Student Honorees:

Diana Biesecker, Gettysburg College

In her role as elected President of the Gettysburg Environmental Concerns Organization (G.E.C.O), Diana Biesecker has demonstrated strong leadership in making sustainability concerns more visible on campus. From regularly running weekly meetings that engage students in a variety of activities to helping co-sponsor off-campus events that bring issues of diversity, equity and inclusion to the center of environmental concerns, Diana is helping change the way students on campus understand the meaning of sustainable citizenship on and off-campus. 

Diana Biesecker is an exemplar environmental citizen for the twenty-first century. As an Environmental Studies major, she demonstrates not only a curiosity to learn about sustainability issues but as student-elected President of the college’s club, G.E.C.O she is involved in putting this learning into practice. In this role, as noted above, she has demonstrated remarkable leadership. She is not only a student representative on the college’s Sustainability Advisory Board where she works actively with other members (faculty and staff) on campus to elevate sustainability initiatives on campus, but she has also helped steer G.E.C.O. towards a broader membership base, one that is welcoming to all people and involved in collaborations across campus.

It is clear that under her leadership the organization has thrived. There are currently over 200 student members (the most it has had in the twelve years I have been faculty advisor!). Diana has been active in recruitment and regularly runs the weekly meetings with her executive team. In these meetings, the group engages in activities that are both serious and fun. From getting students to learn about the consequences of their individual consumption habits through organizing a “trashion show” as well as playful “CAN-structions” (the latter serves as a food drive too), Diana helps students make personal everyday choices that are sustainable.  But, that is not all. In helping empower students towards engaging in systemic change, in her tenure as the President, G.E.C.O has partnered with other clubs on campus, such as the Students for Indigenous Awareness (SIA) and Peace and Justice Studies (PJS) to bring issues of diversity, equity and inclusion front and center to environmental concerns.

For example, she helped organize an off-campus trip to the Peoples vs. Fossil Fuels march in D.C. in October 2022, where participants learned about how to engage in direct action for policy change from Indigenous leaders. In March, G.E.C.O is helping with the college’s Peace and Justice week programming. Diana is initiating a climate action day on campus, which, in keeping with the theme of the week, will highlight decolonization by bringing Indigenous voices to the table and discussing productive ally-ship in advocating for climate change measures on and off campus. You can find more about G.E.C.O activities at their Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gettysburggeco/?hl=en.

In all, Diana has channeled her passion for environmental concerns—she continues to work hard to educate herself and the college community of the need to engage sustainability both at an individualized level and for systemic change.  

Molly Tarvin, Allegheny College

Molly has been a stalwart in gluing together the Department of Environmental Science (ESS) and Sustainability, serving for the past two years on the staff of the ESS newsletter, and this year, serving as its editor.  In her role, Molly has written articles and worked with ESS faculty to seek out stories.  As editor, she has sought new writers to join the team, and worked to edit the copy material.  The newsletter is published monthly.  Molly also held a prestigious internship last summer with Second Nature, and she has been an active member of the ESS department. 

The ESS newsletter is published monthly, and is geared primarily toward feature articles, including stories of student accomplishments, faculty research and projects, and departmental activities.  Articles on alumni help current students to see the link between their current life in college and the professional or graduate world post-graduation.  Given the nature of students who are busy, Molly has had to contend with students coming and going from the newsletter staff.  Always, however, she has been able to recruit students to assist with the letter.  A valuable edition that she brought this year was to include a humanities component to the newsletter, thus broadening the way in which environmental activities and ideas are approached and communicated.  Molly maintains a busy student life, and has been a committed and successful member of the Allegheny Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams. 

Ashlynn Peachey, Allegheny College

Ashlynn has been one of the most active students in the Department of Environmental Science (ESS) and Sustainability in recent years.  She has been part of the Allegheny Sustainable Design Team, which has been working to design and implement a food forest on campus, for over two years, and she became the president of this group in the fall 2021 semester.  She has also been active with Students for Environmental Action (SEA), and is now co-president of that group. Additionally, Ashlynn serves on the board of the college’s BikeShare program, and is a member of the college Outing Club.

In addition to working on the food forest on Allegheny’s campus, Ashlynn has worked through the sustainable design team to teach students about permaculture concepts and techniques, sustainable design concepts, and sustainable agriculture.  Right now, Ashlynn’s role in SEA is seeing her work with Allegheny’s Director of Sustainability to promote reusable food containers on campus (the Green Box program), coordinate trash cleanup events on and around campus, and she is investigating the logistics of re-starting a food rescue program that would funnel unused food from cafeterias on campus to the Meadville community.  Outside of her work with different campus student groups, Ashlynn has also been involved with off campus work helping to create pollinator plots at a small local wetland area, as well as assisting with the creation of management plans to control invasive species in the wetland.

Glory Jacquat, Franklin & Marshall College

Glory (they/them) is a senior at Franklin & Marshall College. They are an environmental studies major and a performance music minor. They have worked at the Center for the Sustainable Environment (CSE) for all four years that they have been in school. Their list of endeavors and accomplishments is a long one. Most recently, Glory has worked to create a food pantry, called the Granola Bar, to provide nourishment for food insecure individuals on campus while reducing food waste, which has so many negative environmental consequences. They are a very important cog in the sustainability apparatus at F&M!

Glory (they/them) is a senior at Franklin & Marshall College.  They are an environmental studies major and a performance music minor. They have worked at the Center for the Sustainable Environment (CSE) for all four years that they have been in school.  At the CSE, Glory is a supervisory sustainability assistant who helps new student employees in their work. They have managed and designed several important projects.  Glory has been a leader and organizer of our Outdoor Pre-orientation program, FOOT, in which upperclassmen guide incoming first-years for a multi-day hike on the Appalachian Trail.  They also manage the Outdoor Gear Rental Program for the college and design and lead adventure trips to get students, faculty, and staff outside. In addition, they have also been an organizer of the Environmental Justice Speakers Series. Most recently, Glory has worked to create a food pantry, called the Granola Bar, to provide nourishment for food insecure individuals on campus while reducing food waste, which has so many negative environmental consequences. In addition, Glory is a member of the Campus Sustainability Committee. They are very deserving of this award.

Sarah Martin, York College of Pennsylvania

Sarah loves outdoors and is passionate about environment and community. She is a sophomore nursing major at York College. She is a York College Eisenhart Community Scholar. Through the scholar's program, she organized nine different events for the college's 2022 Campus Sustainability Awareness Campaign (April 18-29). These events include  trash clean-up, bee hotel building, wildflower bombs, planting native trees, and community garden.  Sarah is looking forward to engage more YCP students and the local community to work together for a sustainable campus and community!

Sarah Martin is a sophomore nursing major at York College of Pennsylvania. She developed a love for the environment ever since I was a young child. Through many summer camps, she could be myself. She was able to get dirty, play with worms, find crayfish in the stream, and appreciate all that nature has to offer. The exposure to the environment at a young age made her very passionate about protecting our Earth.  She has continued to love outdoor activities like hiking, biking, fishing, camping, or kayaking and have explored many National and State Parks. As she has grown older, she has become more aware of the destruction that people cause. Pollution, littering, construction, technology, and infrastructure have engulfed the Earth taking an extreme toll on our environment. In college, she feels that she has the power to influence change and make an impact.
Service has also always been a part of Sarah’s life, especially in high school where she was involved in Girl Scouts earning her Gold Award. In college she wanted to continue her love for helping others which led her to be selected as a York College Eisenhart Community Scholar. Through the scholars’ program she has been able to serve the York community, interact with a diverse population, and continue to develop her passion for the environment. During the fall semester, she took advantage of the outdoor service activities that were offered in the York community. Most Saturdays, she volunteered by cheering on runners at the White Rose 5k, planting a community garden, restoring Farquhar Park's native plants, setting up a farm fair for veterans, and much more! This semester, she tied in her love for service and the environment by leading an independent project called Sparta Green! SpartanGreen offers a variety of service opportunities for all York College students to participate in on Friday, April 22nd, which also known as Earth Day! She partnered with both on-campus and community organizations so that some events were convenient for students, but also build students' community engagement. A few of the events taking place are a trash clean-up, bee hotel building, wildflower bombs, planting native trees, and community gardening. By offering the event to all students, she hopes to educate and inspire the students to make small changes in their everyday lifestyle that can better the environment. She is so thrilled to prototype this project, she hopes that it will be successful and be a spark for SpartanGreen to continue yearly. She already has ideas that could be implemented next year with more planning, like a campus compost, Earth Day Fun Run (5k), Blue Water Baltimore in York, or a community garden on campus! SpartanGreen is just the start of her sustainability initiatives, and she is very excited for what the future holds for both herself and York College.

Reginald Sullivan, York College of Pennsylvania

Reginald is a senior majored in political science at York College. He is a research assistant to the Task Force of Campus Sustainability. Reginald coded the Electrical Vehicle Survey and analyzed the survey. He also help organized the multiple events for the 2022 Campus Sustainability Awareness Campaign (April 19-29). 

Reginald Sullivan is a senior Political Science major who is passionate about campus sustainability. He is an early-entrance student of Master of Public Policy and Administration. Being an officer of the Student Senate, he witnessed many unsustainable practices, for example, the use of styrofoam for takeout dining hall foods and the lack of green energy infrastructure. He helped coding the Electrical Vehicle Survey and provided research and analyses. He also assisted with organizing green job fair, creating the flyer, create and maintain other sustainability databases. He is instrumental connecting his peers to the campus sustainability initiatives. 

Nyla Holland and Nebraska Hernandez, Penn State University

Nyla Holland and Nebraska Hernandez served as Penn State Sustainability Institute's interns for the Environmental Justice Initiative (EJI). Over the last two and a half years, they have advanced environmental justice (EJ) programming at Penn State and in the Commonwealth. They served as the core students to bring Dr. Robert Bullard to Penn State and facilitate his presentation to the 2021 Colloquium on the Environment as well as practically defining EJ so that it can be mapped, put into policy, and taught. They are among Penn State's most admired sustainability leaders.

Nyla Holland and Nebraska Hernandez served as Penn State Sustainability Institute's interns for the Environmental Justice Initiative (EJI). Over the last two and a half years, they have advanced environmental justice (EJ) programming at Penn State and in the Commonwealth. They served as the core students to bring Dr. Robert Bullard to Penn State and facilitate his presentation to the 2021 Colloquium on the Environment as well as practically defining EJ so that it can be mapped, put into policy, and taught. They are among Penn State's most admired sustainability leaders.

Nyla and Nebraska put the 17 Environmental Justice Principles into action. They “believe all people should be protected from environmental hazards and have equal access to a healthy environment."  They have designed a project that will display how the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is upholding the promise in Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, the so-called “Green Amendment.” Using mapping software, United State Census Data, and other tools, Hernandez created a draft cumulative impacts Environmental Justice Map of Pennsylvania. It brings environmental exposures, environmental impacts, and demographic data together at the census block level to help show real and possible environmental injustices. With her training in education, policy, and leadership, Holland has created language that defines, contextualizes, and provides avenues for education and exploration. [Images of the map are available upon request.] To get to this point, they read literature in sustainable development, environmental and public health, environmental justice, policy, ethics, mapping methodologies, critical theory, and talked with experts across the nation and the Commonwealth including living legends like Robert Bullard and Charles Lee.

The mapping initiative is ongoing. They have presented it through the Ashtekar Frontiers of Science and the PA State Government's Green Gov Council Series. We are happy to report that both Hernandez and Holland will be providing methodological and practical assistance to Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Environmental Justice. The Office is developing a map and an EJ Policy for the Commonwealth.

In closing, Holland's and Hernandez's commitment to the long game of environmental justice inspires many others. To learn more about Holland, see: https://sustainability.psu.edu/nyla-holland-sdgsnapshot-2/ To learn more about Hernandez, see: https://sustainability.psu.edu/nebraska-hernandez-sdgsnapshot/.

Alicia Contrera, Swarthmore College 

Alicia Contrera is a graduating senior at Swarthmore College, and 2021-2022 Green Advisor. Green Advisors (GAs) are student workers of the Office of Sustainability at Swarthmore College. They work to encourage sustainable and socially just lifestyles amongst all Swarthmore community members. Alicia has shown considerable commitment to sustainability work on campus and has served as Green Advisor for three years at Swarthmore College. Throughout that time she has acted as a Green Advisor Coordinator, supporting her peers and Office of Sustainability staff members. She has shown tremendous leadership amongst her peers, and her work has had a huge impact on sustainability efforts across campus. 

Alicia has shown exceptional dedication to sustainability at Swarthmore College and the Green Advisor Program. She has initiated many positive components of the Green Advisor program , and developed several initiatives. She established the Green Advisor social media account and is always looking for creative ways to inspire Swarthmore students to connect to sustainability issues. She is a true Campus Sustainability Champion!

Alex King (PSU EcoReps)

Penn State University

PSU EcoReps impact hit high gear hosting four campus-wide programs (Single Use Scaries, America Recycles Day, Earth Hour, and co-sponsored Earth Fest) as students returned to campus. Additionally, to engage First-Year students more effectively, they piloted a first-year guest lecture program and partnerships with RAs that will be comprehensively implemented in 2022-23. Finally, EcoReps began working internally with their fellow student leaders, partnering with Student Organizations Affiliate to educate and integrate sustainability into their event planning/logistics.

Finally, EcoReps implemented a "Sustainability Sourcebook" training agenda to ensure all members can share the campus sustainability accomplishments with faculty, staff, community, and fellow students.

Penn State EcoReps, over the past three years, has transformed itself from a multi-year pilot program to embracing its role as Campus Sustainability Ambassadors and peer-educators who catalyze and drive collective impact within the Penn State community holistically.

As a whole, the program has three objectives:
Engage and expose first-year students about responsible consumption while living and dining on campus
Host campus community-wide programming to catalyze collective impact; and
Promote and support the University's sustainability commitments through active service.

As Penn State students returned to campus for the 2021-22 academic year, EcoReps was ready to shift into high-gear after two years of virtual engagement. 
To learn more about the EcoRep program feel free to visit https://ecoreps.psu.edu/ or follow the group on Facebook or Instagram at @psuecoreps

Alana Ballagh, Swarthmore College

Alana Ballagh is a graduating senior at Swarthmore College, and a 2021-2022 President’s Sustainability Research Fellow (PSRF), focusing on building a climate community at Swarthmore. Alana was also a 2019 -2020 and 2020-2021 Green Advisor (GA). PSRFs pair student fellows with staff mentors to implement sustainability projects focused on institution change at the Campus. Alana’s ‘Climate Community’ project has led to a considerable increase in collaboration between students, faculty, and staff on sustainability topics. She has shown a tremendous commitment to sustainability issues on campus and has communicated effectively with the campus community on topics of sustainability, environmental justice, climate change, and other key issues.

Alana has worked with the Office of Sustainability for over three years and is a true Sustainability Champion. As part of her work through her ‘Climate Community” project Alana has worked to pull together a week-long EarthFest event that will partner with departments and office’s across Swarthmore to offer diverse events celebrating sustainability. Her leadership in this project shows her ability to leadership skills to implement sustainability projects on campus and her ability to have a large impact on the campus’s sustainability footprint.

Ziheng Zeng, Bucknell University

Ziheng Zeng, a junior chemical engineering major, has demonstrated leadership, commitment, and passion for campus sustainability through her accomplishments as an intern at the Bucknell University Office of Campus Sustainability.  Her accomplishments include mapping sustainability infrastructure on campus, collaboratively developing a campus wide sustainability behavior survey, and working across sectors to collect and organize data to track the university's sustainability accomplishments. 

Ziheng Zeng is a junior chemical engineering major a Bucknell University.  She is currently an intern at the Office of Campus Sustainability. She has demonstrated leadership, commitment, and passion on sustainability-related topics and issues.

Ziheng is working with students, faculty and staff from different offices to collect and organize data to track key performance indicators (KPIs) of the university’s draft ten-year sustainability plan. She has also provided excellent leadership in the development of a GIS based campus sustainability map which will help  with online location of trash bins, recycling sheds, electric vehicle charging stations, and other sustainability-related infrastructure.

She is also working on campus sustainability behavioral changes survey with two directors at the Bucknell Center for Sustainability and the Environment (BCSE).  Ziheng has previously volunteered at the Bucknell farm. She is an embodiment of a student Campus Sustainability Champion.

Non-Student Honorees:

Perri Druen, York College of Pennsylvania

Perri Druen is an Associate Professor of Psychology. Perri has championed sustainability on York College campus since 2006. She spearheaded campus sustainability efforts and established York College's first sustainability committee. She was the first coordinator of the Environmental and Sustainability Studies minor, and later assisted in various actions encompassing reducing plastic and paper waste, hosting a sustainability dinner, and promoting reuse and swapping of clothing and small appliances.  Her published research on the social dilemma pressures that underlie climate-change related behavior lead to the development of a simulation called “Climate Trap” that facilitates participants’ understanding of their own contribution to climate change, and successfully translates to their greater conservation efforts. Perri has been an active faculty member of York College’s President’s Task Force for Campus Sustainability (PTFCS.)

Dr. Perri Druen has championed sustainability on York College campus since 2006. She spearheaded campus sustainability efforts and established York College's first sustainability committee, as well as a living and learning community focused on environmental sustainability. She was the first coordinator of the Environmental and Sustainability Studies minor, and later assisted in actions, and have reducing plastic and paper waste, hosting a sustainability dinner, and promoting reuse and swapping of clothing and small appliances.  Her published research on the social dilemma pressures that underlie climate-change related behavior lead to the development of a simulation called “Climate Trap” that facilitates participants’ understanding of their own contribution to climate change, and successfully translates to their greater conservation efforts.  She currently sits on York College’s President’s Task Force for Campus Sustainability.

Eric Pallant, Allegheny College

Professor Eric Pallant has been a pillar of the Allegheny Department of Environmental Science & Sustainability since 1987.  He is recognized on campus, nationally, and internationally for sustainability initiatives in energy conservation, sustainable food systems, soil conservation, campus sustainability, sustainability in higher education, water resources, ecotourism, and forest conservation.  He has helped Allegheny to reach carbon-neutrality, assisted with energy conservation efforts, pushed to get a sustainability office on campus, and is usually involved in or is a leader in all campus sustainability initiatives.  Eric clearly embodies the spirit, accomplishments, and vision of a Campus Sustainability Champion.

Eric Pallant, Christine Scott Nelson '73 Endowed Professor of Environmental Science & Sustainability, has been a pillar of the Allegheny College Department of Environmental Science & Sustainability (ESS) since 1987.  

He has served twice as department chair, for 18 of his 35 years as a professor.  He has led several internal and external departmental reviews and has shaped the ESS department into a national model.  He led efforts to establish a garden on campus, and hire a garden manager and host of student assistants.  He co-led efforts for Allegheny to become the eighth college or university in the nation to become carbon neutral.  His efforts enabled the ESS building to become LEED-certified, he raised awareness of current and prospective students of campus sustainability efforts, and developed sustainability-themed international study student tours.  He assists with the annual Allegheny Energy Challenge, reducing on-campus energy use and funding campus environmental initiatives, and recently spurred efforts to develop a resilient campus forest.  He served as the founder and director of the Allegheny Center for Economic and Environmental Development for more than a decade, engaging Allegheny students, faculty and the community in partnerships to promote sustainable forestry, agriculture, energy, land use, curriculum, and industry. 

Eric has been an active researcher in the natural resources, examining effects of acid rain on soils, the importance of sustainable agriculture in soil and root dynamics, tropical forest ecology, and mine land reclamation.  He was the  first Allegheny professor to study effects of acid rain on soils in this area, and he has published on the linkage between soil health and sustainable agriculture. 

His sustainability efforts in the community are numerous.  For example, he has worked with the local hospital to reduce waste, and in a nearby neighborhood to promote sustainability.  Regionally, he has engaged in efforts to promote forest sustainability, aquaponics, and ecotourism, and has conducted more than 30 academic environmental science program reviews.

He has received two Fulbright Awards, is a member of the Friends of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Israel, and is a U.S. State Department Environmental Speaker and Specialist. 

He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and received the Best Paper Award for the 2018 World Symposium on Sustainable Development, the 1999 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence, and the 1999 Three Rivers Environmental Award in Higher Education.  He has served on numerous local, regional, national and international advisory boards.  Eric has received widespread acclaim for his recent book, Sourdough Culture, including a spot on Science Friday from National Public Radio and a feature by CNN.

Eric has received both of Allegheny’s prestigious teaching awards, has taught numerous study-away international courses, and has provided many seminars on sustainability topics to international audiences.  He developed the immensely popular course, Soil to Plate, is a well sought-after advisor, and his courses have long waiting lists. 

Christopher Proctor, Swarthmore College 

Christopher (Chip) Proctor is one of the key facilitators of zero waste systems at Swarthmore’s campus. As Manager of Environmental Services, he has helped develop and transform the campus waste collection process and supports all Environmental Service staff managing waste in residential, academic, and office buildings on campus. Chip’s clear commitment to sustainability is expressed through his passion for reducing waste on campus, as well as diverting as much waste as possible. A testament to this commitment is the amount of time Chip provides working with students through numerous Green Advisor (GA) and President’s Sustainability Research Fellows (PSRF) projects focusing on zero waste on campus. 

Chip Proctor sits on Swarthmore College's Zero Waste Working Group, and provides key insight into waste systems on campus. He also supports with the waste hauling process ; driving and training staff to self-haul the campus's sorted compost to a local compost facility. Finally, Chip supports with re-use programs on campus, like the Worthmore Free Store. Chips impact on campus is tremendous, and he has an incredible ability to connect and communicate about sustainability with a variety of staff, faculty, and students. 

Carol Putman, Penn State Erie

Sustainability as a campus unifying concept is relatively new at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, but since its inception Dr. Carol Putman has taken an active role in its emergence. Most notably she is leading the charge to incorporate sustainability into the curriculum, research, service, and operations of the Black School of Business on the Penn State Behrend campus. 

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has recently added a requirement to Standard 9 of its 2020 accreditation standards focused on environmental, societal, and governance (ESG) concerns. This change is coming at the same time that Penn State Erie, The Behrend College is investing in and strategizing the inclusion of sustainability across the campus. Seeing this overlap in motivating forces, Dr. Carol Putnam is leading the inclusion of the three pillars of sustainability in the curriculum, research, service and operations of the Black School of Business on the Penn State Behrend campus.

The specific objectives Carol has written for inclusion entail:
Objective 1: Add a sustainability learning outcome to each major within the school.
Objective 2: Increase the number of recognized sustainability business course offerings from four to eight by 2025.
Objective 3:  Provide sustainability awareness training sessions (1/semester) for faculty on how to effectively incorporate into their courses, research, and service.
Objective 4: Seek out project partners with sustainability content for senior design projects.
Objective 5: Include “Sustainable Behrend” communication in open house and outreach events.
Objective 6: Provide (or participate in) an annual event related to the Sustainability, including student groups and community.
Objective 7: Demonstrate sustainable practices of select Sustainable Development Goals in school operations.
Objective 8: Include the measurement of sustainability activities by faculty in teaching, research, and service within annual reports.

Completing these objectives will demonstrate the importance of sustainability and its connection to the Black School of Business at Penn State Behrend. Carol’s efforts to write, pass and include these objectives within the school’s strategic plan make her a real Campus Sustainability Champion.

Mark Sentesy, Penn State University

In the fall of 2019, Dr. Sentesy co-founded Awaken State, a collective of Penn State students, faculty and staff focused on helping to foster a climate transition at the University.  This group surveyed almost 1600 students to assess their concern about climate change and the extent to which they feel academically prepared to effectively address it.  The survey revealed that students are very concerned and feel unprepared, but also showed that students trust their faculty to provide them with reliable and accurate information about climate change.  These results highlighted the need for action and revealed an opportunity to do so in the context of the classroom.  Mark and the team launched Climate Crossover Week to encourage faculty to devote at least one class to the topic of climate change.  The group reached out across disciplinary boundaries to partner with faculty in other colleges, expanding the number of students at Penn State who are exposed to this topic.  Mark and his team were awarded a SHAPE grant of $7,400 in 2020 from the SI in support of this effort.  In spring 2020, 40 faculty joined reaching 1800 students.

Mark represents the College of Liberal Arts on the Stewarding Our Planet’s Resources Steering Committee, part of the University’s 2025 strategic planning effort.  He is an active participant in the PSU Carbon Negative (CaN) group that is researching pathways for the University to achieve carbon neutrality. He has also been actively involved with the College of Liberal Arts Sustainability Council. He redesigned the Ethics of Climate Change course in 2019, and worked with curriculum designers to make the course available in on-line format so it would be available to more students across Penn State’s campuses. He compiled a 277-page course manual. Mark developed hundreds of study questions and made it easier for non-experts to teach climate science, ethics and solutions. 

Scott Stroupe, Penn State Erie

Sustainability as a campus unifying concept is relatively new at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, but since its inception Dr. Scott Stroupe has taken an active role in its emergence. Most notably he has taken on a leadership role as chair of the waste and recycling committee of the campus sustainability council. Currently, our campus is recycling less than 10% of the waste generated on-site. Acting thoughtfully and intentionally to install the infrastructure necessary to increase and sustain our waste diversion efforts, Scott is leading a multi-year effort to assess and devise a comprehensive campus-wide waste management plan.

To develop a comprehensive campus-wide waste management plan, Scott is leading a team of faculty, staff and students engaged in the process. Given the different availability of faculty/staff (day), as compared to students (evening), Scott has established two separate monthly meetings with each group, breaking the overall project into three primary tasks assigned to various members based on their interests. One team is leading recycling audits – building by building – to determine the categories of recycling generated within each, while a second team is mapping out all the current recycling station locations, with images, and assessing if there are better locations. The last team is identifying the best management practices for increased participation in reduction/diversion programs for each waste/recycling category. During the Spring 2022 the focus of this effort is on academic and administrative buildings, while in the Fall 2022 the focus will be on the residence halls.

Scott is leading this charge simply as a ‘service’ component of his faculty position. Taking on such an active leadership role focused on such a large aspect of campus operations really makes him a Campus Sustainability Champion. He has taken on a task which is not easy or simple, and has consistently chipped away, re-focused, and progressed through in order to gather the information necessary to make a real and profound systemic change within our campus. It is evident that the drive for this project emerges from with him and a desire to push our institution toward the ultimate goal of being a zero-waste campus. He is thoughtful, judicious and impressive.

Mike Wetzel, Franklin & Marshall College

Mike Wetzel (he/him) has been the Associate Vice President for Facilities Management and Campus Planning at Franklin & Marshall College for over ten years. Under his leadership the College has completed numerous physical sustainability projects in the areas of efficiency and conservation. He has striven tirelessly for funding and administrative support for sustainability in extremely challenging times and re-organized the College's Sustainability personnel. 

Mike Wetzel (he/him) has been the Associate Vice President for Facilities Management and Campus Planning at Franklin & Marshall College for nearly ten years. During his tenure the College established a highly successful compost collection program and worked to improve the recycling system for many materials. The College expanded and improved its Bike Loan program and also joined Lancaster's city-wide bike share program. He oversaw the installation of several permeable paving parking lots as well as numerous rain gardens around campus.  Under Mike's leadership, Facilities Management undertook a massive LED lighting program across campus, converting nearly all fixtures to the most energy saving option available. He has also directed the management of natural areas at the College's Spalding Conservancy and the expansion of unmowed areas at both Baker Campus and North Campus. He recently united F&M's three sustainability employees under his supervision and facilitated new cooperation among them. Most importantly, he has striven tirelessly for funding and administrative support for sustainability in extremely challenging times. 

Josh Wyrick, York College of Pennsylvania

Josh Wyrick is an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering. He has long been a champion of campus sustainability, primarily through the lens of protecting water resources. Josh has been an active member of the President's Task Force for Sustainability on Campus (PTFCS) since its inception in 2019. He brings his expertise knowledge with sustainable water resources to this platform and use them to encourage the college's administration to implement real changes on campus. In collaboration with the PTFCS and other faculty, Josh is investigating and designing several rain garden for the campus to mitigate pollution runoff into the campus stream. He organizes a trash clean up along the campus stream and local streams.

Josh has long been a champion of sustainability, primarily through the lens of protecting our water resources. He has been an active member of the President’s Task Force for Sustainability on Campus (PTFSC) since its inception in 2019. He brings his experiences with sustainable water resources to this platform and use them to encourage our administration to implement real changes on campus. In collaboration with the PTFSC and other faculty, they are currently investigating and designing several rain gardens for the campus to mitigate pollution runoff into our campus stream. He organized a volunteer trash clean up along the campus and local streams as part of the Campus Sustainability Awareness Campaign (April 19-29).
Josh strives to infuse sustainability into my courses, particularly with the PBL (project-based learning) assignments that have real-world clients and outcomes. In his Advanced Water Resources Engineering course, the students investigate the issues stemming from frequent overbank flooding on campus, such as water quality and ecological habitat degradation, stream bank erosion, health hazards, and disruption to campus operations. Under his guidance, they develop restoration plans to mitigate these flood damages and present them to campus administration. This work garnered enough interest from other faculty also using the campus stream as a teaching lab. We recently combined our efforts, with administrative partnership, to create a curriculum collaboration that focuses on stream restoration. In the engineering capstone course, he led a study of the Harrisburg CSO (combined sewer overflow) system that has failed to capture millions of gallons of raw sewage from flowing to the Susquehanna River. The results of this analysis were presented to the client and are being used as part of an ongoing lawsuit against the city. Additionally, in his first year at York College, he created a core course for civil engineering majors that focused on designing sustainable infrastructure. As a part of this course, which is also open to students outside the engineering majors for general education and minor credits, he guided the students to take a critical look at our campus operations and develop practical solutions to improve our sustainability footprint.
Outside of the college, he is the vice chair of the board of directors for the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association (lowersusquehannariverkeeper.org), whose mission is dedicated to improving the ecological health of the Lower Susquehanna River watershed and the Chesapeake Bay. Through this association, he involves York College students in their volunteer efforts to monitor and reduce solid waste and chemical pollution in the Codorus Creek. In partnership with LSRA and ALLARM (Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring, dickinson.edu/allarm), he initiated two Stream Teams on campus, one in engineering and one in biology. Faculty and students collect monthly water samples from local streams and analyze them for chemical pollutants and microplastics. These data contribute to a larger monitoring dataset for the Chesapeake watershed. As part of the US Army Corps of Engineers mission to maintain sightlines along the banks of Codorus Creek, his students and I volunteer with LSRA to manually cut the vegetation so the Corps does not have to spray harmful herbicides that wash into the river.