Campus Sustainability Day

Mission
Campus Sustainability Day (CSD) celebrates sustainability in higher education. On a designated day (month or week), usually in October, colleges and universities are encouraged to create events on campus and elsewhere that draw participants for the exchange of ideas and knowledge among faculty, staff, and students, from across all departments and disciplines, and even from across the campus "edge" between town and gown. This is the kind of integrated, comprehensive planning that is a major focus for higher education planners among SCUP's constituency, as well as for the increasing number of professionals who hold campus sustainability positions.

CSD is devoted specifically to the achievements of and challenges for the tens of thousands of students, faculty, and staff working to instill sustainability principles in higher education institutions and their surrounding communities.

History
Campus Sustainability Day is the brainchild of the Society for College and University Planning.

The first CSD was held on October 9, 2003, with a supporting SCUP satellite telecast, "Got Sustainability? Plan for it! Making Sustainability a Foundation of Higher Education Learning and Practice." SCUP would like to acknowledge the contributions of Anthony D. Cortese, president of Second Nature, in the conception and development of the first Campus Sustainability Day.

In 2004, the main CSD event was a SCUP audiocast on October 28, titled, "2004 Report to the Academy: The State of Sustainability on Campus." SCUP also broadcast a webcast, "Sustainable Building and Design on Campus: Building A Restorative Educational Environment" earlier the same month. A CD of the webcast is available for purchase at www.scup.org/profdev/notravel/webcastcds.html.

The 2005 webcast was titled "A (recycled, of course) Six-Pack of Sustainability Lessons from the Past Year in Higher Education." You can purchase a CD of this webcast at www.scup.org/profdev/notravel/webcastcds.html.

In 2006, the day became an institutionalized, anticipated fall event on college and university campuses. The supporting webcast, which was broadcast on October 25, was titled "Where Is Your Campus On the Continuum of Integrated Sustainability Planning?" It featured updates on the campus-based sustainability work of four institutions: Arizona State University, Grand Valley State University, Harvard University, and Pima Community College. You can purchase a CD of this webcast at www.scup.org/profdev/notravel/webcastcds.html.

The 2007 webcast was titled "Building a Durable Future: Community, the Campus, and Deep Economy" You can purchase a CD of this webcast at http://www.scup.org/csd/5/.

The 2008 program is scheduled for October 22. Watch your SCUP Email News for details coming soon.

Webcast
SCUP supports Campus Sustainability Day by providing an event, now a webcast, which can be used as the focal point of a campus-based event.

SCUP encourages campuses to participate in the SCUP webcast and to then augment it with programs and events on your campus, such as panel discussions, post-webcast presentations, locally-produced food lunches, and more, to encourage discussions and the sharing of information among key groups on your campus. We also know that many offices, departments, and companies will host the webcast for much smaller groups of even as few as two or three people. All are welcome. The fees for the webcast licensing are what support SCUP in this annual promotion of Campus Sustainability Day.

Participating Organizations
Hundreds have celebrated sustainability in higher education on Campus Sustainability Day. Here is a sample list of organizations: Sample List

Publicize Your CSD Event
If you are holding any Campus Sustainability Day events on your campus, please let SCUP know. SCUP will list all events on a web page as a resource for the sustainability community.