CONWAY, Ark. (September 22, 2016) – Hendrix College will commit to institution-wide climate initiatives as part of a new Climate Commitment signed by Hendrix President Bill Tsutsui today in the College’s LEED-Gold Student Life and Technology Center.
The agreement follows a yearlong partnership between Hendrix administration and the College’s Campus Sustainability Fund Committee (CSFC) to fulfill a longstanding community desire for Hendrix to sign the Climate Commitment developed by
Second Nature, a Boston, Massachusetts-based nonprofit that has worked with hundreds of colleges and universities to help make the principles of sustainability fundamental to every aspect of higher education.
“The signing of this commitment is not only an acknowledgment by Hendrix that human-driven climate change is occurring, but it is also a recognition that striving towards carbon neutrality is the only effective way to protect our earth and atmosphere
for the future of the college and its students,” said Faith Mullins ’17, a senior biology major and chair of the Campus Sustainability Fund Committee.
The Hendrix Campus Sustainability Fund, which students developed and passed in 2015, “empowers students to pursue sustainability-related projects by providing funding for projects and assistance with project development, and to facilitate productive discussion
about sustainability issues between all concerned parties on campus,” Mullins said.
Among last year’s projects, the CSFC facilitated an initial phase of improvements to the sprinkler system, including the installation of infrastructure to integrate all sprinklers onto the same circuit so that they can all be controlled at once when necessary.
According to a memorandum of understanding between the committee and the President’s Office, the CSFC will help create a separate Climate Action Committee to develop and implement the Climate Action Plan and will fund Climate Action Plan projects that are in accordance with CSFC
bylaws.
“Our students and our community feel very strongly about sustainability and stewardship of our natural resources,” said President Tsutsui. “I am proud of the fact that students led this campus initiative, and we are thrilled to make these values a formal part of our ongoing practices and priorities by signing the Climate
Commitment.”
Hendrix College and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville are the only four-year institutions in Arkansas to sign the
Second Nature Climate Commitment.
About Hendrix College
Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1876 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884, Hendrix is featured in Colleges That
Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges and is nationally recognized in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings for academic quality, community, innovation, and value. For more information, visit
www.hendrix.edu.