society is making on our global environment."

Examples include:
Leadership by Oregon State helps 14 nations commit to sustainable ocean management by 2025
Leaders of 14 major maritime nations committed to achieve 100% sustainable ocean management of their national waters by 2025, acting on recommendations of a group of global experts co-chaired by Oregon State University marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco. “This is the result of nearly three years of work and represents a remarkable example of knowledge informing policy and action,” said Lubchenco, university distinguished professor in the OSU College of Science, whose group of science and policy experts was commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, known as the Ocean Panel for short. “The countries on the Ocean Panel are listening to science, learning from each other and working together. That’s a powerful combination.

“Phase 1 of the panel’s work was knowledge production,” Lubchenco added. “Phase 2 is policy and action, and that phase launches now. We can use the ocean wisely, rather than using it up, but only if we get serious about doing so. These documents point the way.”
https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/leadership-oregon-state-helps-14-nations-commit-sustainable-ocean-management-2025

Oceans Should Have a Place in Climate Green New Deal Policies
The world’s oceans play a critical role in climate regulation, mitigation and adaptation and should be integrated into comprehensive “green new deal” proposals being promoted by elected officials and agency policymakers, a group of ocean scientists suggests in a new paper. Including the oceans in green new deal policies, particularly through strategic investments in these four sectors, will expand opportunities for sustainable economic development in both inland and coastal communities, while addressing the ongoing threat of climate change that we can't ignore, according to researchers. The researchers hope to use the paper and their argument to encourage policymakers to consider the oceans in “green new deal” proposals moving forward.
https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/oceans-should-have-place-climate-%E2%80%98green-new-deal%E2%80%99-policies-scientists-suggest

A paper published by an OSU scientist became one of the mostly widely shared science papers since 2011, according to the science communications company Altmetric, and has inspired private contributions to support further research. An international team led by William Ripple, distinguished professor in the College of Forestry at Oregon State, published “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice” in the journal BioScience. The paper warned that environmental trends in categories such as marine fisheries, population growth, deforestation, wildlife abundance and climate change raise the likelihood of “widespread misery and catastrophic biodiversity loss” in the future. More info at: https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/oregon-state-university-science-paper-generated-global-response-financial-support
An update to the report above was issued in 2022 - Report by OSU, international scientists says Earth is ‘unequivocally’ in midst of climate emergency: https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/report-osu-international-scientists-says-earth-%E2%80%98unequivocally%E2%80%99-midst-climate-emergency

OSU faculty have several times served on international bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. On a nearly continual basis, OSU researchers are engaged in making policy recommendations on global issues. Two OSU faculty are also members of the International Comparative Rural Policy Studies (ICRPS) program, which brings together an international, multi disciplinary group of faculty, students and professionals to study together the many facets of rural policy, from policy formulation to policy impacts. More information is at http://icrps.org/.

Additional examples:
U.N. report co-authored by OSU researcher advocates big increases in sustainable wood production: https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/un-report-co-authored-osu-researcher-advocates-big-increases-sustainable-wood-production

As a research intensive institution, and with strengths in marine sciences, forestry, agriculture, natural resources and engineering, OSU faculty and staff serve as experts in their fields and are frequently called upon by elected officials to provide guidance during policy discussions.

In some cases this may equate to advocacy for specific policy positions and sometimes it may not. The role of a public research institution in forming public policy is complex and in Oregon specific restrictions apply to some forms of advocacy using public money. Nonetheless, Oregon State University plays a critical role in influencing public policy that supports a sustainable future, as outlined in OSU's Strategic Plan: https://leadership.oregonstate.edu/strategic-plan

Recently, and as global crises accelerate, faculty are advocating more clearly and more vocally for a sustainable future. Additional examples are provided in this credit as hyperlinks to more stories of this form of advocacy.