Academic Affairs
Greening Initiative Core Team Meeting
Meeting Minutes
July 23, 2008, 11:00 a.m.

Attendees:  Carpenter, Cox, Jennings, Kurland, Michaud, Pontikis, Stephens (Chair), Vasishth, Wohldmann, Zell 

WELCOME / DISCUSSION

Stephens opened by welcoming all and briefly reviewing the agenda with an emphasis placed on the initiative provided by Kurland and Zell.  

Website development was then discussed and Stephens stated that the prototype will be based on the Wellness Institute website used by Spero Bowman. Vasishth recognized the value of having pages available for internal use for the core team and external pages for the community.  Also he stressed the usefulness of a link from the home page to his website.  

Jennings reviewed the institute’s function for sustainability.  To get a clear picture of what will evolve will take about two months.  Consensus needs to be achieved and it needs to be multi-college.  The institute will be composed of a faculty member appointed as Director and include other faculty and individuals from industry.  The Institute will meet the following criteria: 

1.	A place to utilize resources at various colleges.  
2.	An environment of interaction / contact with outside organizations.  
3.	A well developed Advisory Board to serve as an internal communication place. 
4.	A synergy to bridge across the colleges to provide neutrality to make things happen. 

Jennings further noted that the Deans will play an instrumental part of the process.  He reported that Deans, the Provost and external sources have agreed to provide funding support. A structured broad agreement will be a key element.  Jennings added the goal is to create something that is of benefit to the campus.  The Charter should not contain restrictive language thus allowing for flexibility and growth.  

Stephens mentioned the importance of the institute being self supporting and the reality of sustainability being addressed over time. 

Members discussed the creation of an Advisory Board.  Ideas mentioned included the formation of one internal and one external board, outside expertise provided by a Czar, and a University Task Force.  Kurland noted the necessity of a mix of faculty and industry with an emphasis on economic, environmental and social factors. Jennings asked members to submit all ideas to him via email.   

The Faculty Survey conducted by Kurland and Zell revealed that there is a growing interest among the faculty, and those involved in research are engaged in courses they would like to teach.  Zell will provide information showing what courses are currently being taught.  They both plan to complete another survey in the Fall.  

Pontikis requested wording in the third bullet of the initiative be changed from Graduate Certificate Program to Graduate Certificate and Graduate Program.

Stephens and Carpenter brought up the marketing perspective and how to disseminate information to the public. Promoting the campus as a green university could be a selling point for students.   

Carpenter noted the need to actively be involved in recycling.  A suggestion to contact the Associated Students encouraging the hiring of more students or volunteers to help with cleanup was considered. 

Vasisth provided an Ecological Footprinting update.  He has received four replies from those that have done an impact analysis or expressed an interest in doing so. Vasishth offered to send contact information to core team members. 

Additionally, Vasishth spoke about a future meeting with Facilities to determine what data is available. Long term analysis will take place possibly sometime in 2009 with a focus on greenhouse emissions.  

Pontikis raised the issue of social sustainability.  He requested an additional bullet be inserted under community outreach/sustainability management. Members agreed to insert social sustainability into the first bullet rather than the addition of a separate bullet. 

Stephens mentioned the involvement of students at Canoga Park High School and the partnering possibilities that exist. College tours could be made available to students thereby providing an opportunity to talk about our initiative and measure the progress of CSUN students.  

Kurland began a discussion related to the value of a database listing faculty with their expertise. Vasishth suggested that a voluntary database would be useful to use as a basis and possibly could be accomplished through the portal. Stephens noted that the Chancellor’s office maintains a database of useful faculty information.  Jennings added that the Deans are presently collecting information for research to identify what is being done campus wide. 

ACTION ITEMS

•	Stephens will begin process of website development and send to core team members for review.  

•	Insert reference to social sustainability in first bullet of Initiative. 

•	Wording in the third bullet to be changed from Graduate Certificate Program to Graduate Certificate and Graduate Program. 

•	A reference to facilities to be added at the end of the fourth bullet of the Initiative. 

•	Kurland, Zell and Vasishth will develop a preliminary draft of the Initiative with a focus on direction. 

•	Kurland will resend survey to all core team members. 

•	Members were encouraged to submit Advisory Board ideas via email to Jennings at william.jennings@csun.edu

Meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.