Western Washington University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Charge
The President's Sustainability Council advises the President, via the Provost and the Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs, on sustainability and resilience at Western Washington University. The Council coordinates the work of the Climate Commitment signed in 2007. The Climate Commitment requires three simultaneous efforts organized under three
tracks: academic, resilience, and carbon. The academic track of the Climate Commitment focuses on integrating sustainability into the curriculum and research. The resilience track of the Climate Commitment focuses on climate adaptation and community capacity-building to deal with a changing climate and resulting extremes. The carbon track of the Climate Commitment focuses on reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions and achieving carbon neutrality as
soon as possible.

The Council also leads campus efforts to engage the campus in implementation of the 2017 Sustainability Action Plan. This includes collaborating with surrounding communities on issues related to sustainability and resilience. The Council will ensure WWU complies with the Climate Commitment and oversees the implementation of the 2017 Sustainability Plan over time. The
Sustainability Action Plan is a living document which will change over the course of the next twenty years and requires regular reporting mechanisms to keep the campus informed of progress made and to inform future iterations of each chapter. All recommendations shall be made to the Provost and the Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs who will share such with the President. They will also develop an annual reporting and public communication structure to ensure the entire community is aware of the progress and accomplishments of the Council.

The President's Sustainability Council will be the body charged with expressing, upholding, and advancing the institution’s full commitment to sustainability, resilience, and adaptability.

Background
Western has been a leader in many areas of sustainability since it established the nation’s first College of the Environment in 1969. Our students voted to collectively fund the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits in 2005, making Western the first campus in the U.S. to offset 100% of its carbon emissions from electricity usage with a self-imposed student fee. In 2007 Western became one of the first 50 signatories to the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment. In 2005 Western established the Institute for Energy Studies, an interdisciplinary program that brings together science, technology, public policy, business, and economics to prepare graduates to address the complex issues in sustainable energy. In 2017 the Sierra Club recognized Western as one of the top 30 sustainable schools in the U.S. In 2018, WWU students launched one of the first residence hall compost programs in the country. Western continues to innovate through its academic programs, student programs, and staff enterprises to create innovative solutions to antiquated practices. Western remains committed to the vision of every member of the Western community assisting with putting sustainable practices into action on campus and in our community. We recognize sustainability is interconnected with our core values of social and economic justice. A global and informed perspective clearly shows that a truly sustainable world must be as just as it is green.

Membership
President's Sustainability Council membership is representative of all campus units and includes students, faculty, and staff. Membership votes are representative of their constituencies. Members gather input and report back to identified constituencies and are required to serve on a sub-council. Participation by non-Council faculty, students, staff, and community members is encouraged as needed to fulfill the responsibilities of the Council. Meetings of the PSC are open.

Chair
Director, Sustainability Engagement Institute (https://sustain.wwu.edu/)

Faculty
Recommended by Faculty Senate for three-year staggered terms
• Two faculty from different colleges with expertise, experience, and/or commitment to sustainability and resilience

Students
Appointed by Associated Students for one-year terms
• Two students with expertise, experience, and/or commitment to sustainability and resilience

Staff
Appointed by Vice President for University Relations & Marketing
• Relations & Marketing designee
Appointed by Provost
• Library designee
• Dean designee
• IT designee
Appointed by Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs
• Purchasing/Contracts designee
• Transportation Services designee
• Facilities Operations designee
• Space Management designee
Appointed by Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services
• University Residences designee
• Student Engagement designee
• Dining Services designee
Appointed by Vice President for University Advancement
• Development designee

Sustainability Staff – individuals who by nature of their position should serve on the council and help support the work

Student terms are for one year. All other appointed terms are for three years, with half of the initial appointed terms being for two years to ensure staggered membership terms over time. No more than two consecutive terms may be served by members. After a one-year hiatus, a member may request to be recommended again by the relevant body.

Meeting Schedule
The full Council meets up to six times during the academic year. Sub-councils are expected to work outside of the regular meetings. For groups whose work occurs year-round, meetings will occur during the summer as needed and desired.

First-Year Goals/Tasks
In the first year of existence, the Council will:
1. Establish a vision and mission that informs the work of the Council and Western.
2. Establish a governance structure guiding attendance, member expectations,
communication mechanisms, and other procedural matters.
3. Develop and execute a plan to create the three required sub-councils that form the pillars for the Climate Commitment: carbon, resilience, and academic, as well as a sub-council for marketing and outreach in support of the Council.
4. Develop and submit a report on the Sustainability Action Plan 2017 which includes progress made on existing goals in the plan and steps necessary to update the plan to identify the relevant goals for the coming two years, expected completion by June 2022.
5. Review the Greenhouse Gas inventory and ensure it is completed and maintained.

Grace Wang: Chair / Professor & Chair, Dept. of Urban & Environmental Planning & Policy / Director, Sustainability Engagement Institute

Matt Bryant: Division Assessment Consultant, Student Success initiatives /ESS-Student Engagement Designee

Kate Cabe: Assistant Dean of Libraries

Amanda Cambre: BFA Sustainability staff-related position

Craig Dunn: Professor, Management Department / College of Business and Economics

Teena Gabrielson: Dean, College of the Environment

Wayne Galloway: Assistant Director, Facilities Services / BFA Sustainability staff-related position

Seb Genge: Associated Students Representative

Leonard Jones: Director of University Residences / ESS University Residences Designee

Lindsey MacDonald: Associate Director, Sustainability Engagement Institute

Chris Miller: Director, Enterprise Infrastructure Services / Academic Affairs Representative

Forest Payne: Project Manager/University Planner, Capital Planning & Development /BFA Space Management Designee

Avinash Rahurkar: Associate Vice President, Facilities Development & Operations

Janette Rosebrook: Contracts Specialist / BFA Purchasing/Contracts Designee

Chris Roselli: Director of Community Relations / URM Designee

Karen Stout: Bowman Professor / Director, Morse Leadership Institute

Manca Valum: Sr. Director for Strategic Initiatives / Corporate Relationships

Stephen Wadsworth: Aramark Resident District Manager / ESS Dining Services Designee

Ryan Wyckoff: Equipment Technician, Facilities Management / BFA Facilities Operations Designee

Shelby Zimmerman: Transportation Services Manager / BFA Transportation Services Designee

Western's Sustainability Engagement Institute develops educational opportunities and systems-change for a more sustainable, just future. We engage in initiatives that create economic vitality, promote well-being, protect the environment, and uphold social justice. This includes academic, operational, and co-curricular sustainability efforts across campus.

The Associated Students' Environmental and Sustainability Programs office is the hub for student engagement in sustainability issues and includes: Western Student Transportation, The Outback farm, and the Environmental Center.

Sustainability Engagement Institute Accomplishments over the last three years:

• Western is now receiving energy from the Skookumchuck Wind Facility as part of Puget Sound Energy’s Green Direct program, a ground-breaking initiative designed to provide PSE corporate and governmental customers the ability to purchase 100 percent of their energy from a dedicated, local, renewable energy resource, while providing them with a stable, cost-efficient solution. Western is the first university to buy 100 percent renewable energy from new, additional wind and solar farms in a regulated electric market. This is an important step in realizing WWU’s carbon-neutral goal.

• Post COVID re-launch of Sustainable Office Certification Program. No offices are signed up, yet, but the infrastructure is built for offices to engage. https://sustain.wwu.edu/sustainable-office-certification-soc#Application

• Western started a dashboard project to visualize sustainability metrics associated with the Sustainability Action Plan. https://sustain.wwu.edu/dashboard

• Western received a grant to engage in community climate resilience projects through the Sustainable Communities Partnership program. The Sustainable Communities Partnership program focuses the energy and ideas of faculty and students upon the issues that communities face as our society transitions to a more sustainable future. The grant has allowed eight faculty to work with their students on projects in surrounding communities with topics ranging from perceptions of air quality to climate change education.

• The Sustainability, Equity, and Justice Program continued through COVID. In the last three years, the program has funded over __ projects, awarding ___$. The most recent projects are listed here.

- Affordable Housing – Opportunities and Challenges to Creating More ($500): Several student-oriented opportunities were hosted, including attending a session on missing middle housing at the Washington/Oregon American Planning Association virtual conference, and inviting a guest speaker from Mercy Housing, a local nonprofit organization involved in developing affordable housing projects in Whatcom County.

- Film Screening: Expedition Reclamation ($800): A screening of a documentary that served to amplify minoritized stories in the outdoors; the film presented the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and other women of color in outdoor recreation, and provided alternative narratives around the term “outdoorsy.” This project also supported bringing the film’s producers to campus for a Q&A session.

- Waiwai Ho’opa’a: Equitable Access to Housing, Food Security, and Recreation for families in Puna ($4,690): Funding to support a cohort of graduate students in a research project meant to determine gaps in housing policy, land use, and inclusive access to recreation in Puna, Hawaii.

- Washington/Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC) Scholarships ($11,480): Funding to provide scholarships for up to 40 Western students to attend WOHESC.

- Period Postal ($34,000): Program focused on distributing high-quality, environmentally responsible, and ethically made menstrual products to students through a mail-order system.

- Strengthening Experiences for Black and Brown Men at Western Washington University ($25,000): Proposal to send students from WWU’s Black & Brown Male Success Collective to the Men of Color National Summit in South Carolina; the leadership conference included workshops and dialogues that emphasized the importance of education, best practices, and choices to increase high school and college graduation rates among men of color.

- The Cabo Verde Islands Education Abroad Project ($50,000): Proposal to send a cohort of students, mainly of African descent selected from student organizations such as the Black Student Union and the African Caribbean Club, to Cabo Verde for an educational trip.

- Climate Leadership Certificate and Sustainability Pathways Capacity Development ($197,394.80): Proposal to continue the pilot phase of the Climate Leadership Certificate program and Sustainability Pathways program. The majority of this funding goes toward paying for paid practicum experiences within local organizations.

- Mobile Field Station Housing for WWU Sustainability Pathways Students in the Methow Valley ($189,000): Proposal to continue the pilot of the Climate Leadership Certificate program, which was funded by the SEJF in spring of 2020, and bolsters the Sustainability Pathways Program.

- Furniture Fest ($2,348.80): Program aimed to reduce furniture waste from the streets of Bellingham and redistribute quality furniture to students for free.

• Western has continued to host walking campus sustainability tours that highlight various sustainability initiatives across campus. These tours tend to happen two to four times per academic year. We added an off-campus tour focused on sustainable food and agriculture in which local farmers, restaurants, and food-focused organizations were highlighted.

• Western developed pop-up food pantries during the height of COVID lockdown. Sustainability Engagement Institute staff wrote a Sustainability, Equity, and Justice Fund grant to purchase fresh, local, organic produce to include in the pop-up pantries.

• In 2022 President Sabah Randhawa created the President’s Sustainability Council. The President's Sustainability Council advises the President, via the Provost and the Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs, on sustainability and resilience at Western Washington University. The Council has developed a mission and vision, has just published the first comprehensive Sustainability Action Plan Progress Report, and is working on updating the Sustainability Action Plan that was published in 2017.

• In 2021, Student Sustainability Roundtables were initiated in which students gather on a monthly to quarterly basis to collaborate on sustainability topics of their choosing. The roundtables are facilitated by a Sustainability Engagement Institute student staff member in collaboration with a student employee from the Associated Students.

• A Climate Leadership Certificate program was developed that is open to all students with junior standing. The Climate Leadership Certificate provides the training and experience needed for students to apply a variety of skills to critical work in climate action and justice, as well as other vital areas of sustainability, including social justice, economic vitality, and well-being. Throughout the one-and-a-half year program, students engage in curriculum targeted at sustainability literacy, planning, and leadership, while also participating in hands-on practicum work with a variety of sustainability organizations in Whatcom County and the Methow Valley. The first cohort of 13-students completed the program in spring of 2022. A total of 37 students have or are participating in this program.

• The Sustainability Engagement Institute continues to partner with local farms to bring fresh, organic produce shares to campus for much of the year. While most of campus was closed during COVID-19, we continued to manage this program, ensuring local farmers were receiving support and that our campus community was being well-nourished.

• During COVID-19, the Sustainability Engagement Institute initiated a sustainability pledge program in which Western community members can make sustainability commitments.

• Starting in 2022, the Sustainability Engagement Institute has partnered with the Center for Community Learning and a local school to host a “Learning Together Through Climate Upheaval Series” in which we host monthly social learning gatherings on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These events are open to Western faculty, staff, and students, but also to the broader Bellingham community.

Title: Associate Director for the Sustainability Engagement Institute

Overview: The Associate Director for sustainability institute directs the internal operations of the Institute while supporting strategic initiatives across the university. With respect to the Sustainability Action Plan, this position supports and convenes executive leadership and the sustainability committees on execution of non-curricular plan elements as well as implements Institute actions and those of other units at the request of executive leadership. This position oversees plan monitoring, reporting and periodic revision. In addition, this position is designated to: Develop and maintain internal and external networks; identify and act on opportunities to integrate sustainability and climate solutions within the areas of the co-curriculum, operations, and external affairs; and management and supervision roles within the Institute. This position supports the Director as liaison to local and national sustainability organizations. Overall, work promotes innovations toward sustainability and climate solutions, and creates a community-wide culture of social and environmental action.
Responsibilities:
• 15% Strategic Coordination
o Coordinate with sustainability focused initiatives around campus and beyond to advance the SAP, and to ensure that sustainability and climate change work advances generally at Western
o Develop and maintain partnerships for sustainability
o Serve on the Washington and Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC) Planning Committee

• 25% Leadership
o Convene cross-disciplinary groups across and beyond campus for the purpose of advancing sustainability at WWU and within the broader community
o Convene and support groups across campus who will advance the Sustainability Action Plan
o Develop and oversee the Climate Leadership Certificate
o Oversee all co-curricular, operational, and outreach programs within the Institute.
o Lead annual staff training
o Lead staff meetings

• 20% Teaching and Related Activities
o Teach within the Sustainability Studies Minor and Climate Leadership Certificate curriculum as needed
o Facilitate an annual field-based one-week orientation trip for each incoming cohort of climate leadership certificate participants
o Mentor climate leadership certificate participants
o Develop internship placements
o Meet on a monthly basis with the cohort


• 25% Supervision
o Supervise some programmatic leads, other student employees, and the office coordinator within the Institute

• 15% Program support
o Participate in strategic conversations with Institute Director and program leads
o Oversee internal and external reporting
o Support Institute staff in developing processes and systems that advance their work, and therefore the SAP
o Support Institute Director in advancing Curriculum for the Bioregion
o Work with Institute Director and Communications Manager to identify new sources of funding for sustainability and climate change work at WWU

Requirements:
• Bachelor’s degree in sustainability, or related field
• Minimum of five years’ experience implementing environmental or sustainability programs
• Experience in a university environment or a non-profit
• Leadership experience in environmental initiatives, resource management, and teaching/presenting information.
• Knowledge of environmental management principles, policies, issues, and initiatives. Experience with energy, water and waste conservation, in buildings.

Preferred requirements:
Degree
• Master’s or other advanced degree sustainability, or related field
Knowledge
• Understanding of sustainability theories as well as local, national, and global sustainability initiatives and best practices. Proven ability to apply these theories in practical applications yielding positive outcomes.
• Understanding of sustainability best practices in universities.
• Recognized as a resource among those in the field, applies a high degree of knowledge of the overall field; applies principles, practices, and procedures of a particular field within the discipline to complete assignments.
Skills
• Proven ability to develop and execute new programs within an academic setting; understanding of how to institutionalize new sustainability efforts; skilled at problem solving, thinking analytically and developing sustainability programs that support the institution’s strategic objectives and mission.
• Demonstrated ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks, and to work with shifting priorities and schedules.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, comfort with public speaking, ability to listen and learn and engender trust among various constituencies.
• Skill in application of the principals and practices of effective leadership, management and supervision.
• Excellent team-building, relationship-building, and networking skills.
• Strong persuasion, influencing and negotiating skills.
• Political acumen and skill in understanding and navigating organizational complexity.
• Project management and change management skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills, working with diverse groups of individuals and building partnerships.
• Ability to work independently, to be a team leader and to work as a team member.
Abilities
• Proven ability to foster collaboration across diverse constituencies in an institution and inspire confidence and motivate groups to collectively meet common objectives. Experience in participatory leadership.
• Demonstrated strong skills and a track record for sustained measurement of program outcomes, and ability to work independently and with and through others to achieve desired results.
• Ability to craft and execute strategy to achieve organizational goals.
• Ability to build and sustain excellent working relationships which facilitate information flow and productivity.
• Sound judgment, good critical thinking, and ability to analyze and synthesize issues and derive effective solutions.
• Ability to handle ambiguity and to approach issues in creative and original ways.
• Ability to handle multiple constituencies, agendas, and projects concurrently, and to learn quickly.
• Ability to function well, and take effective action, under pressure.

Position Description:
This is a 0.5FTE administrative appointment reporting to the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. The other 0.5 FTE will be teaching, research, and service in the Program Director's academic department. To the extent possible, specific course assignments should complement the vision of the Program, and support the department.

The Director's duties include:
• Serve as lead academic advisor for the Sustainability Studies Minor.
• Maintain and coordinate curricular aspects of sustainability on campus. This will include outreach to Colleges, Programs, and Departments.
• Integrate and serve as liaison between faculty and staff interested in
sustainability studies on campus.
• Coordinate the Sustainability Academy.
• Recruit and facilitate faculty and staff for the Faculty Fellows in Sustainability.
o Convene and facilitate work sessions
• Represent the Program at regional and national conferences.

Compensation
• Half-time course release (3 courses over the academic year, as negotiated with Program Director's academic department).
• Summer compensation to be negotiated with the A VP.