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Sustainability Retreat Brief Discussions
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| Last fall, President Pelton created the Sustainability Council
and charged it with pursuing a three-fold vision of social and
environmental sustainability at Willamette, addressing curricular
development and research, integrating sustainability into campus
decision-making processes, and enhancing a culture of sustainability
at Willamette and beyond. The Council has been meeting since early February 2005 and several ideas have arisen as to how we might best achieve our mandate. One of our important short-term objectives is to create an opportunity to generate input from a wider constituency across the University in order to help prioritize appropriate programs and activities that support our sustainability mission. In order to construct a vision of sustainability that meshes with Willamette’s distinctive culture and strengths we need to first create the space that allows us to convene discussion and debate. We will begin this conversation through a two-day retreat funded by a Hewlett Grant. |
| Approximately 40 students, staff, faculty, administration and Board of Trustees |
| An opening session will orient the group to the current state of Sustainability at Willamette and provide the framework for four break out groups organized around the four E’s of sustainability: |
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Focusing the financial aspects of
Focusing on our personal and
Focusing on promoting social equity
Focusing on curricular issues |
| At the retreat each break-out group will prepare a short, written report reflecting the critical points of its discussion, ideas for projects/goals, and resource needs. These reports will be presented in the closing session of the retreat and made available to the University community. |
| Working group papers outlining critical discussion points, need
for resources, and project ideas in several specific program areas
Specific projects that may be funded by “Sustainbility Grants” provided by the Council Long-range goals for the Sustainability Council A rippling of energy on sustainability throughout our community |