- April 8, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- Revised April 17, 2002
Smith Joins City of Northampton
for Programs Addressing Sustainability Issues
NORTHAMPTON, Mass.-Smith College and
the city of Northampton will jointly sponsor a workshop on environmental
sustainability by Alexis Karolides of the Rocky Mountain Institute
(RMI) at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 27, at Stoddard Hall Auditorium,
Smith College. The workshop is one of two that Karolides and
two colleagues will present during their visit to Northampton.
The other workshop, about campus issues related to sustainability,
will be at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 26, in McConnell Hall 103
at Smith College. Both sessions are free and open to the public.
Smith College has several important roles to play in meeting
the challenge of environmental sustainability, says Richard White,
professor of astronomy at Smith. "One is educational-to
embody principles of sustainability in the curriculum, an effort
already under way in the environmental science and policy program
and the Picker engineering program, as well as in other departments
and programs," say White. "The second role," he
says, "is that of model-to embody principles of sustainability
in campus operations, and a third role is that of leadership
with larger communities."
The workshops are part of an effort to explore and elaborate
these roles, White explains. Although the April 26 event will
focus particularly on campus issues and the April 27 workshop
is aimed at a city audience, particularly city officials, business
leaders and developers, the sessions also will be of interest
to anyone concerned about preservation of resources and wise
planning.
"The RMI presentation is timely, given local and regional
efforts to promote and document sustainable development practices,"
says Teri Anderson, Northampton's director of economic development.
And White agrees, since Smith will be seriously considering campus
sustainability issues as it moves through the planning stages
for a new science center.
Karolides, who will speak at both programs, is a senior research
associate and team leader of Green Development Services at RMI,
which is located in Snowmass, Colo. RMI is a pioneering, non-profit
institute dedicated to fostering environmental sustainability
and human welfare. Karolides is an architect who has consulted
on campus buildings and college energy planning.
The other speakers on April 26 will be John Glyphis, program
director of Second Nature (SN) in Boston, and Leith Sharp, director
of the Harvard Green Campus Initiative (HGCI).
SN is an educational non-profit organization that aims to advance
human and ecological well being, particularly in its work with
colleges and universities that are attempting to increase the
sustainability quotient of their teaching and practices. Glyphis'
work involves programmatic and funding development and strategy.
HGCI, initiated in 2000, is an effort to make the university
a living laboratory in the pursuit of environmental sustainability.
Sharp is an Australian environmental engineer whose focus is
on building a learning organization within the university.
Presentations at the April 26 event, which will be held in McConnell
103, will begin at 2 p.m. and continue until 4:45 p.m. with a
break at 3:30 p.m. White says he expects spirited discussion
to continue after the final presentation.
On April 27, the Karolides presentation will begin at 10 a.m.
following coffee at 9:30 a.m. Public discussion will follow the
presentation at 11 a.m.
Plans for the programs, both of which are taking place in wheelchair-accessible
spaces, have been developed by White and Dawn Norchi, program
coordinator for the environmental science and policy program
and are funded by various departments, organizations and offices
at Smith College.
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