IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 17, 2008
CONTACT: Gordon Ovenshine:
724.738.4854

gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

SRU celebrates Campus Sustainability Day Wednesday

           SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - Slippery Rock University will join colleges and universities across the country Wednesday in celebrating the sixth annual Campus Sustainability Day.

           CSD, the brainchild of the Society for College and University Planning, was launched in 2003 as a way to draw attention and give support to sustainability activities on college campuses. As part of the of the day’s activities, SRU will show a live national Webcast, sponsor an information fair and offer tours of the Robert A. Macoskey Center for Sustainable Systems Education and Research.

           The information fair will take place from 12:30-1:30 p.m., in the University Union and will include tables sponsored by the Green Fund, the Green Bike Initiative, Keep it Green, the Macoskey Center and others.

           Free tours of the Macoskey Center will be available from 11 a.m. to noon. Visitors will learn about renewable energy systems like wind and solar, green building strategies and materials, and organic food and farming.

           A national Webcast titled "Climate Realities, Challenges, and Progress in Higher Education" will be shown from 2-3:30 p.m. in 206 University Union. 

           Andy Revkin, The New York Times science editor, will moderate the Webcast discussion. Panelists include climate change expert Richard Moss of the World Wildlife Federation, Jessy Tolkan of the Energy Action Coalition and higher education expert Anthony D. Cortese of Second Nature.

           Immediately following the Webcast, the University will sponsor a panel discussion focusing on "Sustainability. Where does SRU go from here?" The panel discussion will be in 206 University Union and will include SRU experts: Thomas Reynolds, director of the Macoskey Center; Patrick Burkhart, associate professor of geography, geology and the environment; Bill Rudloff, director, environmental health and safety; Paula Olivero, assistant vice president for student development; Scott Albert, director, facilities and planning; Langdon Smith, associate professor, geography, geology and the environment; Herb Carlson, assistant vice president for construction design and management; and students Rachel Dewolf, a geography and environmental studies major from Slippery Rock, and Kelly Sager, an environment and geosciences major from Seven Fields.

           All events are free and open to the public.

Slippery Rock University is Pennsylvania’s premier public residential university. Slippery Rock University provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that make a positive difference in their lives.