Institutional Commitment
It takes inspired and visionary leaders to transform the mindset of an entire university.
The President, G. Wayne Clough
"Beyond the buildings and structures, a campus is shaped by the land and space that gives it form. For many a year, concern for the land and open space of the Georgia Tech campus was a lost concept, but it is necessary to embrace it if we are to harmonize our intent to be at the cutting edge of things in our work with our respect for the environment and the need to demonstrate our aspirations to lead in sustainability."
— Dr. G. Wayne Clough, President, Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech's president, Dr. G. Wayne Clough, incorporated a commitment to sustainability in his first strategic plan in 1995. Since then, Clough has been a highly visible advocate for this important component of Georgia Tech's mission. The current vision and mission statement of Georgia Tech reflect his continued commitment to this long-term agenda.
Georgia Tech Chief Financial Officer, Vice President for Finance and Administration Robert Thompson
"Georgia Tech is proud to receive LEED Silver certification for the business school building in Technology Square, as well as to have included many of the LEED requirements in all the buildings that were recently constructed there. Sustainability and environmental consciousness are major elements in Georgia Tech's education and research programs, and this project is an example of our efforts to 'walk the talk' in all our Georgia Tech building projects."
—Robert Thompson, Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance at Georgia Tech
The campus master plan sets the stage for long-term development of our built environment. Robert Thompson made sustainability a central theme for the master plan in 1997. Since then, his team has moved this commitment into engineering, architectural and landscaping standards, programs for energy conservation, and management, recycling, and procurement.
Former Chief Academic Officer, Jean-Lou Chameau
"Our vision for sustainability is to engage the campus. We incorporate practical sustainability in the development of the campus outside of the buildings, and inside the buildings, we advance knowledge about sustainability in our academic and research activities."
— Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, Former Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, the founding director of the Institute for Sustainable Technology and Development, catalyzed Georgia Tech's commitment to sustainability when he proposed the establishment of a center in 1992.
The Georgia Tech Advisory Board, 1995
This vision to transform the mindset of a university must be shared by the members of its Advisory Board. In 1995, the chair of the Georgia Tech Advisory Board was none other than Ray C. Anderson, CEO of Interface Corporation and former co-chair of the U.S. President's Council on Sustainable Development from 1993 to 1999. Anderson received a degree in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1956. In his groundbreaking book Mid-Course Correction, Anderson says the following about Georgia Tech:
"...I look for Georgia Tech to be a force in America's climb towards sustainability, and the Center for Sustainable Technology [now the Institute for Sustainable Technology and Development], ...to be a powerful catalyst in generating that force..."
Callaway Gardens Retreat, 1996
By 1996, many members of the Georgia Tech faculty were engaged in research and educational programs relevant to sustainability. Dr. Chameau and Carol Carmichael brought together fifty professors and administrators for a two-day retreat at Callaway Gardens to get a snapshot of the campus activities and begin exploring Georgia Tech's strategy. This retreat helped build a sense of community among the fifty faculty members present, representing a wide cross-section of the academic units. The participants recommended the creation of a Sustainability Task Force to continue the development of an Institute-wide strategy.
The Sustainability Task Force, 1997
The Sustainability Task Force met monthly for fifteen months in 1996 and 1997 to clarify the goals and objectives of our strategy for sustainability, as well as define the scope of activities appropriate for a technological university like Georgia Tech.
The task force decided that rather than create new "stovepipe" programs labeled as "sustainability," we should focus our efforts on creating mechanisms for capacity-building and coordination among existing and emerging programs involving faculty, staff, and students who maintain their institutional affiliations. Their recommendations were as follows:
- We recommend that the Institute establish an organization to serve as an Institute advocate on sustainability issues, encourage activities among all faculty, staff, and students in the Georgia Tech community interested in exploring their role in sustainability, and carry forward the recommendations in this report.
- We recommend that the Institute's commitment be reflected in investment priorities and policies for professional development, program development, and the built environment—and be explicitly addressed in key documents or other forms of communication describing them.
- We recommend that the Institute capitalize on its leadership position among research universities, and its particular responsibility in engineering in the State of Georgia, to stimulate activity at other universities and in industry, government, and the community at-large by creating and sustaining mutually beneficial relationships.
- We recommend that the Institute establish processes for integrating campus master planning and facilities management with research and educational activities that focus on the long-term campus environment.