Above: Stony Brook University President Shirley Strum Kenny signs the Talloires Declaration on Friday at Stony Brook Southampton. PHOTO CREDIT: Marylou Stewart, Media Services, Stony Brook University
At the Town Hall meeting, Dr. Kenny noted Stony Brook’s growth plan, which hopes to see the University increase enrollment to 27,000 students in the next five years, 2,000 of whom will be based in Southampton. It’s in these formative years for Southampton, she said, that current students can make an impact in changing the campus, and the world.
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y., December 11, 2007 — Stony Brook University President Shirley Strum Kenny has been a frequent visitor to the new Stony Brook Southampton Campus this semester, its first semester in full operation. On December 5, she met with students, faculty and staff in a town hall-style meeting, discussing how Stony Brook Southampton will become a model of environmental sustainability nationwide. On December 7, at the traditional Windmill Lighting ceremony, she signed the Talloires Declaration, a 10-point pledge signed by university presidents worldwide focused on assuring a greener future for all countries.
“You are the people who will be making the difference,” President Kenny told students on Wednesday. “You will make sustainability not only an important part of our campus, but also our future.”
She and Southampton Interim Dean Martin Schoonen detailed plans to make new buildings on campus LEED certified with “green” architecture, and include students in innovative recycling, wastewater and even agricultural programs on campus. They discussed the plan for the new library that will include the use of geothermal energy to keep it warm in the winter and cooler in the summer.
“Students will chart energy savings from a wind turbine on campus,” said Dr. Schoonen. “Organic fertilizers are already being used throughout campus, electric and biodiesel vehicles are being used on campus and the cafeteria uses no cooking oils while composting waste.”
While Stony Brook University is in its 50th anniversary year, Dr. Kenny likened Southampton to the University’s early days.
“You are the trailblazers,” Dr. Kenny said to the students. “What you do will make a difference for future generations of Southampton students. Fifty years ago in Stony Brook, 148 students and 14 faculty started out, and from that came Stony Brook University. Exactly fifty years later, here we go again.”
Then on Friday, President Kenny signed the important environmental pledge, which has been signed by scores of university leaders worldwide. Stony Brook Southampton faculty member Dr. Nay Htun was one of the creators of the Talloires Declaration. Htun was formerly U.N. Assistant Secretary General with the United Nations Development Program in charge of the Asia Pacific Bureau and the United Nations Environment Program. He established the Industry and Environment Office in Paris, was in charge of Asia Pacific and served as its Deputy Executive Director. He helped organize the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Geneva, the preparation of Agenda 21 and the Earth Summit at Rio.
“I thank President Kenny for signing this important declaration that underscores the commitment of leading universities such as Stony Brook to be at the forefront of environmental education, research and literacy worldwide,” Dr. Htun said. “She shares our vision of nurturing students who will change the world through environmental awareness and implementing the correct policies to reduce our carbon footprint.”
“Signing the Talloires Declaration formalizes at the international level our commitment to sustainability, not only for the Southampton campus but Stony Brook University as a whole,” Dr. Schoonen added.
In only its first full year of operation, Stony Brook Southampton is Stony Brook University’s newest campus. Located on 82 seaside acres on the world renowned East End of Long Island, N.Y., Stony Brook Southampton’s interdisciplinary academic programs focus on issues of ecological sustainability, with undergraduate majors in Environmental Studies and Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. The campus is also home to a nationally-recognized graduate program in Writing and Literature, Stony Brook’s Center for Wine, Food and Culture, the Pollock-Krasner Library and the nearby Pollock-Krasner House, the Avram Theater and its annual vocal series Sustainable Treasures: Music at Southampton, and the three-decades-old Summer Writers Conference, which annually attracts many of the country’s literary stars.
