Monday, April 28, 2008

It's About Time!

After years of lobbying and pressuring the administration, Penn has finally hired a Sustainability Coordinator. Dan Garofalo, who has been an integral part of Penn's sustainability efforts thus far, has been appointed to the position. It really was a matter of time befor Penn to follow its peer institutions in appointing someone to a position with the responsibility of coordinating the institution's sustainability efforts. With President Gutmann's signing of the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment in February 2007, we should see much more from Penn as the pledge begins to be implemented.

We have seen a conversion over the last year with Penn really starting to respond to the loud demands of students who want to see Penn do more to become a leader in sustainability. I truly believe that this wouldn't have happened without all the work done by students from the Penn Environmental Group, the Green Campus Partnership and support from the Undergraduate Assembly. I would especially commend Sarah Abroms and Lisa Zhu for their tireless work keeping the administration's feet to the fire on this issue.

~BT

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