Smith College
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

The Study Group on Climate Change is facilitating a campus-wide examination of how Smith, as an educational institution and a residential college, can most effectively respond to the challenge of global climate change. By encompassing Smith College’s mission and through broad community input and consultation with experts, the Study Group is exploring opportunities to mitigate climate change impact on our campus and considering, more broadly, how Smith can contribute to climate change solutions.

Michael Howard, Vice President for Finance and Administration, co-chair Amy Rhodes, Associate Professor of Geosciences, co-chair Eleanor Adachi ’17 Neelum Amin ’86, Smith College Board of Trustees Alexander Barron, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Policy Carrie Dohan Buchman ’78, Alumnae Association of Smith College Board of Directors Deanna Dixon, Associate Director of Multicultural Recruitment Raven Fowlkes-Witten ’17 Marcia MacHarg ’70, Smith College Board of Trustees Roger Mosier, Associate Vice President for Facilities Bob Newton, Director, Professor of Geosciences and Director of the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability Jasmine Pacheco-Ramos ’19 Vis Taraz, Assistant Professor of Economics (on sabbatical fall 2016) Beverly Daniel Tatum, Smith College Board of Trustees Dano Weisbord, Director of Campus Sustainability and Space Planning Gregory White, Professor of Government

The Office of Campus Sustainability is made up of Dano Weisbord, Director of Campus Sustainability and Space Planning, Emma Kerr, Campus Sustainability Coordinator, and Johanna Walter, administrative assistant (0.3 FTE). Additionally, a sustainability communications coordinator position was added for a term of 18 months, and Ellen Wall was hired to fill this position. The Office of Campus Sustainability works to integrate environmentally sustainable practices into Smith's institutional operations. The office works with the Committee on Sustainability to develop campus policy, and oversee the Eco-Rep program in Smith's student houses. The office also cooperates with Facilities Management and other campus organizations to develop and implement key operational initiatives. Co-located with the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability and the Environmental Science and Policy, Office of Campus Sustainability also works to connect campus operations with student learning.

Based on the renewed commitment to sustainability at Smith College, The Office of Campus Sustainability was given the resources to expand greatly in the past three years. The sustainability coordinator position was added in August 2014, and a term communications coordinator position was added in March 2016. These two additional full time employees have helped the office improve its scope and impact. In the past three years the office successfully redeveloped the House Eco-Reps program, by adding staff backing, structure, and development to a program that had fallen by the way-side. The office has also successfully coordinated and engaged with other student organizations that work on environmental issues. The office has also begun to develop a strong Campus as Lab program, through which we have been able to increase students' real-world learning capacity at Smith. We have also improved our data collection and reporting, especially in the areas of waste. We have implemented a zero waste event protocol, and in FY16 our campus held over 35 zero waste events, which included 8,000 participants who learned more about where their waste goes and how to prevent it. Our office has also been deeply engaged with the Study Group on Climate Change and all of our members have participated in the development of the SGCC's recommendations, either as study group members or advisers to sub-committees. We have also developed an update to our climate action management plan to let the campus know where we stand in terms of reducing our emisisons, and our plans to continue towards carbon neutrality by 2030.

PRIMARY FUNCTION(S): The Director of Campus Sustainability and Space Planning is responsible for the college’s sustainability planning, designing goals and strategies that reflect the college’s commitment to environmental sustainability. Works with departments, programs and committees to promote a culture of environmental sustainability and shared commitment to achieving Smith’s climate action management plan. The director leads and advocates for integration of sustainable principles and practices with campus space programming and management. Takes an integral role in campus planning, collaborating on plan development and carrying out strategies that aim for optimal and efficient use of campus buildings. Engages in building programming and space management, working closely with facilities management and architectural firms, and provides expertise to administrators, committees, and departments. As part of actively promoting and facilitating sustainability activities across the campus, the director collaborates with staff, faculty, students and relevant committees. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Leads college sustainability planning. Researches and proposes strategic directions in sustainability, and develops implementation plans and practices. Works with faculty, staff and students on achievement of the Smith sustainability and climate action plan, setting goals and implementing strategies to reach carbon neutrality by 2030. Works to establish the college as a recognized leader in integrating environmental sustainability across the campus. Engages in campus space programming, and works with multiple stakeholders to plan and implement space utilization. Serves on committees that program space for new construction and major renovations. Collaborates with facilities management to regularly review and analyze space utilization on campus, and to maintain a comprehensive database to support decisions about space programming and use. Uses analyses to develop strategies that create efficiencies through improved space utilization. Develops multi-year, cross-departmental space allocation plans. Recommends policies and practices regarding space use and management. Closely coordinates with several offices that assign space on campus, advising on needs analyses and maintenance of space utilization data. Acts as college’s sustainability consultant to departments. Maintains close partnership with facilities management to collaborate on common goals and to infuse sustainability principles into new construction, renovations, standards and plans. Collaborates with key stakeholders including areas such as center for the environment, facilities management, dining, environmental science & policy, and offices handling space assignments. Encourages environmental stewardship among members of the college community. Establishes and maintains effective communications with members of the campus community regarding sustainability trends, college goals, and current projects and achievements using the website, annual reports, and other means. Staffs the committee on sustainability. Engages with colleagues at other higher education institutions and environmental sustainability organizations to stay up-to-date on technologies, ideas, trends and practices. Manages the office of environmental sustainability, including coordinator and administrative support. Takes responsibility for annual greenhouse gas inventory and AASHE reporting, and reports on progress toward achieving carbon neutrality. Oversees development and implementation of programs to raise awareness and commitment to environmental sustainability. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Education/Experience: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in environmental studies, architecture or a related field. Five to seven years of experience relevant to the position, including complex project planning/management that includes data analysis, engagement of stakeholders and execution of plans or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Extensive knowledge of and experience working with sustainability theories and practices. Skills: Excellent communication and presentation skills and ability to work at all levels of an organization. Ability to work collaboratively with faculty, staff and students. Ability to propose, plan, administer and evaluate collaborative projects. Ability to schedule and manage multiple projects and priorities.

Position Summary: Align the culture, operation and conduct of Smith College with the principles of sustainable development in collaboration with the Committee on Sustainability, Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability (CEEDS), Residential Life, the Environmental Science and Policy program, Facilities Management, Dining Services and other campus stakeholders by developing and implementing initiatives that promote a sustainable campus culture among students, faculty and staff, link student learning opportunities to operational environmental challenges, and improve the environmental performance of campus operations. Duties and Responsibilities: Promote a sustainable campus culture: Coordinate the residence house Sustainability Representative program, including an orientation and ongoing support. Work with students, student organizations and CEEDS to educate and promote sustainability issues and behaviors. Influence members of the college community to engage in environmental stewardship. Provide educational sessions to campus stakeholders. Improve the environmental performance of campus operations: Provide extensive outreach to college departments and programs to encourage development of department-specific initiatives. Provide technical expertise to administrative and operational departments. Coordinate and/or conduct research on operational sustainability issues. Develop guidance documents/text on operational sustainability issues. Monitor and report progress on external commitments and on the implementation of the Sustainability and Climate Action Management Plan: Collect campus sustainability data. Develop and refine data collection and estimation methods where necessary. Use data to calculate an annual greenhouse gas inventory and other performance indicators. Analyze data and develop regular compelling internal reports and presentations. Monitor and fulfill external reporting requirements including AASHE STARS and the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. Link student learning opportunities to operational environmental challenges: Coordinate (with CEEDS, Environmental Science and Policy and others) the engagement of student project work with operational units to ensure that allocation of projects is balanced. Assist faculty and students in making connections with operating departments and staff to support use of the campus as a laboratory for environmental projects. Improve implementation of selected student projects by routing study results and papers to operating departments for consideration. Administrative and other duties: Select and supervise student employees. Other duties as assigned. Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, plus a minimum of two years of relevant experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Skills: Ability to set and work to objectives, plan and deliver a cohesive program of work. Ability to manage multiple projects. Ability to work collaboratively with students, staff and faculty. Ability to educate community members and inspire change. Knowledge of sustainability strategies and practices. Comfortable working with numeric data. Strong verbal and written communication. Knowledge of Excel and PowerPoint.

Position Summary: Promote visibility and understanding of the efforts of the Study Group on Climate Change, the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability (CEEDS) and Campus Sustainability at Smith College Duties and Responsibilities: Communications: Develop human-interest and technical content based on the work of the Study Group on Climate Change (a one-year committee that will facilitate a campus-wide examination of how Smith can most effectively respond to the challenge of global climate change), the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability (CEEDS) and the Office of Campus Sustainability. Publicize the work of these organizations to engage and educate the campus community and beyond. Identify key internal and external audiences and develop and implement a multi-channel plan (websites, social media, print etc.) to communicate key messages. Conceive of, prioritize, interview sources, write, edit and post written and video stories; suggest stories or assignments to student interns and provide them with support; collaborate with colleagues in College Relations, the President’s Office, the Development Office, the Alumnae Association and college Admissions to find suitable outlets for news and educational materials; support website development for each organization. Study Group support: Support the Study Group on Climate Change by taking meeting notes, assisting with development of meeting material and drafting a final report. Some support, planning, and publicity are required for Study Group campus engagement events. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Education/Experience: Bachelor’s degree and three years of public relations or communications experience or the equivalent combination of education and/or experience. Skills: Excellent interviewing, writing and editing skills; familiarity with social media; familiarity with web page design software applications, including HTML and presentation and image formatting programs; ability to effectively manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously. Additional Information: This is a one-year, limited-term position.