MEDIA CONTACT: Terry Gearing
561-339-4530, gearing@fau.edu
JUPITER, FL (December 10, 2007) – Florida Atlantic University’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College offered a course on campus sustainability for the first time this fall semester. Students will present their final projects on sustainability topics, including recycling, composting and transportation, among other subjects, during class on Tuesday, December 11 from 1:15 - 2:45 p.m. in AD 206, John D. MacArthur Campus, 5353 Parkside Drive, Jupiter.
The class, “Our Campus Environment,” developed a prototype “green manual” for FAU in Jupiter. Students broke into committees and researched such topics as rules and regulations, residence halls, dining services, grounds keeping and transportation.
“I had been observing the rise of the campus sustainability movement over the last several years and wanted to find a way to help our University move in a more sustainable direction. I recognized that we had a large segment of the Honors College student population that has been consistently committed to environmental causes, both on campus and beyond. A number of our students had been developing talents as organizers and activists and could help build a groundswell of support for campus sustainability at FAU,” said Dr. Bill O’Brien, associate professor of environmental studies in FAU’s Honors College. “This course created a framework for harnessing the energy of these and other students to develop projects and create awareness that could enhance the campus and University’s environmental efforts. Fortunately, as the fall semester began, President Brogan signed the Presidents Climate Commitment, which put our administration on the path to campus sustainability as well.”
Sarah Fannin, a senior in the Honors College and class member who also serves as president of the campus Enviro Club, said, “I’m proud that we were able to have this class at the Honors College. It’s been great getting others involved in our sustainability efforts here. Everyone in the class and others on campus have seen how easy it is to accomplish something positive.”
-FAU-
The Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, located on FAU’s John D. MacArthur Campus, is a four-year residential liberal arts & science college for academically superior undergraduates.
Florida Atlantic University opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University serves more than 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students on seven campuses strategically located along 150 miles of Florida's southeastern coastline. Building on its rich tradition as a teaching university, with a world-class faculty, FAU hosts nine colleges: College of Architecture, Urban & Public Affairs, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science, the Barry Kaye College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Engineering & Computer Science, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.
