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.

The institution also has the committee on sustainability. This committee's charge is:

The Committee on Sustainability shall be concerned with the best long-term use of finite natural resources and with the College’s impact on the local, regional, and global environment. It shall identify, implement, and evaluate approaches for increasing Smith’s commitment to sustainability in all areas of the campus, including (but not limited to) construction, transportation, materials and energy use, waste management, purchasing, investment, and the campus curriculum. It shall seek to maintain a holistic perspective in this work, holding paramount the goal of systemic change and institutional transformation to aid the College in achieving the greatest efficiencies in natural resource use and pollution prevention.

For the coming year, the Committee on Sustainability will carry out one aspect of this charge by supporting progress on the recommendations contained in the report of the Study Group on Climate Change (SGCC). We do not expect direct implementation of those recommendations to fall within the purview of the committee, since diverse units at the college will be involved. In respect to SGCC recommendations, the committee’s role will be to coordinate, provide oversight of process, and report to the administration and trustees on progress towards identified goals, so as to help ensure Smith’s accountability to those goals.

Denise McKahn, Associate Professor of Engineering, Co-Chair
Rachel Twerdowsky, student, Co-chair
Dano Weisbord, Administrative Director of CEEDS
Amy Rhodes, Professor of Geological Science
Larissa Holland, student
Susan Etheridge, Professor of Education, Dean of the College
Tim Johnson, Director of the Botanical Gardens
Chris Aiken, Professor of Dance
Lily Li, student
Angela Gregory, student
Alex Baron, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Policy
Roger Mosier, Associate Vice President of Facilities

CEEDS is the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design, and Sustainability. With sustainable development an increasingly dominant issue of our time, CEEDS exists with one purpose: We facilitate academic and applied experiences for students that help them excel at integrating knowledge across disciplines, in support of environmental decisions and action.

We work to integrate sustainable practices into Smith’s operations and connect campus operations with student learning. We also support faculty in their efforts to deepen their understanding of salient environmental issues and to integrate those issues into the curricula. We promote institutional innovation and progress toward the college’s commitment to be a model of sustainability.


CEEDS houses faculty and staff from different disciplines and backgrounds who have the common goal of fostering and enhancing environmental sustainability and learning at Smith.

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 emissions, and our plans to continue towards carbon neutrality by 2030.

We completed a conceptual district energy plan focused on geothermal to meet our 2030 goal. The plan goes to the board for approval in Spring 2020.

We planned and executed a themed year on climate change for 2019/2020 with great success.

We designed and hosted a conference in October 2019 on Climate Equity and Justice: Solutions in Action aimed to expose students to people doing amazing work on the subject.

Designed and completed a collaborative renewable power purchase agreement with two other colleges for the development of a solar farm in Maine.

We merged the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design, and Sustainability (CEEDS) with the Office of Sustainability and the Environmental Science and Policy program.

Launched the development of a new landscape management plan.

We drilled a test geothermal well as a model for the future district energy plan.

Department: Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability
Title: Assistant Director for Sustainability
Position Control: AD0940, P-003870 Grade: G
Position Status: Full Time FTE: 1.0
FLSA Status: Exempt Date: July 29, 2019
Reports to: Executive Director, Sustainability and Campus Planning
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Responsible for the college’s sustainability strategy; designing goals and
strategies that reflect the college’s commitment to and industry trends; performed under the guidance and
supervision of the Executive Director of Sustainability. Work with departments, programs and
committees to promote a culture of environmental sustainability and shared commitment to achieving
Smith’s climate and sustainability goals. Take a leadership position within CEEDS, assisting with the
development of center goals and carrying out programs, projects and management toward these.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Independently develop and execute sustainability initiatives across the college in collaboration with
multiple internal and external departments, groups, and offices. Plan and execute broad-based campus
engagement efforts. Develop plans for implementation and identify and institute metrics for success and
impact. Work may include improvement and innovation to areas of institutional sustainability not limited
to energy and carbon emissions, procurement, green buildings, waste management, landscape
management, and other operational areas.
Forge consensus among campus stakeholders and work with local partner organizations and government
agencies to achieve established programmatic and college goals.
Coordinate closely across departments to create culturally relevant, effective, and meaningful processes,
plans and communication.
Manage project and departmental level budgets.
Assess participation in external reporting and rating systems related to sustainability commitments and
overseeing completion of external reporting associated with existing sustainability commitments such as
the Carbon Commitment and AASHE STARS.
Communicate of campus stories and achievements via the “Sustainable Smith” brand, and may need to
write website-content, and/or stories about operational and student sustainability outcomes.
Link student learning opportunities, and student and faculty research to operational environmental
challenges. This includes both maintaining an understanding of how student projects are engaging
operational departments at Smith and working to ensure that this is reasonable and balanced; and,
assisting 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.
Improve and manage the CEEDS internship program. Coordinate with faculty and students to ensure that
paid work is also a learning opportunity for students where possible. Develop metrics for project impact
and success.

Supervise and coordinate the work of a Sustainability Coordinator who will carry out operational
innovation, communications and Smith community engagement.
Other duties as assigned.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Education/Experience: MA/MS in planning, public/environmental policy or government,
communications or related field and 5 years of planning, corporate or higher education sustainability,
environmental consulting, communications or related field, or the equivalent combination of education
and/or experience.
Skills: Ability to use excellent judgment in advising and decision-making. Managing expectations is as
important as managing the projects. Ability to plan and manage multiple projects simultaneously and
balance priorities. Ability to use independent judgment and be trusted with confidential information.
Superior written, verbal and interpersonal communications skills. Self-motivated. Ability to solve
problems and think creatively. Demonstrated effectiveness in building consensus while leading projects
that cut across departments. Ability to provide superior client service to all levels of the organization with
diplomacy, tact and confidence. Exceptional attention to detail. Dependability, flexibility, and sense of
humor. Must have excellent computer skills with proficiencies in Microsoft Office. Graphic skills, GIS
skills, database management are a plus.

Department: Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability
Title: Sustainability Coordinator
Position Control: P-009999 Grade: KE
Position Status: Fixed-term, 2 years FTE: 1.0
FLSA Status: Exempt Date: 25 July 2019
Reports to: Assistant Director of Sustainability
PRIMARY FUNCTION(S): Align the culture, operation and conduct of Smith College with the principles of
sustainable development through collaborative work with students, faculty and campus stakeholders.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Promote a sustainable campus culture
 Promote a sustainable campus culture among students, faculty and staff
 Link student learning opportunities to operational environmental challenges
 Improve the environmental performance of campus operations
 Coordinate the student and staff engagement programs such as Eco-Rep and Sustainable Offices
 Work with students, student organizations and CEEDS to educate and promote sustainability issues and
behaviors including
 Provide educational sessions to campus stakeholders
Promote environmental stories
 Develop and share stories from across the college to current and prospective students, faculty and staff at
Smith and in the Five Colleges, other colleges and universities, and alumnae. Provide educational sessions and
tours to campus stakeholders
 Mange the Sustainable Smith, CEEDS and ESP websites, coordinate updating of social media platforms
 Develop an annual communications plan to integrate and carry out above efforts
Improve the environmental performance of campus operations
 Provide outreach to college departments and programs to encourage development of department-specific
initiatives
 Develop and execute programs that support the college’s sustainability goals and report performance against
goals
 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
Link student learning opportunities to operational environmental challenges
 Engage 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
Monitor and report progress on external commitments
 Collect campus sustainability data
 Develop and refine data collection and estimation methods where necessary
 Calculate an annual greenhouse gas inventory and other performance indicators
 Analyze data and develop regular internal reports and presentations
 Monitor and fulfill external reporting requirements including AASHE STARS and the Carbon Commitment
Administrative and other duties
 Select and supervise student employees
 Other duties as assigned

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Education/Experience: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, plus a minimum of two years of relevant experience or
an equivalent combination of education/experience.
Skills: Ability to set and work to objectives; ability to plan and deliver a cohesive program of work. Ability to manage
multiple projects simultaneously. Ability to work collaboratively with students, staff and faculty. Savvy in navigating
and prioritizing the use of social media venues. Ability to educate community members and inspire change.
Knowledge of sustainability strategies and practices. Comfortable working with numeric data. Strong verbal and
written communication skills. Familiarity with Excel and PowerPoint.