Sustainability Committees
Christopher Newport University has three committees with missions that focus on making CNU more sustainable. Learn more about each committee by clicking the corresponding panels in the accordion below.
This committee focuses on Sail 1, designing sustainable operations and processes, and includes members from key operationally focused university units, including Plant Operations, Grounds, Dining, Housing, Residence Life, Athletics, Purchasing, Student Affairs and others.
This committee focuses on Sail 2, educating for sustainability, and consists of faculty members who wish to contribute to creating more curricular and co-curricular learning opportunities around sustainability topics.
The Academic Sustainability Committee (ASC) began in fall 2016 as a forum to discuss how to embed sustainability in higher education through coursework, research and community engagement. In AY 2018-19, the ASC recognized that constraints in disciplinary silos, limited tools and resources, and the absence of a centralized hub for sustainability in academia made it difficult for faculty to create space in their work for sustainability. Thus, the ASC proposed the development of the Center for Sustainability in Education (CSE) to address these concerns. The CSE was established in fall 2020.
The committee meets twice a semester and includes faculty from all colleges.
The ASC seeks to:
- Share knowledge about and generate awareness of sustainability.
- Provide students with a holistic academic development in sustainability, including coursework, research, study abroad/away opportunities, service and internships.
- Empower to effect change with applied knowledge fit for the 21st century.
- Educate and engage our students, faculty and staff around sustainability.
This group is a commission through the Student Government Association that gives students a voice and a hand in making sustainability happen on campus.
The Student Sustainability Commission serves to build a community of environmentally conscious students, faculty and staff through the development and funding of educational programs, university-wide initiatives and outreach in the greater Newport News community. We aim to establish Christopher Newport University as a role model for our peer institutions and a leader for environmentally sustainable living everywhere.