Sustainability
Who We Are
To live and work sustainably means to perpetuate the health and welfare of people, economies, and the environment. Sustainability is about ensuring that all people - today and into the future - can live in healthy communities and participate in productive local economies without sacrificing environmental integrity. It’s a simple yet powerful concept that ties together human happiness and well-being with the quality and health of environmental systems. Thus, sustainability issues incorporate such wide-ranging topics as biodiversity loss, climate change, social justice, and more.
West Chester University seeks to be a leader in local, regional, and global sustainability efforts. This website documents the university’s efforts in sustainability and provides numerous resources for individuals, organizations, and communities.
Join us as we carry out the single most critical task of the 21st century!
News and Upcoming Events
West Chester University Honored as a 2023 Green Ribbon School
The U.S. Department of Education recently named West Chester University a Green Ribbon School for 2023!! This honor was awarded for the university's efforts to reduce environmental impacts, improve health and wellness, and increase sustainability education and you all played a part in making that a reality. You Golden Rams sure look good in green! Read the full story in the WCU Newsroom.
Electronics Recycling Project
West Chester University has recently partnered with PAR-Recycle Works, a nonprofit electronics recycler that provides transitional employment to people returning from prison, to offer faculty, staff, and students a personal electronics recycling opportunity! Bring your computers, phones, cables, routers, tablets, even those old dvd/cd players to a collection location in either the Sykes Student Union or the Francis Harvey Green (FHG) Library. See the list of acceptable items on the flyer and read more about the program in the WCU Libraries blog post linked below. And remember, these are personal items only. No university owned devices please!
Fall 2023 Sustainability Research and Practice Seminar
The Office of Sustainability, along with our partners the Office of Research and Sponsored
Programs and the Sustainability Council's Scholarly and Creative Activities Committee,
is proud to announce the lineup of speakers for our Fall 2023 Sustainability Research
and Practice Seminar. Please join us every Wednesday at noon between September 13
and November 15, 2023. Join us in person in Sykes Student Union 255 A/B or via Zoom.
Many of these presentations will be recorded and archived on our Digital Commons website as have dozens of previous presentations over the past four years. Interested in
speaking in a future seminar series -- whether you're a staff member, student, or
faculty member -- please reach out to us at sustainability@wcupa.edu so we can add you to the program!
Speaker Schedule
9/13/23
Professor Lorenzo Cena, Environmental Health - Should your next car be an EV? Evaluating ownership costs, charging, range, and environmental
impacts
9/20/23
Professor Danielle Chirdon, Chemistry - Lemonade from Lemons: Leading Undergraduate Researchers in Conversion of Greenhouse
Gas
9/27/23
Dr. Nur Ritter, Gordon Natural Area Stewardship Manager - The Ecosystem Strikes Back: A Forest Fragment’s Battle to Survive in a Hostile World
Please Note on 9/27/23 ONLY: Meet at the entrance to the GNA in the R parking lot on Stadium Road or at the Office of Sustainability, 114 West Rosedale Avenue, at noon sharp for a van ride to the GNA.
10/4/23
Professor Elliott Arnold, Earth and Space Sciences - How drought may have triggered the collapse of an Ancient Peruvian Civilization
10/11/23
Professor Joey Miller, Philosophy - Indigenous Values and their Place in Contemporary Discussions of Sustainability
10/18/23
Professor Zeinab Baba, Public Health Sciences - Epidemiologic Understanding of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
10/25/23
Professor Jongwoong Kim, Geography and Planning - Preserving Home and Independence: The Economic Sustainability of Pennsylvania's Property
Tax System for Aging in Place
11/1/23
Professor Devin Arne, Music Theory, History, & Composition - Listening to the Gordon Natural Area: Field Recording as means of connecting with
the more than human world
11/8/23
Professor Jordan Schugar, English; Professor Rebecca Chancellor, Anthropology and
Sociology; Professor Aaron Rundus, Psychology; Trachanda Garcia, Global Engagement
Office; and Thierry Amiable, Forest of Hope Association - Sharing Resources with Rwanda: Multidisciplinary Opportunities for Community Engagement
with the Forest of Hope Association in the Gishwati-Mukura National Park
11/15/23
Professor Greg Turner, Biology - Lichen ecosystem services and a study from the New Jersey Pine Barrens
Join us in person (Sykes Student Union 255 A/B) or via Zoom at https://wcupa.zoom.us/j/91259797459, password 194422.
