PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Third Annual Urban Sustainability Conference for Colleges and Universities comes to the College on Wednesday, October 22, from 10-3, in the Rotunda and the Redmond Room, St. Joseph Hall. The conference, sponsored by the CHC Sustainability Task Force or Green Team, covers environmental issues and ways to improve them, and helps colleges and universities learn more about trends in sustainability jobs and career fields.

The conference’s keynote speaker is Chris Crockett, Philadelphia Water Department deputy commissioner of planning and environmental services. Panel responders will include alumnus Sam Little, Parks and People Foundation environmental education coordinator, Dr. Bob Meyer, biology and environmental science professor, and Dr. David Dunbar, biology professor at Cabrini College.

“Global climate change is probably the most critical issue facing us today and we hope people who attend the conference gain a deeper appreciation for how they can make a difference for our planet by living more sustainably,” said Mary Elizabeth Clark, SSJ, M.A., ED.S., assistant to the president for sustainability and SSJ Earth Center director.

The conference will also include representatives from the Sustainable Business Network, Clean Air Council, Penn Future, Lutron, and Aramark. Editor and founder, Alex Mulcahy of Grid Magazine, a publication focused on sustainability issues and initiatives within the Greater Philadelphia area, will also attend the conference.

The eight members of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Consortium for Higher Education (SEPCHE) will participate in the conference. SEPCHE colleges and universities share resources and collaborate with one another to improve academics, student issues, faculty development, institutional operations and community outreach projects via shared activities, services, technology and information.

SEPCHE members include Chestnut Hill College, Arcadia University, Cabrini College, Gwynedd Mercy University, Holy Family University, Immaculata University, Neumann University and Rosemont College.

          Contact Sister Mary Elizabeth Clark at for more information on the Urban Sustainability Conference.

 

About Chestnut Hill College

 

          Celebrating 90 years of tradition, Chestnut Hill College is a four-year, co-ed Catholic college in the Ignatian tradition that offers a traditional liberal arts undergraduate program as well as accelerated undergraduate degrees, master’s and doctoral programs. The College has been rated by US News & World Report as among the best master’s universities in the North, as among the best Northeastern colleges by The Princeton Review, and has been classified as selective by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Since 1924, the College has offered a rigorous curriculum that provides students with a broad background in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. The goal of Chestnut Hill College has been to prepare students for life’s challenges by helping them to grow intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and socially.