ATLANTA – Two Atlanta-area Agnes Scott alumnae known for public service and leadership on environmental issues are among those named to the college's Sustainability Steering Committee.
State Public Service Commissioner Angela E. Speir and Adele Clements, director of transportation at Emory University and executive director of the Clifton Corridor Transportation Management Association (CCTMA) – both members of the Agnes Scott class of 1988 – join a committee of approximately 20 people from all areas of the college to oversee development of a comprehensive sustainability plan for the college.
“The Sustainability Steering Committee comprises a distinguished group of faculty, staff, students, trustees and alumnae whose responsibilities and expertise will be critical to guiding this effort,” said Elizabeth Kiss, president of Agnes Scott and chair of the committee. “I anticipate this committee will be making recommendations that involve changes in policy, changes in budgets, changes in curriculum and changes in behavior.
“None of this will be easy, but as educators it is our obligation to confront the world’s climate concerns and to help find real solutions to them,” Kiss added.
"We're looking at making sustainability part of the college's DNA," she said. "Sustainability is a core commitment to living honorably – perhaps the key element in our new strategic plan."
The college’s commitment to sustainability aligns with the “Living Honorably” goal in the college’s seven-year strategic plan, Engaging a Wider World, which was adopted by the Board of Trustees fall 2007.
The committee's primary purposes are to lead the college to achieve compliance with the goals and objectives established by the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment and to complete a comprehensive sustainability plan for the Agnes Scott campus.
Agnes Scott is one of approximately 400 charter signatory institutions of higher education to join the College and University Presidents Climate Commitment in fall 2007.
“Through this commitment, we pledge to become a living laboratory of environmental stewardship,” Kiss said.
As a charter member of the CUPCC, the college will complete a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and integrate sustainability issues into the curriculum, institutional policies and campus life. It also will set a target date to establish an implementation plan for becoming climate neutral.
The first woman in Georgia elected to the Public Service Commission a statewide post, Speir began her six-year term in 2002. She has produced a steady record of success, including the adoption of new rules to ensure more transparency in the commission's work. Speir wants to see similar results in the Agnes Scott sustainability committee’s program of work.
“We need to be in this for the long haul," she said. "We are stewards of this beautiful earth while we're here. The overall cost of maintaining the status quo – not in dollars – but in environmental impact – is huge.
“Agnes Scott women know that with faith, courage and perseverance, we can do anything we set our minds to,” Speir said.
Clements' role overseeing the Cliff Bus program at Emory involves working with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy to fuel the fleet with biodiesel – made from recycled cooking oil tapped from university kitchens. Eventually, Emory hopes to identify additional sources of biodiesel feed stock from its transportation partners including Agnes Scott College, which recently secured a Cliff bus stop on campus.
“Agnes Scott’s forward looking efforts will have a positive impact on a new generation of students,” Clements said.
Director of Sustainability Susan Kidd earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1978 and a master's in teaching English in 2007 – both at Agnes Scott. Kidd also holds a master’s degree in environmental law from the Vermont Law School. She assumed her position with Agnes Scott this fall while also serving as the R. Howard Dobbs Sustainability Scholar-in-Residence position at Emory University.
"We want to emphasize the learning phase of what it means to be a sustainable, environmentally responsible campus," Kidd told the steering committee at its first meeting. "We want to take into appreciation what the college is doing already as we move into areas not yet achieved."
Noting that the field of sustainability is new and variable, she predicted challenges as the committee works to achieve its objective.
"Things will change as we go along," Kidd said. "Even the 'cutting edge' will change."
The process of naming subcommittee members as well as appointing a national advisory board is underway.
The Scottie Green Team, a committee of students, faculty and staff established in fall 2006, will continue its leadership on day-to-day environmental concerns and planning for conservation initiatives and education activities on campus. The team’s initiatives on campus recycling and alternative transportation have made green choices and behavior easier for the campus community.
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