It is with great pleasure that I endorse our Sustainability initiative. Many of us have long been supportive of resource conservation and appreciate the renewed interest in energy conservation as well as new developments around sustainability. Our program offers many opportunities to practice environmentally responsible and responsive activities in our work and homes, as well as providing us with useful information to make informed choices in the future. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of Jeff Schroeder, Coordinator of Management Systems and Sustainability for his commitment, leadership and work with students and colleagues to result in such a fine program. Jeff and the students with whom he works continue to model "continuous improvement" as a philosophy and guiding principle for program implementation.

University Housing began recycling in the fall of 1989. We were one of the first campus housing recycling programs in the country and the first unit here on campus to do so. Since that time, our program has grown in both the number of materials being recycled and the volumes we divert from the waste stream every year. It is exciting to see how our program continues to expand in scope and philosophy. We now understand more about the inter-relationship between how goods are produced, their use, disposition and the potential impact these processes may have on climate and the environment. We continuously work to learn more about how to favorably influence those interactions. We strive to be more mindful of future availability of raw materials and their use by new generations when making operational decisions, renovations/re-working existing infrastructure and designing new buildings. We have also applied sustainability concepts where possible to our residential dining program.

Your visible participation in efforts to recycle, minimize the use of utilities (turn off lights and computers); use of energy star products, and otherwise "think sustainably" is encouraged and appreciated. As Jeff reminds me, think of sustainability as "resource conservation with an attitude". We can be role models to our fellow staff, residents and in fact, the University community.

Again, many thanks for your support of these efforts, role modeling, and possible impact to our community and environment.

Carole Henry
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and
Director of University Housing