“The goal is to make our campus more sustainable and to eliminate its contribution to global warming over time,” said Dr. Claibourne D. Smith, DSU acting president. “Our vision is that DSU’s Go Green initiative will be a model for all Historically Black Universities and Colleges.”

 

To implement the initiative, DSU has established a 15-member task force that is composed of members from the University’s Board of Trustees, executive administrative leadership, faculty, Student Government Association and others.

 

Through subcommittees, the initiative will focus on “green” environmentally friendly and climate neutral measures that will relate to the university’s procurement and fundraising activities, its buildings and facilities, as well as utilize its public relations/marketing to educate and energize the campus community and inform the surrounding communities of its efforts.

 

All of these green measures will be developed in a DSU Climate Action Plan designed to govern the University in environmentally sound practices.

 

 “Though such an initiative is often described in terms of environmental benefits, the positive outcomes of going green can go beyond that,” said Vita Pickrum, chairwoman of the DSU Go Green Initiative and interim assistant vice president for development. “Benefits also include increased productivity, resource efficiencies and improved community relations.”

 

DSU joins over 620 Universities as supporters of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. To further strengthen its capacity to successfully achieve its environmental goals, DSU has also recently become a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, an organization of colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada working to promote sustainability in all sector of higher education.

 

“DSU’s Go Green initiative will contribute to the development of the social, economic and technological solution to reverse global warming,” Ms. Pickrum said.

 

In advance of the launching of the Go Green initiative, DSU’s soon to be completed construction of its new MLK Student Center already incorporated environmentally responsible features. The new facility includes a natural ventilation system for the lounge and dining areas, large overhangs to reduce heat consumption, light colored roofs to reduce solar gain, as well as the use of salvaged bricks.