SXU students serve in new Office of Sustainability

Student workers help coordinate SXU’s environmentally friendly initiatives

SXU senior David Hasty, Oak Lawn and SXU President Judith A. Dwyer, Ph.D. discuss Saint Xavier’s new Office of Sustainability.

Chicago (Nov. 26, 2008) Saint Xavier University recently created the Office of Sustainability to coordinate numerous environmentally friendly initiatives at its Chicago campus. Student employees and interns work on green projects ranging from searching for grants, collecting data for a green house gas audit and maintaining SXU’s new GreenBike program, which allows students to borrow bikes from computerized kiosks around the campus.

SXU senior David Hasty, Oak Lawn, has been collecting information from individual departments across campus for a greenhouse audit that will take into account all University activities that create greenhouse emissions, including transportation and power use. The business major will graduate this spring and considers his experience with the new office key to future opportunities.

“I know sustainability is going to be a big part of the future, and it's a great thing to be able to put on the resume right now,” Hasty said. “I'd like to go on to become LEED Certified, so something like this can only help me. I'll definitely take it into the workforce.”

Freshman Angelice Cunningham, Calumet City, searches for grants for green projects on campus. “I thought it would be a great learning experience,” Cunningham said. “There are a lot of different grants out there for campuses, and even homes, to become more green.”

Jennifer Smith, a freshman from Cleveland, works as a bike mechanic for Saint Xavier’s GreenBike program. Smith took a green studies course in high school and saw working in the office as an excellent way to continue learning about sustainability.

“I think it’s a good way to become aware of environmental issues and how we affect global warming,” Smith said. “I know a lot of people who don’t grasp what’s going on.”
Please visit http://greencampus.sxu.edu/ to learn more about Saint Xavier’s many environmental initiatives.

Saint Xavier created the Office of Sustainability and is pursing the greenhouse gas audit as part of its obligation to the American Colleges and Universities Presidents Climate Commitment. SXU was the first Chicago-area University to sign the Climate Commitment, which calls for its nearly 600 members to pursue climate neutrality.

“We look forward to the assistance the Office of Sustainability will provide in helping Saint Xavier University maintain its status as a leader in green building practices and programs” said Paul Matthews, assistant vice president of Facilities Management.

For more information about the Office of Sustainability, please contact Sara Patzkowsky at (773) 341-5299 or s.patzkowsky@sxu.edu.

-SXU-

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Rick Ducat
773-298-3325 or ducat@sxu.edu