***Only those affiliated with ISU are eligible to sign***

Purpose: It is imperative that students, faculty, staff, and alumni understand and recognize the need for sustainability and environmentally conscious action on ISU’s campus. More specifically, this petition serves to show support for, and the need to hire, a Sustainability Coordinator on campus. The ISU student government, ASISU, supports the creation of this position for the reasons listed below. 

Reasons to Support:

1. There is a growing need and urgency for more sustainable efforts at higher levels due to environmental degradation. 
2. A Sustainability Coordinator could work closely with students to increase engagement and provide professional opportunities.
3. Sustainability coordinators and centers are common on campuses across the country. 

Scroll further for elaborated reasoning. 

By signing this petition, you exhibit support for the creation and hiring of this position. 

Process: ASISU will take this petition to the administration budget hearings in April, along with a PowerPoint presentation detailing the job specifications. This petition will demonstrate support from student, faculty, and staff support. Other departments will present different ideas at the budget hearings and at the end, ideas will be voted on by Leadership Council members.

End Goal: President Kevin Satterlee and the ISU administration creates a full-time sustainability coordinator position within the administration apparatus on campus, then to be hired in summer, 2022. 

 

Reasons to Support:

1. There is a growing need and urgency for more sustainable efforts at higher levels due to environmental degradation. 

2. A Sustainability Coordinator could work closely with students to increase engagement and provide professional opportunities.

3. Sustainability coordinators and centers are common on campuses across the country. 

 

Reason 1 Explained:

Fact: The last 7 years have been the warmest years recorded. 

Fact: More than a million species are at risk of extinction. 

Fact: The oceans have acidified by 30% since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. 

The need to act is glaringly apparent. As a university with over 12,000 students, ISU can make a difference by implementing a sustainability coordinator position to increase sustainability efforts related to recycling, food waste, and emission reduction, in addition to educating students and the larger community on a myriad of environmental topics. Tackling our behaviors that are incompatible with healthy ecosystems will not only benefit our future selves, but future generations as well. As a university dedicated to quality higher education, it is necessary that we learn how to become better stewards of our campus environment and the Earth.

Reason 2 Explained:

After talking with sustainability coordinators from the University of Idaho and Boise State University, we decided to advocate for a Sustainability Coordinator with three areas of oversight:

1. Student Engagement
2. Facilities and Operations
3. Academic Curriculum Development and Environmental Literacy Programs

The coordinator would work with a team of 3-5 paid students to accomplish goals set out under each of these areas. Within student engagement, the sustainability team could partner with sustainability focused student clubs and organizations to put on community events and/or projects. This area of oversight, along with the paid student positions, would increase professional development and community service opportunities for its students. 

Reason 3 Explained:

Sustainability coordinators exist on campuses across the U.S.. More locally, both the University of Idaho and Boise State University have had full-time sustainability coordinators on campus for years now. This means two things. First, a sustainability coordinator position is more than doable on a university campus. We could easily create a position modeled after U of I’s or BSU’s. This is not a far fetched or risky idea. Secondly, ISU is behind the game. U of I created their Sustainability Center and supporting positions in 2006. BSU experienced a wave of sustainability interest in the early 2000’s and now has a Sustainability Governance Council, Sustainability Coordinator, offers sustainability tours, and has created a Bronco Green Living Guide. Meanwhile, Idaho State University has yet to even dedicate a webpage to the environment or sustainability beyond “Environmental Safety” and student-led clubs and talk shows. It is time ISU takes action on this opportunity for change.

It is for these three main reasons that ASISU is calling on the administration, faculty, and students of ISU to support the creation of a sustainability coordinator position on campus. 

If you would like to take a more active role or want to learn more about our efforts, feel free to reach out to Emma Watts at emmawatts@isu.edu, Ailie Maclean at ailiemaclean@isu.edu, or ASISU at asisu@isu.edu.