Spring Break
Drexel Green looks to work with City on sustainability
Janhavi Purohit
Issue date: 9/26/08 Section: News
The "Drexel Green" organization, founded and organized by Drexel's Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff Tobey Oxholm, held its first meeting of the fall term Sept. 30 to discuss what other colleges are doing on campus and evaluate possibilities for Drexel.
These first meetings, according to Anoo Sukhia, former chairperson of the sustainability committee and coordinator's committee, were mainly for the purpose of discussing the organization's action plan for the fall quarter.
The goals for the fall term were presented at the meetings, including looking into what other colleges are doing on their campuses, considering the recommendations made to other schools by national organizations and assessing those possibilities in regard to Drexel University.
Six committees were formed to deal with different aspects of the green movement, including the Buildings, Operations, Community, Student Life/Student Living, Academics, Research and Planning/Special Events committees.
According to Oxholm, this term is a "tipping point" for Drexel in terms of its sustainability efforts.
"We did great things last year, and we have great things to do this year," Oxholm said.
Among the accomplishments of Drexel's campus was a higher grade on the annual evaluation by the Sustainability Endowment Institute in Massachusetts, according to Oxholm-a jump from a C- last year to a B- this year.
Oxholm accredits the success to a variety of changes, most notably, to the level of attention the green movement is receiving lately.
"It's like everybody's seeing green," Oxholm said. "We now have the support and publicity and the recognition by the administration to do these things."
One of the group's goals this term will be to publish public reports in January on what the organization has learned about sustainability and green efforts, Oxholm said. An important focus will be Drexel's service to the city community.
"We are not an island," Oxholm said. "We are not just Mantua and Powelton, we are part of the city of Philadelphia. How can we work with Philly?"
These first meetings, according to Anoo Sukhia, former chairperson of the sustainability committee and coordinator's committee, were mainly for the purpose of discussing the organization's action plan for the fall quarter.
The goals for the fall term were presented at the meetings, including looking into what other colleges are doing on their campuses, considering the recommendations made to other schools by national organizations and assessing those possibilities in regard to Drexel University.
Six committees were formed to deal with different aspects of the green movement, including the Buildings, Operations, Community, Student Life/Student Living, Academics, Research and Planning/Special Events committees.
According to Oxholm, this term is a "tipping point" for Drexel in terms of its sustainability efforts.
"We did great things last year, and we have great things to do this year," Oxholm said.
Among the accomplishments of Drexel's campus was a higher grade on the annual evaluation by the Sustainability Endowment Institute in Massachusetts, according to Oxholm-a jump from a C- last year to a B- this year.
Oxholm accredits the success to a variety of changes, most notably, to the level of attention the green movement is receiving lately.
"It's like everybody's seeing green," Oxholm said. "We now have the support and publicity and the recognition by the administration to do these things."
One of the group's goals this term will be to publish public reports in January on what the organization has learned about sustainability and green efforts, Oxholm said. An important focus will be Drexel's service to the city community.
"We are not an island," Oxholm said. "We are not just Mantua and Powelton, we are part of the city of Philadelphia. How can we work with Philly?"
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