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Release Date:

Monday, February 18, 2019

Sustainable HFC Hosts public forum Feb. 28

Event Date:

Thu, 02/28/2019 - 11:00am to 1:00pm

Location:

Room J-160 of the Science Building (Building J)

Members of Sustainable HFC will present the latest information on sustainability issues and initiatives at HFC Thursday, Feb. 28, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Room J-160 of the Science Building (Building J) on the main campus.

In October, Michelle Wilson, who teaches biology at HFC on an adjunct basis, and HFC Support Staff Cashier Wafiyyah Alaji attended the annual Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) conference in Pittsburgh. The discussion will describe what they learned and how we might move forward in sustainability.

Effective change agents

AASHE empowers higher education faculty, administrators, staff, and students to be effective change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation. It works with and for higher education to ensure that future leaders are motivated and equipped to solve sustainability challenges. HFC officially became a member of AASHE through the Office of Academic Affairs in April 2018. All HFC students and staff are able create a free login to access many member only resources.

“This was a unique opportunity to be able to send an Adjunct Faculty Organization member (Wilson) and a Support Staff Association (SSA) member (Alaji) to a conference such as this. We are grateful to President Russell Kavalhuna and vice presidents Dr. Michael Nealon and John Satkowski for their support in sending them to the conference. We’re looking forward to learning about their findings Feb. 28,” said Zac Polzin, chair of Sustainable HFC.

Co-creating a sustainable future

“Attending the AASHE conference was inspiring; we were immersed in a culture of people who are dedicated to co-creating a sustainable future. We saw the immense strides toward this future that are possible at universities with multimillion dollar budgets, the creative ways colleges smaller than ours are finding to effect change on their campuses, and everything in between. Students, faculty, staff, and administrators were all united around a common vision. I think the same can be said for us here at HFC,” said Wilson.

Sustainable HFC was formed to address environmental, social, educational, and service aspects of sustainability. These aspects are important to the membership of this group as they are pivotal to the future of the College and the world. There is a growing desire by College employees and students for long-lasting cultural change on these issues which Sustainable HFC espouses.

Founded in late 2017, Sustainable HFC welcomes HFC employees and students to meet monthly and address the aforementioned aspects of sustainability. This group reports directly to Nealon, HFC Vice President of Academic Affairs.

For questions and/or more information about Sustainable HFC, contact greenideas@hfcc.edu or Zac Polzin zpolzin@hfcc.edu 313-317-4016.