University News
Western Joins National Sustainability Group
July 27, 2006
MACOMB, IL - - Western Illinois University is the first Illinois higher education institution to join the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), a member-based association of colleges and universities working to advance sustainability in higher education, encompassing human and ecological health, social justice, secure livelihoods and a better world for all generations.
Western is pleased to join an association of universities that make the use of renewable resources, energy efficiency and conservation institutional priorities, said Western President Al Goldfarb. As we implement our Higher Values in Higher Education Strategic Plan we are expanding our focus on sustainable practices in all University operations.
In keeping with the strategic plan value of social responsibility, environmental planning and sustainability are key features of the newly developing Western Illinois University-Macomb Master Plan and the recently approved Quad Cities Master Plan, where all buildings will minimally obtain silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Assistant Director of Physical Plant Bill Brewer and Assistant to the President for Planning and Budget Joe Rives co-chair the Quad Cities Users Group that facilitates master plan implementation. They are working with City of Moline officials to ensure the development of an aesthetically pleasing and environmentally sustainable campus. On both campuses, the University is committed to improving its facilities and enhancing environmental stewardship, according to Rives.
Goldfarb also signed the Talloires Declaration; a document started more than 10 years ago by a group of university presidents and has been signed by more than 300 university presidents from across the globe. Goldfarb was the second Illinois president to sign the declaration that commits universities to improved environmental standards.
In the last year Western has received two Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation grants for energy efficient lighting upgrades. The most recent award of $59,262 is for an energy-efficient lighting upgrade in Morgan Hall consisting of retrofitting existing fluorescent lighting fixtures with high efficiency electronic ballasts and lamps that use 35 percent less energy than the original 35-year-old equipment. Scott Coker, Physical Plant mechanical engineer, worked with Cochran and Wilken Engineering to apply for this grant.
The project will also include replacing all incandescent light fixtures with energy-efficient fluorescent fixtures. The new high-efficiency lighting will reduce air conditioning loads in the summer as well as electrical demand during high-cost periods of peak electrical usage. The completed project in Morgan Hall will result in nearly $12,700 in costs savings per year and will also contribute to a reduction in airborne pollution emissions from power-generating plants.
The University recently completed work from a previous Clean Energy Foundation grant to upgrade the lighting in Stipes Hall. The $83,680 project grant is projected to save nearly $15,000 a year in energy costs due to more efficient lighting in Stipes. Under the leadership of Coker and Charles Darnell, director of the Physical Plant, Western will continue seeking energy- and environmentally-related grants from the Foundation, Goldfarb added.
In addition, Western students have been involved in campus beautification through the Litter Patrol, the Adopt-a-Street Program and the We Care Program to keep the campus and community clean and attractive. This student participation allows grounds personnel to focus on other high-priority areas. The department of geography and the Physical Plant have collaborated on the development of a Grounds Maintenance Operational Map. Expected uses of the map are: evaluation and reconciliation of work production efficiencies between areas, calculation of needed workforce additions or maintenance intensity reduction, integral uses in the current WIU master planning implementation and research and proposition of uses of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Improving environmental sustainability is a major goal for administrative support services areas under the leadership of Vice President for Administrative Services Jackie Thompson. Goals for sustainability improvements at Western in the upcoming fiscal year include efforts by the Physical Plant to: assess potential resources to improve University Drive and electrical sub-station, research for alternative energy funding projects and explore possibilities for an environmental educational habitat along the Lamoine River Parkway. Physical Plant personnel will also continue a program of installing lower energy fluorescent lighting to replace less efficient systems.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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