Jersey City – Saint Peter’s College announced today, Thursday, May 28, 2009, that it has been awarded a 2009 Kresge Fellowship Award. A total of 15 fellowships were presented by Second Nature, a national nonprofit organization focused on sustainability in higher education, to advance campus green building at under-resourced institutions. Funding for these fellowships was provided by the Kresge Foundation, as part of a grant to Second Nature’s Advancing Green Building in Higher Education initiative.
The fellowship provides a senior member of the college/university community with education on green building and sustainability in higher education as well as peer-to-peer networking opportunities. Fellowship selection was based on a committee’s assessment of the institutions’ level of need, statement of interest, and campus sustainability capacity. Saint Peter’s College has selected Virginia Bender, special assistant to the president for institutional planning, to represent the school in this fellowship opportunity.
Said Amy Seif Hattan, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Second Nature, “This fellowship program provides schools with the opportunity to learn about the resources and networks available to construct and renovate campus buildings in ways that save money, reduce environmental and health impacts, serve as educational tools, and increase student enrollment.”
Fellowship representatives will attend one of six noteworthy green building-related conferences, where they will have the opportunity for training, networking, and inspiration for campus green building. The fellowship award will compensate for travel, lodging, and conference registration expenses. Second Nature will award an additional 25 fellowships in 2010.
Buildings account for an estimated 40% of greenhouse gas emissions, a major contributor to global climate change. In the higher education arena, many institutions are constructing high-performance, healthy facilities that reduce or eliminate harmful emissions and waste. However, many religious, community, technical, minority-serving and state-supported institutions have fewer resources to spend on bricks and mortar projects, less in-house knowledge about green building, and limited opportunities to learn from schools that have excelled in this arena. Many are unaware that environmentally responsible construction can result in 10-20% annual energy savings over the long-term.
Second Nature is a Boston-based nonprofit organization that works to accelerate movement towards a sustainable future by helping senior college and university leaders in making healthy, just, and sustainable living the foundation of all learning and practice in higher education. Second Nature is the lead supporting organization of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which has been signed by more than 630 school presidents, including Saint Peter’s President Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., who are committed to eliminating carbon emissions on campus and training students to help society address the climate crisis.
For more information on Saint Peter’s green initiatives, visit www.spc.edu/green.
Saint Peter’s College, founded in 1872, is a Jesuit, Catholic college in the liberal arts tradition located in the heart of Jersey City, N.J., with a branch campus in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and course offerings on the Jersey City Waterfront and at various corporate sites throughout New Jersey. Educating over 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students in more than 50 programs, Saint Peter’s College is committed to academic excellence and individual attention, preparing students for a lifetime of learning, leadership and service in a diverse and global society.