Message from Interim President Lyle D. Roelofs


A new kind of willow path: 7.5 acres of fast-growing willow planted on Colgate land last spring will supplement the campus wood-fired heating facility within three years. Last year alone, renewable, carbon-neutral wood chips provided 76 percent of the campus’s heating needs, saving the university $1.8 million in fossil fuels and preventing the generation of 13,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. (Photo by Andrew Daddio)
Colgate is one of nearly 700 colleges that have signed the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, aimed at broad achievement of carbon neutrality. This effort will be significant, not only in the steps we will take to reduce and offset greenhouse gas emissions, but also in terms of the educational opportunities those initiatives will provide.
    The issue of sustainability has received a great deal of attention, but the discussion of how to address it is challenged by three factors. First, we do not know enough to respond capably. This lack of understanding prevents us from reaching agreement on the consequences we face, and their magnitude. So, it is not surprising that a second factor is the heated disagreement that surrounds sustainability. Most thinking persons have reached some positions on this challenge, and some are inclined to denigrate opposing views as “uninformed.” But truly, because we really don’t know enough yet, all positions are to considerable extent “uninformed.” The stakes are high, and the debates will continue. Finally, even when we come to a better understanding and consensus on what responses will be necessary, we do not yet have a global structure strong enough to take on shared problems of this magnitude.
    This is the point at which Colgate, as an institution dedicated to the generation and sharing of knowledge, is poised to lead informed discussion, at the same time that we take steps to address the issue.
    Colgate’s administrative approach to sustainability is to minimize our impact on the environment while benefiting our budget. Perhaps the best example is our 20-year-old wood-fired boiler, which generates 76 percent of the campus’s heat and domestic hot water. Burning woodchips is far more environmentally friendly and cost effective than burning oil. We have extended this effort through an experimental planting of a local willow biomass crop that will eventually fuel our boiler, and further reduce cost and the environmental impact of trucking woodchips from farther away.
    Our efforts are reviewed by Colgate’s Sustainability Council, which has led initiatives including the development of a 10-year stewardship plan for the university’s 1,100 acres of undeveloped open and forested lands; the adoption of local food purchasing for dining services; and the establishment of a Campus Sustainability Fund, supported by the 2008 and 2010 senior class gifts, and matching gifts from Colgate trustees.
    How we address sustainability as an educational issue is even richer. We bring important speakers to campus. We offer formal courses, including several focused around questions that go beyond discrete disciplines and extend to real-world applications. For example, Sustainability in Theory and Practice is the senior capstone course for environmental studies majors, being taught by Bob Turner, professor of economics and environmental studies, and John Pumilio, sustainability coordinator. This course culminates with students identifying and working on sustainability initiatives on campus or in the surrounding community.
    The challenge of sustainability reaches nearly every academic discipline, including my own — physics. Physicists and engineers understand energy, work, the second law of thermodynamics, electronics, materials, efficiency, etc. We have done a lot in the service of lowering the impact of humans and their lifestyle on the planet. In other areas, political scientists have to study the global dimensions of both the problem and the solution. We don’t yet have sufficiently robust entities of global governance to really take on worldwide issues; the international summits that have taken place so far are a good start, but humanity has actually made very little progress on that basis in the absence of viable enforcement mechanisms. The philosophers have been busy: many questions of sustainability have crucial ethical and moral dimensions. The fine arts provide compelling images, whether visual, musical, or theatrical, that can move opinion and open or deepen understanding. The challenge of sustainability is one example of how the breadth and flexibility of the liberal arts approach to learning can benefit students and society alike.
    Beyond campus, as we seek to engage alumni in important conversations, we have hosted events such as the 2009 Energy Summit, which featured alumni representing various perspectives on the energy debate.
    All of these efforts are part of Colgate’s work to prepare students to thrive in a global society and to develop as lifelong learners who will continue to inform themselves about global climate change and to work to ameliorate it. It is certain that we will not be finished dealing with this challenge for 25 or even 50 years. To be part of the response to this challenge will require each of us to listen to various viewpoints, seek information, understand the issues, and participate, following a pattern of involved citizenship and leadership that we expect all students to acquire through their Colgate education.