Mark your calendars to spend the day with us at Penn State Shenango on Thursday, May 16, 2024, or Penn State Schuylkill on Wednesday, May 22, 2024 for the 7th Annual Commonwealth Campuses Sustainability Forums.

This will be our seventh year gathering from across the entire Penn State system for inspiration, community-building, and helping each other toward our sustainability strategic goals and visions. This year’s theme, “Imagining Tomorrow, Addressing Today,“ recognizes that we all — administrators, faculty, staff, and students — are motivated by shared visions of a more sustainable future, even as it can be challenging to see past the obstacles and uncertainties of the present.

Registration  CLOSED on Wednesday, May 1, for the Shenango Forum. However, registration remains OPEN through Friday, May 10, for the Schuylkill Forum.

Don’t let travel costs be a barrier to your attendance: there is support for travel reimbursement for one vehicle coming from each campus. Contact your Sustainability Council/Committee Chair to discuss carpooling and applying for your campus’s travel reimbursement. Contact Peter Boger (pgb45@psu.edu) if your campus doesn’t have a chair.

The basic agenda is as follows:

Morning

  • 9 -10 a.m.                       Registration and Continental Breakfast
  • 10 -11: 15 a.m.               Morning Plenary Session
    • Welcome from Chancellor
    • Welcome from Lara Fowler and Discussion of School for Sustainability
    • Asset Mapping Exercise
  • 11:15 a.m. – Noon.        Conversation Stations 
    • Budget and Grant Brainstorming (facilitated by Rob Cooper)
    • Communicating Our Wins Brainstorming (facilitated by Sierra Keller)
    • Continuing Education — Opportunities for Your Campus (facilitated by John Brennan, Jill Valentine, and Andrea Tessier)
    • Creating New Recycling Signage and Messaging for Your Campus (facilitated by Meghan Hoskins)
    • Extension — Your Partner in Sustainability Education (facilitated by Craig Conforti)
    • GameStop — Exchanging Activities for Sustainability Group Building (facilitated by Doug Goodstein)
    • K-12 Engagement Network — Helping You Reach Your Local Schools (facilitated by Amanda Smith)
    • Penn State Outreach — A Strategic Partner for CWCs (facilitated by Richard Smith)
    • Open Working Session — Open to other issues or ideas (facilitated by SustainPSU staff)
  • Noon – 1:30 p.m.         Lunch and Networking
  • 12:45 – 1:25 p.m.          Campus Tour (optional)

Afternoon

  • 1:30 – 3:45 p.m.          Afternoon Sessions (with a refreshment break in the middle)
    • Developing a Regional CWC Sustainability Council and Succession Planning for CWC Sustainability Work
    • “Training the Trainers” — Getting Sustainability into Curriculum
    • Implementing Sustainable Landscapes at Our Campuses
People attending the 2019 CWC forum