College and university presidents from across the state of Tennessee are gathering at Belmont University Wednesday, March 28, 2007, to sign the Talloires Declaration of the Association of University Leaders For a Sustainable Future (USLF) and commit to lead their respective institutions to achieve global environmental literacy and sustainability. Dr. Bob Fisher (Belmont University) will be joined by Dr. Hazel O’Leary (Fisk University), Dr. Wayne Riley (Meharry Medical College) and Dr. Forrest Harris (American Baptist College) to sign the declaration. Dr. Loren Crabtree (University of Tennessee at Knoxville) and Dr. George Van Allen (Nashville State Technological Community College) have sent electronic signatures for the declaration but cannot attend the signing in person. Many presidents from the Tennessee Board of Regents lent their support but cannot attend due to a previously scheduled Board of Regents meeting.
In signing the Talloires Declaration, these presidents agree to increase awareness of environmentally sustainable development, create an institutional culture of sustainability, educate for environmentally responsible citizenship, foster environmental literacy for all, practice institutional ecology and involve all stakeholders, collaborate for interdisciplinary approaches, enhance capacity of primary and secondary schools, broaden service and outreach nationally and internationally and maintain the movement.
The Talloires Declaration signing at Belmont is being held in conjunction with Belmont Goes Green Week March 26-30 and the Campus Sustainability Conference March 29 and 30, a conference to explore and advance environmental stewardship within the state’s institutions of higher education, hosted by the Tennessee Pollution Prevention Roundtable Committee on Higher Education.
Belmont Goes Green will host several events to inform the campus community of several ways to create a more environmentally sustainable campus. The schedule of events includes:
Monday, March 26, 10 a.m. – Food and the Environment – Eating at Belmont, Local Purchasing Power, Feeding the World – Fidelity Hall 412
Tuesday, March 27, 4 p.m. – The Sacred Planet – Film and Discussion – Fidelity Hall 412
7 p.m. – An Inconvenient Truth – Film and Discussion – Lila D. Bunch Multimedia Hall
Wednesday, March 28, 10 a.m. – Darfur, Sudan: Genocide and Hope For God’s Creation – Jack C. Massey Business Center Boardroom
Friday, March 30, 10 a.m. – Where Do We Go From Here? How Belmont Gets Green – Neely Dining Room
For information on the Campus Sustainability Conference March 29 and 30, visit http://campus.belmont.edu/greencampus. For more information about any Belmont Goes Green events and initiatives contact Dr. Judy Skeen, associate professor in the School of Religion at 460-6273 or skeenj@mail.belmont.edu
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“Tennessee colleges and universities go green” – Nashville Business Journal, Wednesday, March 28, 2007
